Newlywed Jana Duggar never thought she would get married.

The 34-year-old Counting On actress, who moved out of her parents’ house in July, admitted she was “disheartened” that she hadn’t married sooner and wondered if she had “a problem.”

Her confession comes after she tied the knot with Bible study leader Stephen Wissmann (31) on Thursday, August 15, in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and over 500 guests shared their testimony.

Hours before she walked down the aisle, Jana recalled in an interview with PEOPLE that she feared she would never find “the right one.”

“I think as I got older it definitely started happening more and more and I felt like, ‘Okay, this isn’t working. Let me think of something else, maybe I should do something else,'” she said of her love life before meeting Stephen.

Newlywed Jana Duggar never thought she would get married

Her confession comes after she tied the knot with Bible study leader Stephen Wissmann, 31, on Thursday, August 15, in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, with over 500 guests witnessing.

Jana explained that if marriage was not an option for her, she would find fulfillment in continuing her education at a nursing school.

“That was another interest of mine. And I thought, ‘You know what? Maybe this is more of a calling and I can just throw myself into something,'” she adds.

And although she went on many dates, she never stayed with one man. “I just thought, ‘What’s going on? Is it me? Do I have a problem?'” she asked.

Things started to improve after her second semester of nursing school, when she found her way back to Stephen after a brief relationship in 2011.

“I was a little slower to do it, but over time his character changed, he came back and still loves me no matter what,” she said.

“I know we’re a big, crazy family and we still have to put up with a lot. I think, my goodness, there aren’t many people who do that.

“I must really and sincerely care about him,” she told the outlet.

Hours before she walked down the aisle, Jana recalled in an interview with PEOPLE that she feared she would never find “the right one”; Jana and mother Michelle in 2024

“I know I’ve been praying for this for years and yes, I definitely thought to myself, ‘What’s going on? Why can’t I just…’ All of my siblings, most of them, got married in their early 20s,” Jana shared about her family and her feelings; Women of the Duggar family, seen in 2023

She explained that the path to marriage “looks different for everyone,” adding that she had been praying for a fairytale wedding “for years.”

“I know I prayed for it for years and yes, I definitely thought to myself, ‘What’s going on? Why can’t I just…’ All of my siblings, most of them, got married in their early 20s,” Jana said of her family and her feelings.

Although life before her husband and the relationship were “daunting at times,” she recognizes that she has found peace and maturity along the way through her faith.

“I’ve been able to connect with so many of my other siblings or friends and do things that a lot of married people haven’t been able to do because they married young,” she said.

“I tried to look at the positive, and yet you still long for that person, for someone to spend your life with.”

“It was hard, but it was good and God taught me a lot,” she admitted.

Although dating and life before her husband was “daunting at times,” she recognizes that the journey has taught her peace and maturity through her faith; Sisters Jessa, Jinger, Jill and Jana in 2014

She is happier than ever with Stephen, to whom she was engaged for three years; Stephen and mother Gloria in 2021

And she is happier than ever with Stephen, to whom she was engaged for three years.

She gushed about him and said: “I think he is just always there for me, no matter what, in good times and bad. He has been a good friend over the years and has never put any pressure on me.”

As for her post-wedding plans, Jana confirmed that she will move to Nebraska to live with Stephen, who is working in the irrigation installation industry.