Since Joy-Anna Duggar first announced her courtship with Austin Forsyth, fans and critics have been interested in the couple. Looking into Austin's life led many to discover his parents, Terry and Roxanne Forsyth. The couple are friends of the Duggars and share their fundamentalist Christian beliefs.
The Forsyths run a summer camp called Fort Rock Christian Family Camp and Christian Retreat Center in Arkansas. The beliefs they share there have been rumored to be pretty strict. Some say they are even more strict than the rules the Duggars live by.
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A woman who visited the Fort Rock camp has taken to Reddit to share her experience there with those who are curious. She attended a marriage retreat with her husband on behalf of their church in fall 2015. Coincidentally, Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle were there to speak as part of the retreat. Her explosive post reveals just how conservative the family's beliefs are, as critics continue to speculate on how Joy-Anna and Austin's relationship came to be.
There have been some very interesting happenings in the extended Duggar family. It's clear that as the older kids are settling into their marriages, more interpersonal conflict is breaking out among the families. The different dramas playing out have many fans and critics buzzing about what life in the Duggar family might actually be like.
Some of the new family members definitely have an easier time fitting in than others. Among them is Austin Forsyth. Austin is married to Joy-Anna Duggar. The 24-year-old is the youngest married Duggar sibling.
There has been a lot of speculation around Austin and Joy-Anna's relationship. The two got married in May 2017 after courting for seven months. Joy-Anna and Austin claim they knew each other for 15 years before courting and were friendly as kids. Critics believe that the two are in an arranged marriage that was a deal between their two fundamentalist families.
Austin is nearly five years older than Joy-Anna. His parents were featured on World's Strictest Parents. In the episode, they take in two rebellious teenagers to set them straight. Austin's father, Terry, gets into an argument with one of the teenagers, who is Jewish and respectfully declines when asked to attend service with the family.
Austin's parents, Terry and Roxanne, also run the Fort Rock Christian Family Camp and Christian Retreat Center. Since the family is into the same fundamentalist Christian beliefs as the Duggars, rumors about the exclusive camp have been light on details, though we've seen a few peeks in photos from Austin and Joy-Anna.
A one-time attendee took to Reddit to share her experience.
"So several asked for my account of the infamous family camp. I think it's held twice a year, but my particular experience happened in October 2015," the since-deleted post began.
"[My husband] was on staff at a previous church when the pastor asked if he and I would attend this camp (for free!) with a few other families so they could see if it would be a good thing to send other families to," the woman continued.
"I was a HUGE Duggar fan. I'm embarrassed to say I'd followed them for years. My husband couldn't stand them so he was wary, but I convinced him! But man, as soon as we pulled up, I was freaked," the account continues.
"This place is WAY out in the hills. I didn't even think our car would make it up the driveway. I remember telling him that if we heard banjos, we were turning around quick! After settling in, we went to the first service on the schedule."
"I immediately realized I was the only one in pants … all other women wore skirts and the highly modest, neck-high shirts. I had on jeans and a T-shirt but I'm sure they were judging," she noted.
"I can't remember the message, but my husband still tells the story that he knew this place was weird when the speaker (can't remember who it was) showed famous pieces of art that had the nudity censored," she continued.
"Mind you, we're all adults. And even if we weren't, who cares! We both love the arts and don't believe in censorship so this unnerved us."
Later, she discovered that contemporary Christian music (CCM) was also against their beliefs. "While walking around, we found pamphlets detailing the evils of CCM or Contemporary Christian Music and any music that made you want to dance," she explained.
"Apparently, dancing is only sexual. Defrauding, if you will. The only appropriate music to them are old hymns."
We've seen the Duggars' own strong feelings about dancing explored on 19 Kids and Counting.
The attendee also heard a lot of talk against public schools, of which her child was an attendee.
"I had to endure several lectures (both in sessions and personally from other attendees at dinner) on the dangers of public school," she noted. "How I should get my child out immediately before 'she made friends.'"
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar happened to be speakers at the event. It took place shortly after news of Josh Duggar's molestation scandal broke.
"[Jim Bob and Michelle] got up to speak and that was the absolute cherry on the freak cake. This was right after the crap hit the fan so they were very emotional and open about [Josh]," she said.
"[Michelle] didn't talk. Like I don't know if she wasn't allowed but she barely said a word, just stared up at JB like he was gold," she added.
"Tbh they were upset about it all but it seemed to me it was more about being upset that this all came out."
"It's been a while but I realized then that this was a cult, " the posted concluded, "and I was scarily close to it."
Regardless of how their relationship came to be, Austin and Joy-Anna are happily married. They have a son, Gideon Forsyth. Joy-Anna announced they were pregnant with their second child in May 2019. Sadly, Joy-Anna experienced a miscarriage at 20 weeks along. They named their stillborn little girl Annabell Elise.
In March 2020, Joy-Anna announced that she and Austin were pregnant again. They had a little girl who they named Evelyn-Mae Forsyth.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
