Tag Archives: circumstances

The Power Of You Teens Teaches Black Girls The Importance Of Self-Confidence

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C oming of age as a young woman of color comes with several obstacles for many. Many Black and brown girls across the country are disproportionately impacted by poverty, education inequality, unjust treatment within their schools, sexual harassment at higher rates than other races and other problematic circumstances that negatively affect their daily lives. The Power of You Teens —a New York City-based non-profit organization—was created as an avenue to empower girls of color and show them that their circumstances don’t determine the heights that they can reach. Founded in 2014 by Felicia Gibson Jaycox , the organization was designed to help girls between the ages of 12 and 18 build a strong sense of self-esteem. POYT aims to nurture and empower the next generation’s leaders so that they are equipped to make an impact in their communities and beyond. The organization offers mentorship opportunities for girls where they are given guidance from women who are making moves in their respective fields and monthly group workshops that are designed to help girls cultivate a strong self-image, deal with anxiety, and learn how to set goals. POYT gives its participants the opportunity to pay it forward by participating in volunteer projects in their local communities. The program also exposes girls to arts education and STEM through workshops. Each year POYT hosts The Empowerment Experience in Harlem; a free day-long event that features inspirational speakers, workshops and seminars, information about higher education and different career paths, entertainment, and a marketplace. The purpose of the event is to inspire young girls to reach their full potential. This year’s theme is “The Future is Female.” “While girls of color have made progress in recent years, real challenges remain. We recognize powerful girls grow up to be secure and confident women setting the stage for their futures as innovative leaders,” Gibson Jaycox told NewsOne. “Our programs are designed to combat the negative influences many young women face. We want girls to be brave and walk boldly in their power. We want girls to be agents of change so they can make a positive impact in their community and the world.” The next The Power of You Teens Empowerment Experience is slated to take place on October 6 in Harlem, New York. It’s being hosted to coincide with the International Day of the Girl. Learn more about The Power of You Teens . SEE ALSO: Initiative Led By NFL Hall Of Famer Empowers Youth To Become Leaders RunGrl Empowers Black Women Long Distance Runners [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3825344″ overlay=”true”]

The Power Of You Teens Teaches Black Girls The Importance Of Self-Confidence

Naya Rivera Charged with Domestic Battery of Ryan Dorsey

We all know that Mark Salling faces prison time , but he's not the only Glee star in trouble with the law. Naya Rivera has been charged with domestic battery against her husband, Ryan Dorsey. And the alleged incident occurred in the presence of the couple's child . Almost two months ago, we told you to pop your “congratulations on your divorce!” balloons and to go ahead and eat your celebratory divorce cake, if you'd had them ready. Because Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey had called off their divorce . Naya and Ryan have a young son , Josey Hollis Dorsey.  The couple had been in the process of disentangling after two years of marriage, but sometimes, couples work things out. Sometimes, partners try to work through their differences for their child's sake. However, sometimes trying to make things work — for yourselves or for a child or both — end up just making things worse. And, well, it looks like things have gotten much worse. Local news station WSAZ-TV  reports that Naya Rivera has been charged with domestic battery after an alleged assault against husband Ryan Dorsey. She was arrested at home on Saturday evening, at around 9:30pm in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Ryan Dorsey told deputies that Naya had struck him in the head and lip while the couple was taking their son, Josey, on a walk down the street. Domestic violence is always a serious situation folks, but this allegation is that it took place in front of their child. That is much worse. And though we don't know the circumstances that led to this, it's reported that Dorsey presented cell phone video to the police that featured Naya's battery against him. Naya Rivera was charged after midnight (so, technically, on Sunday morning). Her bond was set at $1000 at first, but upon review of the evidence and a review of her criminal history, Naya was released on PR bond — personal recognizance.  Reportedly, it was her father-in-law, of all people, who picked her up afterwards. We cannot imagine what sort of conversation they must have had on that car ride. And we still have no knowledge of what brought about this incident of alleged domestic battery. But domestic violence is very serious. Unless Naya was somehow defending herself or someone else, which no one has suggested so far, we can't imagine any sort of justification. And, again, this was reportedly in the presence of their young child. Witnessing a domestic assault can be traumatic for children. This news comes as a crushing disappointment, and not just for fans of Naya Rivera's acting roles. In the past, Naya Rivera revealed that she'd had an abortion and she also detailed her eating disorder . That took a lot of bravery. A lot of people liked that she was willing to share those parts of her story with the world. But there's nothing inspirational or educational about an accusation of domestic battery. Naya's hardly the first celebrity to disappoint us this month, but it's never good to learn that someone — famous or otherwise — isn't who you thought they were.

