Photo cred: Jana Duggar Instagram
Jana Duggar shocked the world this week when she got married out of nowhere on Thursday, August 15th, 2024.
Although rumors had swirled for months around a possible engagement after she posted photos on Instagram with a ring on her hand, she had never confirmed or denied that she was in a relationship or planning a wedding.
That all changed on August 15th, though, when the news leaked that she had filed for a wedding certificate in Arkansas.
But everyone couldn’t help but wonder- who exactly is her husband?
Well, his name is Stephen Wissmann. And we’ve actually uncovered a lot of information about him, which is pretty shocking, considering just how secretive their relationship has been over the years.
Yes, you read that right.
Jana and Stephen have secretly been in an on and off relationship for years. And you’ll never believe all of the information that’s been uncovered about him since news of their wedding dropped. Stephen Wissmann is originally from Nebraska, and he’s 31 years old, making him three years younger than his new bride, Jana.
How Jana and Stephen Met
According to the People Magazine exclusive featuring their wedding, Jana and Stephen met years ago when she was about 21 years old and he was about 18 years old.Stephen’s family had been visiting the Duggars and got snowed in, but Jana hadn’t paid much attention to Stephen at that time.
Instead, the two connected years later, towards the end of 2020. Rumors first began about a possible relationship between Jana and Stephen during the Christmas season in 2020. The Wissmann family posted a blog about how they celebrated Christmas, and in the blog post, there was a picture of Jana and Stephen sitting next to each other by the Christmas tree, meaning she had spent Christmas in Nebraska with the Wissmann family.
Then, a few months later, a fan captured a picture of Jana and Stephen hanging out together at a fair. And then, as further proof, Jana’s sister, Jessa, posted a vlog around this same time that showed Jana and Stephen eating next to each other at the Duggar kitchen table. It seemed as though Jana was on her way to a quick wedding, just like all her siblings.
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Until her brother, Josh, got arrested for CSAM.
Around that time, Jana and Stephen’s relationship seemed to end. Some speculated that Jana and Stephen were never actually courting, but rather, they were both serving as chaperones for their siblings, as Jana’s brother, Jeremiah, married Stephen’s sister, Hannah, in March 2022.
However, Jana admitted in the People Magazine feature that they had been dating in 2020 and 2021, but had broken up and reconnected at the beginning of 2024. To fans, Jana and Stephen always seemed like a good match, and they were thrilled to learn that they had reconnected.
And if you’re wondering just who Stephen is outside of his relationship with Jana, there’s actually a lot of information out there about him for someone who’s lived a private life until now.
Stephen is the 8th child of the 13 Wissman siblings, meaning that he comes from a big family, just like Jana. He and his family were in a traveling family band while he was growing up, performing all over the country, which is a very common occurrence with families in the Duggars’ social circles. Because of his family’s band, the family kept up a blog with biographies for each of the 13 children.
In his biography, it states that he enjoys being a pilot- just like Jana’s twin brother, John David- and he’s also the assistant manager of Wissmann Enterprises, Inc., his family’s business. Already, he seems like a perfect match for Jana. On top of that, he enjoys making small furniture, and everyone who knows Jana knows that she loves home renovations, interior design, and everything that comes along with that.
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He also directs his family’s music arrangements and plays the mandolin in the family band, which lines up perfectly with Jana’s love for playing the piano. Overall, he seems like a perfect match for Jana, who was known for being the eldest unmarried Duggar child. It seems like her search for Mr. Right has paid off, though, because it seems like they’re a match made in heaven.
Jana shared that the two plan to move into the house that he purchased in Nebraska, a 5-bedroom, 2-bath home that he purchased for $275,000 in 2023, and they’ll renovate it together.
It seems like this is just the start of Jana’s happily ever after with her new husband and life in Nebraska.
