Jill Duggar Engaged to Derick Dillard

19 Kids and Counting star held hands after he proposed but refuses to kiss him until they're married

By Zach Johnson Apr 09, 2014 1:22 PMTags
Jill Duggar, Derick Dillard TLC

19 Kids and Counting's Jill Duggar is engaged to Derick Dillard!

The proposal occurred March 29 during a post-lunch stroll in Bentonville, Ark. Jill, 22, didn't think twice when their chaperones—her sisters Jana, 24, and Joy, 16—started lagging behind, nor did she question why a stranger on a park bench asked if he could sing the young couple a love song. "By the second verse, I knew the song was about Derick and me," the bride-to-be tells People in its Apr. 21 issue.

After more musicians showed up, Derick dropped to one knee and presented Jill with the .63-carat diamond and white-gold ring he'd custom designed. "I shared how much I loved her, how I couldn't imagine life without her, and I asked her, 'Will you marry me?'" the 25-year-old recalls.

Jill, who is studying to be a midwife, and Derick, who is an accountant, reached another milestone in that afternoon: they engaged in some tame PDA. "We decided to wait to hold hands until we were engaged and to have our first kiss on our wedding day," Jill says of complying with her family's conservative religious philosophy. "We want to save the physical side of our relationship for our wedding day and not go further than we should. If you are kissing, it gets more intimate. Obviously, you can kiss and not have sex. It's about setting a higher standard so you don't struggle [with temptation]."

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With a wedding in the works, "I am so happy," Jill gushes. "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. We have a very international story even though we live so close."

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Derick says of marrying Jill. "It was great to grab her hand for the first time."