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Naya Rivera Charged with Domestic Battery of Ryan Dorsey

Naya Rivera Charged with Domestic Battery of Ryan Dorsey

We all know that Mark Salling faces prison time , but he's not the only Glee star in trouble with the law. Naya Rivera has been charged with domestic battery against her husband, Ryan Dorsey. And the alleged incident occurred in the presence of the couple's child . Almost two months ago, we told you to pop your “congratulations on your divorce!” balloons and to go ahead and eat your celebratory divorce cake, if you'd had them ready. Because Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey had called off their divorce . Naya and Ryan have a young son , Josey Hollis Dorsey.  The couple had been in the process of disentangling after two years of marriage, but sometimes, couples work things out. Sometimes, partners try to work through their differences for their child's sake. However, sometimes trying to make things work — for yourselves or for a child or both — end up just making things worse. And, well, it looks like things have gotten much worse. Local news station WSAZ-TV  reports that Naya Rivera has been charged with domestic battery after an alleged assault against husband Ryan Dorsey. She was arrested at home on Saturday evening, at around 9:30pm in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Ryan Dorsey told deputies that Naya had struck him in the head and lip while the couple was taking their son, Josey, on a walk down the street. Domestic violence is always a serious situation folks, but this allegation is that it took place in front of their child. That is much worse. And though we don't know the circumstances that led to this, it's reported that Dorsey presented cell phone video to the police that featured Naya's battery against him. Naya Rivera was charged after midnight (so, technically, on Sunday morning). Her bond was set at $1000 at first, but upon review of the evidence and a review of her criminal history, Naya was released on PR bond — personal recognizance.  Reportedly, it was her father-in-law, of all people, who picked her up afterwards. We cannot imagine what sort of conversation they must have had on that car ride. And we still have no knowledge of what brought about this incident of alleged domestic battery. But domestic violence is very serious. Unless Naya was somehow defending herself or someone else, which no one has suggested so far, we can't imagine any sort of justification. And, again, this was reportedly in the presence of their young child. Witnessing a domestic assault can be traumatic for children. This news comes as a crushing disappointment, and not just for fans of Naya Rivera's acting roles. In the past, Naya Rivera revealed that she'd had an abortion and she also detailed her eating disorder . That took a lot of bravery. A lot of people liked that she was willing to share those parts of her story with the world. But there's nothing inspirational or educational about an accusation of domestic battery. Naya's hardly the first celebrity to disappoint us this month, but it's never good to learn that someone — famous or otherwise — isn't who you thought they were.

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Naya Rivera Charged with Domestic Battery of Ryan Dorsey

Taylor Swift Releases "Call It What You Want," Praises Joe Alwyn!

