TLC has brought us a lot of reality television shows centered around unique families, but perhaps one of the most unique (and the family that kind of started all the craze) is the Duggar family from 19 Kids and Counting. Their conservative beliefs and lifestyle made their show interesting to watch every week. Along with these conservative beliefs came some rather strange rules and facts about the Duggar family. We have compiled a few of the most interesting and unique facts for you below. Enjoy!
In order to make the reading experience of this article more convenient, the article has been split up into multiple pages. At the end of each page, you will see a “next” button which will take you to the next page. Enjoy your reading!
Michelle’s Been Pregnant For 12 Years!
Michelle Duggar doesn’t believe in birth control, so with this belief, it is easy to see why a good chunk of her life has been spent with a child. In fact, from the oldest Joshua to the youngest Josie, Michelle has been pregnant for 12 years in total.
Michelle has really changed the way we view pregnancy. They say that giving birth is the hardest thing anyone can do. Well, if you can spend a good chunk of your life pregnant and popping out baby after baby, it can’t be that hard, right? Perhaps Michelle and her husband, Jim Bob, should put a lid on it.
Jim Bob Has to Approve the Boyfriend
The relationship between a daughter and father is special. Most dads are protective of their little girls, and Jim Bob is no exception. Sharing a bathroom with one or two siblings can be difficult enough, but try sharing one with 20 other people. All of the hot water is probably out after the fourth person takes a shower, leaving 80% of the family bathing in freezing water.
We don’t know much about the hot-water situation or whether they believe in it (you’ll find all sorts of weird beliefs in the Duggar household as you read on), but we do know that they have nine bathrooms at home and seven showers. So, maybe tardiness isn’t that huge of a problem for the Duggars.
Jim Bob controls his daughters’ love lives
Parents, listen closely. Being protective of your children is fine and all, but there’s a fine line between protective and overbearing. The helicopter parenting style of Jim Bob has got to be one of the creepiest things we’ve ever seen. For the elder Duggars, there’s really no such thing as privacy.
And this is especially true when it comes to their children’s love lives. The “gatekeeper” has to give his thumbs-up when any guy asks his daughters out. This might not seem that odd, but what is unbelievable is that he’ll go out of his way to play matchmaker with people he thinks are suitable mates for his kids.
Taking group chats to the next level
Playing matchmaker is one thing, but playing an active role in your child’s love life is beyond weird, to say the least. To stay in the loop, mom and dad request that children with boyfriends or girlfriends add them to a group chat where the four of them can share messages, videos, and memes.
It’s crucial that the parents know exactly what’s going on in their kids’ love lives for reasons unknown to mankind. There are some things a mom and dad don’t want to hear about. Well, for most parents, anyway. Jim Bob and Michelle love sticking their noses in places they don’t belong.
A house full of little helpers
You’d think that with 19 kids (and counting) to take care of, a clean household would be virtually nonexistent. However, the opposite is true for the Duggar clan. Every child has a specific job that they need to take care of. After all, mom and dad are too busy making more babies handle basic household chores (this is a semi-joke, by the way).
The good news is that the kids earn an allowance for the jobs they do. For every chore, each Duggar kid and teen gets a whopping 3¢! After 33 days of doing the same thing over and over again, you’ll have about $1 to your name. Score!
No birth control
We mentioned earlier that Michelle and Jim Bob don’t believe in birth control. Well, it’s not that they don’t think birth control works, but it works in ways that are against their religious beliefs. According to them and whatever whacky source, they get their info from, birth control causes miscarriages.
However, there might have been a good reason for believing such a thing. In the beginning, the couple only planned on having a couple of kids, and Michelle was on the pill. But something in her body might’ve reacted negatively to the pills, and instead of blocking pregnancies, it terminated them midway through.
Stay on the blanket!
Moms and dads have all sorts of rules to keep their children in check. We can imagine mom and dad double down on these rules in order to stop a dozen or more babies, toddlers, and children from wreaking havoc at home. But one rule, known as the blanket rule, is borderline abusive.
To condition their kids from behaving naughtily, Michelle will lay down a blanket, on which the child must stay. If even a finger exists on the blanket’s borders, they’re in for a swatting. No, this isn’t a joke. She’ll go HAM on them with a ruler. People don’t even treat their dogs this way!
First-date tag-along crew
Your first date with a boyfriend or girlfriend can be super-uncomfortable. If you guys don’t know each other very well, then you’ll have the spend the first couple of hours introducing yourselves and trying to remember random facts opposite your date. But if you’re a part of the Duggar brood, mom or dad might be able to help you in the most awkward way possible.
If you want to date one of the Duggar girls, make sure you bring enough money to pay for mom and dad’s dinners. You see, Jim Bob and Michelle have made it a rule to tag along to make sure nobody gets handsy and breaks their very strict dating rules. Or maybe they want a free meal.
