When Jessa Duggar married Ben Seewald back in 2014, she was just 21 years old, and in the eyes of many fans, she seemed much younger.
It's true that Jessa had lived quite a sheltered life up to that point, but what many fans didn't realize is that Ben may have had even less real world experience.
Despite all of that, it's entirely possible that both were on board for an extremely brief courtship followed by an even shorter engagement.
But it's not hard to see how fans might have gotten the impression that these two were pressured into getting hitched.
Talk of arranged marriages within the Duggar clan has been around for years, but in most cases, the critics grudgingly admit that the couple was eventually able to find happiness with one another.
Whether this is through sheer luck, or it's just a case of people making the best of the bad situation they've been forced into, we may never know.
But Ben and Jessa's relationship is something of an oddity, as they're slightly more combative than other Duggar couples.
Or perhaps we should say, Jessa has a bit of a temper, and Ben runs from conflict in a way that's led many to believe the Seewalds have had some ugly confrontations when the cameras aren't rolling.
Divorce is strictly forbidden in the Duggars' world, and even if it weren't, Ben has never worked a real job in his entire life.
"Reality star" is the only item on his resume, which means he's entirely beholden to the Duggars and probably wouldn't be able to leave if he wanted to.
All of this has led to speculation among fans that Ben and Jessa are the most miserable of all Duggar couples.
Some have gone so far as to suggest that if they had met under normal circumstances, without intense pressure to start a family, they would not have lasted long.
“I honestly don’t think Jessa and Ben would have even actually dated if it was the real world," one user wrote on the always-amusing r/duggarsnark Reddit page.
"Jessa strikes me as the high school mean girl, and Ben as the nice but kinda nerdy guy."
“Ben definitely would have dumped her by now if he could,” another person echoed.
Others pointed out that Jinger Duggar was equally young when she married Jeremy Vuolo, but there are two important differences:
1. Jeremy wasn't hand-picked by Jim Bob -- in fact, Jinger's father disapproved of the relationship in its early days.
2. Jinger seems blissfully happy and madly in love, whereas Jessa ... well, doesn't.
Obviously, reality TV doesn't give us the full picture, and it's possible that the Seewalds simply aren't as demonstrative with their affections as other couples in the Duggar clan.
But the fact remains that Jessa was taught to keep a smile on her face and "talk sweet" at all times, but she can't even hide her frustrations with Ben while the cameras are rolling.
It's enough to make you wonder about what happens behind closed doors ...