Taylor Swift, whether you love her or hate her or somehow manage to be indifferent, is back. She's owning the “snake” label and turning it back on her detractors. Her new album comes out sooner that you could believe. But you don't have to wait that long, because she's dropped a brand new single — and you can listen to it, below. What was the first thing that you did this morning? (Wait, don't answer that) The first thing that I did this morning was check my phone, and I'd received an iTunes email telling me that a new Taylor Swift song was available. YouTube had already notified me that she had a new video available. It's a lyrics video, but still — it's the debut of her new song. Taylor has been teasing the track all week, on social media platforms like Instagram and Tumblr. (Taylor is known to interact directly with superfans and address them by name on Tumblr in particular) This song, “Call It What You Want,” is only the fourth single that Taylor has unveiled from her new album, Reputation . As we mentioned, in addition to the iTunes release, the song came out in a lyric video on YouTube. We'll be honest, it's the weakest of Taylor's new singles … but it's also quite possibly the most informative. See, “Call It What You Want” is widely believed to be about Joe Alwyn. Note that Taylor's previous single, “Gorgeous,” which possibly includes North West's voice in order to taunt Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, is also basically universally believed to be about her current boyfriend. Seriously, the whole song sounds like gushing over Joe Alwyn , if not by name. That was “Gorgeous.” In “Call It What You Want,” Taylor gets to that … but first, before she gets into the relationship stuff, she talks about how she was wronged. “My castle crumbled overnight / I brought a knife to a gunfight / They took the crown, but it's alright.” Her career spiraled out of control, as she predicted when she first expressed to Kanye that she was leery of him mentioning her in his song. (Which we know from the shadily edited recordings that Kim later leaked) She speaks frankly about how she deliberately vanished from the public eye in order to let things cool down. “All the liars are calling me one / Nobody's heard from me for months / I'm doing better than I ever was, 'cause.” Why is she now doing better, you wonder? Here's the chorus: “My baby's fit like a daydream.” We don't know of any photos of Joe Alwyn shirtless (which is weird, for an actor, right?), so we suppose that we'll just have to take Taylor's word for it about his fitness. “Walking with his head down / I'm the one he's walking to.” Rumor has it that Taylor and Joe have been meeting covertly to avoid the public eye throughout their relationship. “So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to.” Ah, yes, the part of the song with the song's title in it. “My baby's fly like a jet stream / High above the whole scene / Loves me like I'm brand new.” The “high above the whole scene” line clearly refers to how they can avoid public judgments and rumors and haters by just being separate from them. And the “loves me like I'm brand new” line, of course, refers to her reputation not being a factor in their relationship. And then, again, the title. “So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to.” You guys, Reputation drops in one week — on November 10th. It will be interesting to see if her relationship with Tom Hiddleston made it into a song. It will also be interesting to hear how aggressively she calls out Calvin Harris. Kim might have never had the opportunity to drop those recordings on Snapchat if Calvin hadn't thrown his little tantrum on Twitter first. Anyway, we can hardly wait. At last, when Reputation comes out, we'll know which song is our favorite. And we'll get to see how it compares to 1989 .

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Taylor Swift Releases "Call It What You Want," Praises Joe Alwyn!

Taylor Swift Releases "Call It What You Want," Praises Joe Alwyn!

Taylor Swift, whether you love her or hate her or somehow manage to be indifferent, is back. She's owning the “snake” label and turning it back on her detractors. Her new album comes out sooner that you could believe. But you don't have to wait that long, because she's dropped a brand new single — and you can listen to it, below. What was the first thing that you did this morning? (Wait, don't answer that) The first thing that I did this morning was check my phone, and I'd received an iTunes email telling me that a new Taylor Swift song was available. YouTube had already notified me that she had a new video available. It's a lyrics video, but still — it's the debut of her new song. Taylor has been teasing the track all week, on social media platforms like Instagram and Tumblr. (Taylor is known to interact directly with superfans and address them by name on Tumblr in particular) This song, “Call It What You Want,” is only the fourth single that Taylor has unveiled from her new album, Reputation . As we mentioned, in addition to the iTunes release, the song came out in a lyric video on YouTube. We'll be honest, it's the weakest of Taylor's new singles … but it's also quite possibly the most informative. See, “Call It What You Want” is widely believed to be about Joe Alwyn. Note that Taylor's previous single, “Gorgeous,” which possibly includes North West's voice in order to taunt Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, is also basically universally believed to be about her current boyfriend. Seriously, the whole song sounds like gushing over Joe Alwyn , if not by name. That was “Gorgeous.” In “Call It What You Want,” Taylor gets to that … but first, before she gets into the relationship stuff, she talks about how she was wronged. “My castle crumbled overnight / I brought a knife to a gunfight / They took the crown, but it's alright.” Her career spiraled out of control, as she predicted when she first expressed to Kanye that she was leery of him mentioning her in his song. (Which we know from the shadily edited recordings that Kim later leaked) She speaks frankly about how she deliberately vanished from the public eye in order to let things cool down. “All the liars are calling me one / Nobody's heard from me for months / I'm doing better than I ever was, 'cause.” Why is she now doing better, you wonder? Here's the chorus: “My baby's fit like a daydream.” We don't know of any photos of Joe Alwyn shirtless (which is weird, for an actor, right?), so we suppose that we'll just have to take Taylor's word for it about his fitness. “Walking with his head down / I'm the one he's walking to.” Rumor has it that Taylor and Joe have been meeting covertly to avoid the public eye throughout their relationship. “So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to.” Ah, yes, the part of the song with the song's title in it. “My baby's fly like a jet stream / High above the whole scene / Loves me like I'm brand new.” The “high above the whole scene” line clearly refers to how they can avoid public judgments and rumors and haters by just being separate from them. And the “loves me like I'm brand new” line, of course, refers to her reputation not being a factor in their relationship. And then, again, the title. “So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to.” You guys, Reputation drops in one week — on November 10th. It will be interesting to see if her relationship with Tom Hiddleston made it into a song. It will also be interesting to hear how aggressively she calls out Calvin Harris. Kim might have never had the opportunity to drop those recordings on Snapchat if Calvin hadn't thrown his little tantrum on Twitter first. Anyway, we can hardly wait. At last, when Reputation comes out, we'll know which song is our favorite. And we'll get to see how it compares to 1989 .