No premarital social media
We’re not going to get in on the whole “is social media appropriate for children” debate because, well, it doesn’t matter. Kids will find a way to make an account on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, whatever, and spread and consume all sorts of misinformation on the internet. As parents, there’s nearly nothing you can do to stop it.
Unless you’re a Duggar mom or dad, and then you can just outright ban social media. The tiny Duggars can’t get on social media until they after they’re married, which is cruel and unusual punishment. Even their 30-plus-year-old daughter, Jana, has to adhere to this ridiculous rule.
Married at 19 and 17
The 1980s were a very different time. Back then, mullets were the hottest hairstyle, people had no concept of clothing color coordination, and people got married a lot younger. To give you an idea, Jim Bob was 19 by the time he married Michelle who was 17 at the time. Looking at Arkansas law, the age of consent is 17 years old, so there’s no legal problem there.
However, Jim Bob was ready to provide for his wife and family. He worked as a realtor at his parents’ real estate brokerage agency, and he was rolling in dough. However, the dough reserves would dwindle as they increased their child count past number three.
“Nike!”
As a parent, protecting your children from the harsh realities of life outside of the household is downright impossible. You can only hope that you’ve taught your kids enough about what’s good and bad so they can make the best decisions for themselves. But if you have 18 other siblings, you should be able to take care of each other as well.
The Duggar children have a safe word they scream out whenever a scantily clad woman is around. The first boy to spot her will say, “Nike!” to warn his brothers to avert their eyes. We don’t imagine that this will work every time. After all, boys will be boys.
Only grownups wear pants
If you were ever bored enough to watch this show, then you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme among the Duggar women and girls. None of them are allowed to put on pants. Period. From a young age, Jim Bob and Michelle have taught their children to wear modest clothing, and pants, as we all know, are the clothing of the Devil.
That is until you’ve become an adult, then the Duggar kids can wear what they want as long as they keep it modest. However, some of the girls don’t mind getting an earful for wearing pants on occasion. Talk about living on the edge!
Their rules apply to others
If you thought the Duggar’s rules couldn’t get weirder, you’re in for a treat. One time, when Jill was training to become a midwife, one of her unmarried, pregnant friends asked her for help. Initially, mom and dad had no problem with their daughter lending out a helping hand (who wouldn’t?), but after learning that the friend wasn’t married, they changed their minds completely.
Imagine having that awkward conversation with your friend. “Sorry, I can’t help you with your pregnancy, despite me being a midwife, because… well… mom said no.” Why was it mom’s business in the first place? Nobody will ever know.
You’re hugging wrong
We’ve heard of helicopter parenting, but the Duggars take it to several levels beyond that. Even when it comes to hugging, you’re supposed to hug a certain way, at least if you’re a part of the Duggar clan and aren’t married. You see, Jim Bob only permits his children to give and receive side hugs while still unmarried.
After they’re married, they can hug however they want; from above, from below, from across the ocean. Seeing as how part-of-their-children’s-lives Jim Bob and Michelle are, we’d hate to think how domineering they’ll become after their children get married. It must be a total nightmare.
Tearing apart a wedding dress
On your wedding day, it’s tradition to wear the gown your mother wore on her wedding day. While the Duggars want to stick to tradition, with so many daughters at home, this was an issue that they had to face. Instead of passing down the same worn-out dress from sister to sister a zillion times, they came up with another solution.
Instead, Michelle broke the wedding gown down and gave pieces of it to her daughter. That way, they’d all get a little bit of their mom’s gown to come that fateful night they can legally leave the household. That’s pretty sweet if you ask us.
Can’t stay in the same room with the opposite gender
This rule doesn’t seem too out-of-the-box. After all, with your teenager’s hormones going in every which direction, you can never tell what he or she will be up to behind closed doors. So, when the Duggar parents prohibit their kids from staying in the same room while unsupervised with their partners, this isn’t too big of a problem, right?
Well, what if we told you that this rule extends to family, as well? And not just cousins and uncles. We’re talking about brothers and sisters not being able to play with each other. Yeah, even when they’re innocent kids who still think that the opposite gender has cooties. You’ll see why this rule exists in a bit.
Only ‘til death do you part
In the unofficial Duggar handbook, there’s D-word that strikes fear in everyone’s hearts: divorce. If you’re married, you’re not allowed to divorce your partner for whatever reason. That means if he or she is unfaithful, failing to provide for the family, or does anything wrong deserving of being handed over divorce papers, you’re in the relationship for life.
Michelle received the ultimate test a few years ago when her husband was caught in a scandal that involved signing up with a well-known website to help married people cheat. Not only that but he was accused of being with minors. Michelle set the ultimate example by sticking by her man, which we think was incredibly ridiculous.
