How Joy-Anna Evolved From Tomboy to Loyal Duggar Wife

The ninth child of the Duggar clan, Joy-Anna Duggar, has pretty much grown up in front of our eyes. We watched her as a pigtailed six-year-old in 14 Kids and Pregnant Again and as a spunky free spirit in 19 Kids and Counting. Unlike her four older sisters who were stuck doing permanent "sister mom" duties and raising their younger siblings, Joy-Anna had an ounce more freedom. As the only girl in her family in her age range (she has two older brothers and six younger brothers beneath her), she preferred climbing trees and shooting guns over sewing and making tater tot casserole. Considering how strict the Duggars are with traditional gender roles, many fans found Joy-Anna's personality a breath of fresh air — and then puberty happened.

Suddenly, running around and playing with boys was no longer considered "modest" within the Duggar household. Many times, Michelle would say on the show that Joy-Anna was a "tomboy" who needed to grow up and "be a lady." Fans watched as teenage Joy-Anna was forced to hang out with her older sisters, learn how to cook, and do other stereotypical "girly" duties. Although there was still a part of Joy-Anna who liked camping and other outdoorsy activities, it seemed she was succumbing to an inevitable future as a Duggar wife.

Fans weren't sure if Joy-Anna was even fully on-board with it all at first. During wedding dress fittings for herself and all her sisters, she looked bored and uninterested. She also revealed over the years how she didn't really care about fashion and prefers wearing pants. But somewhere within the past year or two, the now 20-year-old Joy-Anna started to change. "I was definitely a tomboy back in the day, always hanging out with my brothers," she said on the show. "But now I'm kind of getting out of that stage and trying to grow out of that."

You have to admit, it's all a tad bittersweet. Below, a look into how her transformation happened.