The rest is here:
Taylor Swift Releases "Call It What You Want," Praises Joe Alwyn!

Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Reveal BIG Baby News!

If there’s one thing you can say about those Teen Mom ladies, it’s that they sure know how to get pregnant! (Yes, that’s literally the entire reason why they’re famous, their ability to get pregnant, but bear with us here.) Just this year alone, Chelsea Houska, Jenelle Evans, Briana DeJesus, and Kailyn Lowry have given birth to new precious little angels. On top of that, we just learned that Amber Portwood is expecting her second child , too. So that leaves Leah Messer, Maci Bookout, Farrah Abraham, and Catelynn Lowell — those are the only moms who haven’t experienced pregnancy in 2017. Leah is single and really focused on living her best life right now, so we don’t imagine she’ll get in on this Teen Mom baby boom. Maci has her hands full with three kids, including two babies born back to back, so she’s probably out. Farrah is … well, she’s pretty busy at the moment with what kind of looks like a mental breakdown . So that leaves Catelynn! Catelynn, as we know, is married to Tyler Baltierra, and although she suffered from severe postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Nova nearly three years ago, it seems like she’s doing much better now. In recent appearances she looks happier and healthier than she has in a long time, and it’s just been a delight to see. But does that mean she could be ready to have another child soon? According to some tweets Tyler made, heck yes it does! “When can we expect a pregnancy announcement out of you guys?” a fan asked on Twitter, adding the hashtag “ur next.” We told you the Teen Mom baby boom is a thing. But obviously fans of the show are going to expect babies left and right, that’s just the nature of it all. What’s really interesting is Tyler’s response. “Hopefully SOON,” he wrote, along with a smiley face emoji and that one of the person with his hands on his face with his mouth open. Because yes, it is a shocking bit of news. Not only did Tyler reveal that he and Catelynn are trying for another baby — that’s what we’re taking the tweet to mean, anyway — he also made it clear that this time around, he’s hoping for a boy. Another fan told him that she’s praying they have a son next, and he replied with “ME TOO!” Tyler has been open about wanting a baby boy for a while now, which is fair enough — they already have a daughter, Nova, and the baby they placed for adoption when they were 16 was also a girl. View Slideshow: Teen Mom & Teen Mom 2: The Complete Babies and Children Guide! We just hope that if Catelynn does get pregnant and they do end up having a boy, they’ve reconsidered their taste in baby names — if Nova had been a boy, Tyler once said they’d have picked the name Slade. Slade Baltierra. Honestly though, it sounds like they’re ready to welcome another child, and if that’s the case, then best wishes to them. After all, there are definitely worse pregnancy announcements that could be made in the Teen Mom universe right now.

Continued here:
Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Reveal BIG Baby News!

Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Reveal BIG Baby News!