Advice on female roles
Thankfully, Jim Bob doesn’t play too big of a role in determining female roles in the Duggar household. This job falls into the hands of the matriarch of the family. Michelle tells her daughters the same-old-same-old you’d expect from any super-conservative family, like stay in the kitchen, don’t talk back, and so on.
On top of all of her “helpful” advice, Michelle also gives marriage advice to her kids. We know that she tells her daughters to stay with their husbands through thick and thin, but we can’t imagine what other things pop into her head when describing married life with her daughters.
That’s a lot of Js
If you’ve ever watched to show, you probably noticed a recurring theme in the names of their children. All of their kids’ names begin with the letter J. There’s Jill, Joshua, Jackson, Josie, Jana, Jessa, Jinger (really?), Joy-Anna, Jennifer, Justin, Johannah, Jordyn-Grace, John-David, Josiah, James, Jedidiah (of course), Jeremiah (of course V2.0), and Jason.
Jim Bob and Michelle didn’t plan to give all of their kids J names in the beginning. First, there was Joshua, and then came the twins, John and Ana. At this time, they decided that every kid’s name should start with J, so they tacked the letter in front of Ana’s name.
Unpaid babysitter
All older brothers and sisters know how difficult babysitting can be. You could have planned out with your friends, but then mom asks you out of the blue to watch over your siblings. One or two siblings can be hard enough, but imagine having to babysit six of them at the same time! That’s a lot of feeding and diapers to change!
However, we can’t imagine the kids fighting with their parents about babysitting duties. After all, they hardly have any freedoms of their own and spend the entire day with their brothers and sisters anyway. Sadly, they don’t get paid for babysitting.
Quiverfull or not?
The Quiverfull Movement is a radical branch of Christian belief. Among other things, those that adhere to the Quiverfull principles are against birth control in every shape or form, including family planning. Children are a grace of God, so if you have 19 kids or more, you’re a blessed person.
Now, as to whether the Duggars actually subscribe to this belief is up for debate. They’ve explicitly said that they do not, though many of their rules, including their ideas on the pill, are extremely similar to Quiverfull’s. Not that it matters anyway since every individual is entitled to believe in whatever they want.
Gift cards, please
Most soon-to-be-married couples create a registry to tell their guests what gifts they prefer. This is completely and expected no different from the Duggar family when Jessa and Ben finally tied the knot. However, what’s not normal is relying on the kindness of your viewers to send you gift cards and other wedding gifts.
If we were famous and on TV, we’d probably do the same thing. Or not since, you know, that’s pretty embarrassing. However, the Duggar family has a completely different idea of what “embarrassing” entails, so we’re hardly surprised by their shameless begging. We wonder whether any fans actually send gift cards to the happy couple.
Tattoo taboo
If you didn’t know by now, the Duggar family is ultra-religious. They take the words of the Bible almost completely literally, and this means staying the heck away from tattoos or skin art of any kind. You won’t find Jim Bob at a tattoo parlor or Michelle with bellybutton piercings, and they expect as much from their brood.
In fact, according to the family, this taboo is right up there with premarital getting-it-on. As we said earlier, these guys are religious. We don’t blame them for not wanting their kids to have tattoos since you’d never put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari, right?
No relaxing beach days
There’s nothing more satisfying than heading down to the beach, getting in your finest swimsuit, and soaking up the rays or playing beach volleyball. Or you can just lay in the sand while sporting an inch-thick layer of sunscreen for the next couple of hours. Sadly, none of the Duggars can enjoy these simple things in life, at least until they’re married anyway.
The male Duggars would probably be screaming out “NIKE!!!” every second they’re on the beach, so maybe there’s a very good reason why they don’t go. There are other places you can swim or get your feet wet after all.
Baptists or not at all
One of the main criteria for marrying one of the Duggar children is that you have to follow the Baptist Church’s teachings. Sorry, believers of the Trinity, but unless you change your beliefs that salvation is through God alone, Jim Bob and Michelle will quickly usher you out of the door.
This isn’t the weirdest thing in the world, to be honest. In fact, many of our parents would probably want their potential DIL or SIL to subscribe to the same faith as them, so we’re definitely not knocking the Duggars down for this one. Believe what you want and do what’s best for your children… unless you’re totally nuts.
Calling your teacher “mom”
If you were wondering why the Duggars had to reach out to their fans for wedding gifts, this might be the answer. As soon as one of the Duggar children is old enough for school, they don’t go. Mother Michelle teaches them everything they need, from kindergarten all the way up to high school.
Michelle was also homeschooled by her mother, so we completely understand why she’d want to homeschool her children. She only asks that her children follow in her footsteps and continue the tradition with her grandchildren, something that her daughters aren’t completely on board with. That’s progress, at least.
