Joy-Anna Forsyth (née Duggar) and husband Austin Forsyth put her family drama aside for a fun-filled “date night” at Top Golf.
Joy-Anna, 24, and Austin, 28, were all smiles as they paused the game for a quick selfie on Tuesday, December 14, while joined by a group of friends.
The couple stepped out for an adventurous evening out together after releasing a joint statement following her elder brother Josh’s guilty verdict on December 9.
“Over this last year, as you can imagine, there have been a lot of unanswered questions in our minds regarding Josh. We were able to sit through the trial and hear the evidence for ourselves,” Joy-Anna and Austin wrote via her Instagram Stories on December 12, a few days after Josh, 33, was convicted of two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography. Josh now faces up to 40 years behind bars and fines up to $500,000 at his upcoming sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
“We agree with the judicial systems verdict, and we are thankful for the men and women who work tirelessly to protect children and help prevent child sexual abuse material. Our hearts break for all CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material] victims,” Joy-Anna concluded. “We are praying for [Josh’s wife] Anna and her children.”
One month before his pretrial hearing, Josh and Anna, 33, welcomed their seventh child together, a daughter named Madyson, who arrived in October 2021. Anna announced their baby girl was born on November 19, nearly seven months after sharing news of her pregnancy on April 23, days before his arrest in Arkansas.
After the former car salesman was convicted of the charges, the Duggars have been “torn apart” over the ordeal, an insider told In Touch exclusively, revealing many of them are still trying to put the pieces back together in their own lives.
“The family prayed and prayed, but also braced themselves for the worst,” the insider said following the verdict. “The family is rallying, but some of the kids can’t forgive their brother Josh for what he did. They’re horrified that he didn’t get help sooner.”
More recently, In Touch confirmed that Jana Duggar, the eldest daughter in the former Counting On brood, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child in September 2021, an incident she addressed in her own statement on the matter.
“I prefer a more private life, but I know my last name means that everything we do is open to public criticism and interest, especially during this time,” she wrote following her not guilty plea on September 23, explaining what happened. “The raw facts: I was babysitting a few months ago when one of the children wandered outside alone. A passerby who saw the child called the police. This resulted in a written citation, as well as a follow-up with child welfare who concluded that it was an accident, and the child was unharmed. They recognized it was a case of a child slipping out of the house when you turn your back for a moment.”