If there’s one thing you can say about those Teen Mom ladies, it’s that they sure know how to get pregnant! (Yes, that’s literally the entire reason why they’re famous, their ability to get pregnant, but bear with us here.) Just this year alone, Chelsea Houska, Jenelle Evans, Briana DeJesus, and Kailyn Lowry have given birth to new precious little angels. On top of that, we just learned that Amber Portwood is expecting her second child , too. So that leaves Leah Messer, Maci Bookout, Farrah Abraham, and Catelynn Lowell — those are the only moms who haven’t experienced pregnancy in 2017. Leah is single and really focused on living her best life right now, so we don’t imagine she’ll get in on this Teen Mom baby boom. Maci has her hands full with three kids, including two babies born back to back, so she’s probably out. Farrah is … well, she’s pretty busy at the moment with what kind of looks like a mental breakdown . So that leaves Catelynn! Catelynn, as we know, is married to Tyler Baltierra, and although she suffered from severe postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Nova nearly three years ago, it seems like she’s doing much better now. In recent appearances she looks happier and healthier than she has in a long time, and it’s just been a delight to see. But does that mean she could be ready to have another child soon? According to some tweets Tyler made, heck yes it does! “When can we expect a pregnancy announcement out of you guys?” a fan asked on Twitter, adding the hashtag “ur next.” We told you the Teen Mom baby boom is a thing. But obviously fans of the show are going to expect babies left and right, that’s just the nature of it all. What’s really interesting is Tyler’s response. “Hopefully SOON,” he wrote, along with a smiley face emoji and that one of the person with his hands on his face with his mouth open. Because yes, it is a shocking bit of news. Not only did Tyler reveal that he and Catelynn are trying for another baby — that’s what we’re taking the tweet to mean, anyway — he also made it clear that this time around, he’s hoping for a boy. Another fan told him that she’s praying they have a son next, and he replied with “ME TOO!” Tyler has been open about wanting a baby boy for a while now, which is fair enough — they already have a daughter, Nova, and the baby they placed for adoption when they were 16 was also a girl. View Slideshow: Teen Mom & Teen Mom 2: The Complete Babies and Children Guide! We just hope that if Catelynn does get pregnant and they do end up having a boy, they’ve reconsidered their taste in baby names — if Nova had been a boy, Tyler once said they’d have picked the name Slade. Slade Baltierra. Honestly though, it sounds like they’re ready to welcome another child, and if that’s the case, then best wishes to them. After all, there are definitely worse pregnancy announcements that could be made in the Teen Mom universe right now.

Continued here:
Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra Reveal BIG Baby News!

Blac Chyna Extends Olive Branch to the Kardashians, Invites Them to Dream’s Birthday Party

Blac Chyna may have had her fair share of beef with Rob Kardashian and the rest of his family, but it sounds like she’s ready to grow up and let bygones be bygones … at least, according to Radar Online.  “ She invited Rob and his mom and sisters to a party she is throwing for Dream ,” a tipster dished to the gossip site.  “She would love for all of them to come and celebrate Dream’s birthday together.” In all honesty, that’s hardly believable when you consider the sheer amount of drama that’s gone on between her and the family. Her relationship with Rob has been the subject of much media attention.  “Dream is the most important thing to both Rob and Chyna and if they could be nice for just one day that would be great,” the source continued. There’s been revenge porn, name-calling, and the whole family getting involved in the fiery feud. It was all a little exhausting to keep up with because every time it seemed like Chyna and Rob were done, they got back together.  Their relationship was not built on a solid foundation, and that’s part of the reason why it failed. They seemed far too enamored with the various opportunities afforded to them to make money because of their konnections.  Things came to a head when Rob thought it was okay to share explicit pictures of Chyna in the aftermath of yet another traumatic split for the couple. He immediately felt the ire of the internet and Chyna after it was classed as revenge porn.  Chyna aimed at the whole family just a few weeks ago when it emerged that she was suing the entire Kardashian Klan , claiming that they came up with an elaborate plan to urge E! Network to cancel Rob & Chyna.  That’s the show she once co-starred in with Rob. While the ratings were decent enough, Rob apparently refused to film for much of the show’s run, and it made things difficult for the editors to construct much of a narrative.  Chyna’s big argument is that the family felt the show was damaging its already watered down brand, and that’s why they made it their mission to sink the second season.  But, it remains to be seen whether the Kardashians will put their beef with the wannabe aside to allow everyone to be in the presence of Dream on her birthday.  While it’s not difficult to imagine there being some sort of shade throwing at the event, we’re inclined to believe that Dream will be showered with luxurious gifts from her wealthy family members.  Maybe that thought crossed Chyna’s mind when she decided to invite them. There’s also the possibility that it would mean the Keeping Up with the Kardashian cameras could be headed to the party, and Chyna would likely find a way to steal the limelight to create a big drama to make E! reconsider giving her another shot at reality TV fame.  What do you think about all of this?  Hit the comments below! View Slideshow: 27 Reality Stars Who Should Never Be On TV Again

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Blac Chyna Extends Olive Branch to the Kardashians, Invites Them to Dream’s Birthday Party

Blac Chyna Extends Olive Branch to the Kardashians, Invites Them to Dream’s Birthday Party

