Lauren Elizabeth Nakatsu (born December 16, 2002) is the second child and second daughter of Kory Nakatsu and Kim Flanigan.
She is the sister of Katelyn Duggar. She is the half-sister of Jamie Brock and Reed Roberts.
Early life[]
Lauren Elizabeth Nakatsu was born on December 16, 2002, in Arizona, to Kory Nakatsu and Kim Nakatsu. She was the couple's second and final child.
Although Lauren was her father's second child, she was her mother's fourth. Lauren has two older half-siblings through her mother. After her parents' divorce, her parents had equal joint custody of Lauren and her sister Katelyn. Her father was in charge of education and her mother was in charge of healthcare. Both Lauren and Katelyn maintain relationships with their mother and older half-siblings. They were bridesmaids in their half-sister's wedding and attended their mother's wedding in 2019, which gave them three step-siblings, two step-brothers and one step-sister, until their divorce in 2021.
At the time of Kory and Kim's marriage, the family was Christian, albeit not involved in the IBLP or ATI. Lauren and her siblings went to public school and participated in a relatively "normal" American childhood.
Sometime in early 2005, Lauren's parents divorced. On August 1, 2009, Lauren's father got remarried to Kerry Sheppard.
Lauren went to public school through the 4th grade, until 2012. At that time, her father made the decision to pull the girls from school and begin homeschooling them. He cited their desire to be "accepted by the world" as his reasoning. She and her sister were raised as active participants of Bill Gothard's Institute in Basic Life Principles, and regularly attended the yearly Advanced Training Institute conferences in Big Sandy, Texas. She graduated in 2020.
Growing up, Lauren took piano lessons.
Lauren participated in Journey to the Heart, a Christian retreat for teens and young adults to spend time focused on God.
Wedding involvement[]
Lauren was a bridesmaid at her half-sister Jamie's wedding to Logan Brock.
She was the maid of honor at her sister Katelyn's wedding to Jedidiah Duggar on April 3, 2021.
She was a bridesmaid at her family friend David Keller's wedding to Hannah Reber on November 19, 2021.
She was a bridesmaid at her friend Lily Swanson's wedding to Cole Cwenar on May 24, 2024.