Kendra Caldwell and Joseph Duggar: A Complete Relationship Timeline
Kendra Caldwell and Joseph Duggar might not have been the main focus of 19 Kids and Counting or Counting On, but they certainly are in the spotlight now. Both Kendra and Joseph are facing serious, but unrelated, criminal charges, and their families’ dysfunctions are on full display. While the world is learning more about Kendra and Joseph’s present-day plight, let’s take a look back at where their relationship started.
Joseph and Kendra started courting in 2017
Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell began courting seemingly out of the blue in March 2017. The couple had known each other for several years before things turned romantic, but she didn’t appear to be a staple in their social circle. Duggar family followers suspect that the courtship came on the heels of Joseph ending a secret relationship with Carlin Bates. While the two reality TV stars never confirmed they dated, there are a few clues suggesting a romance between the two may have ended badly.
Joseph’s “courtposal” in front of the house he and his siblings grew up in was featured on Counting On. Their early romance was also featured on the series. Kendra was just 18, and Joseph was 22. Things moved along quickly from there.
They married the same year
While the Duggar family was reality TV stars, they maintained that courtship is a more serious form of dating. Critics note that it’s just dating with an accelerated timeline. Joseph and Kendra proved that by announcing their engagement just two months after they began seeing each other. The proposal took place at Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth’s May 2017 wedding reception.
Just as their courtship did, their engagement moved quickly, too. Just four months after getting engaged, and six months into their relationship, they wed. The couple said “I do” at First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on September 8, 2017. A reception, with cupcakes and light refreshments, followed immediately after the nuptials.
How many kids do they have, and how do they make money?
Long before their legal troubles, Joseph and Kendra looked like the Duggar couple most likely to have a dozen or more children. They started their family quickly and welcomed new children at a breakneck speed until just a few years ago, when they suddenly stopped having children. Their first child, Garrett Duggar, was born in 2018, exactly 9 months after their wedding.
Their second child, Addison Duggar, was born in November 2019, followed by Brooklyn Duggar in February 2021. She was the last Duggar grandchild born before Josh Duggar’s arrest on child pornography charges. She was also the last birth featured on the family’s reality TV series. The duo welcomed a second son in mid 2022, but did not publicly announce his birth. Duggar family followers learned his name, Justus, from a public obituary for one of Kendra’s family members. They have not added additional children to the family in the nearly four years since his arrival.
After Counting On was pulled from TLC’s lineup, the family left the spotlight. For money, it appeared that Joseph Duggar was working as a real estate agent; apparently, it’s a bit more complex than that. Recent events have revealed that the couple also owns properties they rent out on Airbnb and have additional rental plans that could help Kendra make ends meet if Joseph is convicted and sentenced to time in prison.