Blac Chyna may have had her fair share of beef with Rob Kardashian and the rest of his family, but it sounds like she’s ready to grow up and let bygones be bygones … at least, according to Radar Online.  “ She invited Rob and his mom and sisters to a party she is throwing for Dream ,” a tipster dished to the gossip site.  “She would love for all of them to come and celebrate Dream’s birthday together.” In all honesty, that’s hardly believable when you consider the sheer amount of drama that’s gone on between her and the family. Her relationship with Rob has been the subject of much media attention.  “Dream is the most important thing to both Rob and Chyna and if they could be nice for just one day that would be great,” the source continued. There’s been revenge porn, name-calling, and the whole family getting involved in the fiery feud. It was all a little exhausting to keep up with because every time it seemed like Chyna and Rob were done, they got back together.  Their relationship was not built on a solid foundation, and that’s part of the reason why it failed. They seemed far too enamored with the various opportunities afforded to them to make money because of their konnections.  Things came to a head when Rob thought it was okay to share explicit pictures of Chyna in the aftermath of yet another traumatic split for the couple. He immediately felt the ire of the internet and Chyna after it was classed as revenge porn.  Chyna aimed at the whole family just a few weeks ago when it emerged that she was suing the entire Kardashian Klan , claiming that they came up with an elaborate plan to urge E! Network to cancel Rob & Chyna.  That’s the show she once co-starred in with Rob. While the ratings were decent enough, Rob apparently refused to film for much of the show’s run, and it made things difficult for the editors to construct much of a narrative.  Chyna’s big argument is that the family felt the show was damaging its already watered down brand, and that’s why they made it their mission to sink the second season.  But, it remains to be seen whether the Kardashians will put their beef with the wannabe aside to allow everyone to be in the presence of Dream on her birthday.  While it’s not difficult to imagine there being some sort of shade throwing at the event, we’re inclined to believe that Dream will be showered with luxurious gifts from her wealthy family members.  Maybe that thought crossed Chyna’s mind when she decided to invite them. There’s also the possibility that it would mean the Keeping Up with the Kardashian cameras could be headed to the party, and Chyna would likely find a way to steal the limelight to create a big drama to make E! reconsider giving her another shot at reality TV fame.  What do you think about all of this?  Hit the comments below! View Slideshow: 27 Reality Stars Who Should Never Be On TV Again

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Blac Chyna Extends Olive Branch to the Kardashians, Invites Them to Dream’s Birthday Party

Joy-Anna Duggar: Here’s Why I Disappeared From Social Media

Back in August, we learned that Joy-Anna Duggar is pregnant with her first child. Many fans assumed that like her older sisters, Joy-Anna would be offering regular updates on her pregnancy in the form of baby bump selfies and lengthy Instagram posts. Thus far, however, that hasn’t happened. Joy-Anna has been silent on social media for over a month now, and many fans are taking her silence as confirmation of a popular theory. Many Duggar obsessives believe that Joy-Anna got pregnant before her wedding and is currently engaged in an effort to hide that fact from the public. The Duggars are opposed to premarital sex to the point that they prohibit just about all forms of physical contact between non-married couples. So if the rumors about Joy-Anna’s “shotgun wedding” are true, the Duggars would once again be exposed as hypocrites. Joy-Anna’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, are incredibly meticulous when it comes to managing their public image, so if Joy and Austin Forsyth did violate the ” rules of courtship ,” we’ll almost certainly never find out about it. Given the circumstances, it’s not hard to see why fans were suspicious of Joy’s sudden social media hiatus. Many speculated that she’s hiding a baby bump that would away her actual date of conception. Only one photo of Joy has surfaced in the past month–a closeup of her face that Austin posted on her birthday and that only added fuel to the fires of speculation. Perhaps bowing to pressure to address the rumors, Joy kind of emerged from hiding today and refuted claims that she’s several months further along than she claims. “I’m sorry I haven’t really been that active,” Joy wrote on her family’s website today. “My life has become busy lately, but I shall try and post more often.” Fans were quick to point out that Joy still hasn’t been seen by anyone outside of her family in several months. One insider tells Radar Online that Joy is telling the truth when she says she’s simply been preoccupied with other matters. “They’re working on their house,” the source says. “It’s getting close.” Yes, Joy and Austin are building a house together. Which sounds like the sort of thing that would inspire a slew of Instagram posts from most 20-year-olds. Just sayin’. Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family. View Slideshow: Joy-Anna Duggar Pregnancy Raises One Huge Question

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Joy-Anna Duggar: Here’s Why I Disappeared From Social Media