Jill Duggar, 22, from the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting is engaged to accountant Derick Dillard, 25.
"I am so happy.Our story is so very unique. The first time we talked, he was in Japan, we met in Nepal, he spent time in India and Israel and then came back to Arkansas where he met my family,” Duggar told People of their courtship. “We have a very international story even though we live so close."
Duggar is studying to become a midwife and she outlined the steps of courtship and engagement in her book Growing Up Duggar with sisters Jana, 24, Jessa, 21, and Jinger, 20. The couple decided they would hold hands when they got engaged but won’t kiss until they’re married. They held off on all other forms of physical contact during their courtship.
“I feel like I'm dreaming. It was great to grab her hand for the first time,” said Dillard.
E! Online reports Dillard proposed after having lunch on March 29, recruiting musicians to sing them a song so he could get down on one knee with a romantic backdrop. Duggar’s sisters, Jana and Joy, 16, were their chaperones that day.