A former employee of the Duggar family spoke to the Hollywood Gossip and gave his take on Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth’s marriage, stating that the pair were definitely alone together before they tied the knot. This flies in the face of the Duggar rules that those who are not married must be chaperoned at all times.

The reality TV stars have been the subject of much speculation over their 10-month marriage, with the latest speculation that Austin might be verbally abusive toward Joy. The anonymous source told the Hollywood Gossip that Austin was raised in such a strict environment, that he wouldn’t be surprised if sometimes he is overly harsh with young Joy. His father was incredibly tough on him growing up, which may have spilled over to his interactions with other people.

As far as the speculation that the pair conceived Gideon Martyn before they tied the knot, it has been made obvious insofar as his birthdate that he was conceived after the pair married. However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t have sex.

The Duggar family is famously strict when it comes to courtships and monitoring adult children before marriage, encouraging them to save their first kiss for the altar. However, it appears that the insider caught Joy and Austin kissing a few times and stated that they were unchaperoned pretty often.

When he caught the pair kissing, he reportedly asked them what they were doing, since they were breaking their own promise. They told him that they were only human and couldn’t resist the temptation. He affirmed that they had been alone together, so they could have had sex before they were married, but he has no proof that this occurred.

The anonymous tipster also stated that Austin could be emotionally abusive toward Joy, but likely wouldn’t ever be physically abusive toward her. He says this is mostly because Joy is so protected by her brothers and her community and if he ever laid a hand on her, he would have a lot of people to answer to.

The pair recently posted that they will be participating in a marriage retreat where they will share their testimony.