The Surprising Reason Josiah Duggar Says He and Marjorie Jackson Really Split

The Duggar kids are growing up – which means learning to navigate the world of courtships, a Duggar-approved way of dating that has couples getting to know each other as a preparation for marriage.

As for Josiah Duggar, 19, he’s already experienced his own version of a breakup after calling it quits on his courtship with Marjorie Jackson, 18, last summer after four months.

“Marjorie and I had a good time together,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “We were just trying to follow God’s lead on everything. She didn’t feel that it was the right timing then, so we called it quits for a bit.”

• For more on the Duggars’ lives these days, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

That being said, who knows what the future holds?

“We have time to grow … you never know,” Josiah continues. “But when you think about a girl to marry, you ask what kind of guy she would want to marry and you try to be that kind of guy.”

In April, Josiah revealed exclusively to PEOPLE that he had officially entered into a courtship with Marjorie, and the two even made an appearance in a special TLC clip shortly afterward to explain what courtship means in their own words. (The two met when Josiah was taking Spanish lessons from Marjorie’s mother, Analucia.)

In August, the Duggar family and the Jackson family announced the end of the courtship in a statement to PEOPLE, revealing both Josiah and Marjorie were “thankful for the time getting to know each other and that their families continue to enjoy each other’s company and close friendship.”

Counting On premieres March 15 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.