Parental guidance on how to kiss
Okay, so dictating how your child hugs a boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage is pretty odd, but that’s nothing compared to this. As you can imagine, the Duggars aren’t allowed to lock lips with their partners until after they’re married. However, to prepare them for the realities of showing affection through kissing, mom and dad are there to help.
No, we don’t mean showing their children videos, which would be gross. No, no, no, these guys take it way past appropriate. Jim Bob and Michelle actually lock lips with their daughters to show them how to kiss. What?! If this isn’t illegal, it should be. We’re calling it the Duggar Law.
You may kiss the bride in private
While we’re on the subject of kissing, you might be interested to learn that the Duggar kids on their wedding day don’t feel like kissing in public. When the minister says the groom can kiss the bride, they don’t. They’d rather do that in private, which we think is perfectly fine. After all, putting your mouth on something is the most intimate thing you can do, right?
So, when Jessa and Ben tied the knot, they didn’t do the kissy part in front of their wedding guests. She was feeling a bit shy and preferred doing it in the privacy of their own room. She probably didn’t want her dad screaming at her from his seat, telling her, “that’s not how you kiss the groom! This is how you do it!”
Pass the butter with a slingshot
With so many people at home, it’s reasonable to think that everything in the household either has to be oversized or available in high numbers. Let’s talk about the dinner table real quick. In order for everyone to get a seat, the Duggars had to get the biggest, widest table they could find for their moderately-sized kitchen.
What they ended up with is an 18-foot-long table, which allows everyone enough clearance to play with their cutlery without bumping elbows. Passing side dishes must be a pain in the neck. By the time it reaches your side of the table, it’s already cold.
A lot of dirty laundry
We told you that everything in the Duggar household was either oversized or high in number. Now, let’s take a look at their laundry room which consists of four washers and dryers. With so many people wearing so many clothes and changing them so often, it’s only a matter of minutes before the dirty laundry pile is the size of Mount Everest.
According to the family, they need to do 40 loads of laundry every week on average. This means there are times when they’d have to go beyond that, which must be a strain on the women (they do the laundry) and their washing machines.
The Rod
If you thought disciplining 19 kids would be trouble for Jim Bob and Michelle, think again. To ensure that their kids stay within the defined boundaries of what’s acceptable and not at home, they employ the help of The Rod. This isn’t just some flimsy switch they use to gently slap their kids’ hands either. It’s, in every literal sense, a freaking rod.
We’re all for physical punishment when it comes to disciplining children. In fact, if more kids were spanked, we wouldn’t have mumble rap. But if you’re swinging a rod at your son for, say, playing with toys with his sister, then we’ve got a problem.
Breaking ties
There was one daughter who was raised in a conservative household until adulthood: Jill, the second child. She stuck to every ridiculous rule, did whatever her parents told her, and probably even went through the same kissing course with her mom and dad. But as soon as she was married, she got the hell out of there.
Since then, she’s broken all ties with her mom and dad. Many of her siblings are also unhappy about the way she left, so she lost contact with them as well. We wish you all the best, Jill. We believe we’re not alone when we tell you, “you did the right thing.”
A failed politician
Jim Bob works professionally as a realtor. He’ makes a pretty hefty sum of money doing what he does. How else would he feed over 20 months, three times a day, every day of the year, for however many years they’re under his control? However, he once had aspirations of becoming a politician.
In fact, he was pretty successful before the cameras came a-rollin’. He served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for three years. When that stint was over, he ran for senate, but he came up short. Since then, he’s been out of the political sphere and showing us the inner workings of his family on TLC.
No boogying until after you’re married
If hugging and kissing are against the Duggar rules, then you can bet your bottom dollar that dancing is, too. Also, you can’t even dance at home with your brothers or sisters since, as they put it, “dancing leads to impure thoughts.” Fornite dancers, listen closely to Jim Bob!
However, when the children are grown and married, they can dance all they want. All that pent-up boogying energy probably comes out of them in the form of the macarena. Or not since dancing was pretty much taught to them as a tool of the Devil to lead you astray.
Always at odds
Some sibling rivalries never seem to end. It doesn’t matter that one of the children is already grown up and out of the home. Whenever two conflicting siblings meet up, for good and happy moments, everything will instantly go south. The two Duggars that never seem to see eye-to-eye with each other are Jana and Jessa.
Jana, being the younger sister, is always questioning her older sister’s authority. We totally get where she’s coming from, especially since she’s a growing teenager who needs to spread her wings from time to time. It turns out that there’s a bit of normalcy in the Duggar brood after all.
No romance novels at all
You definitely won’t find any Twilight novels on the bookshelf at the Duggar home. Maybe something like Amish Vampires by Kerry Nietz would be more turned to the conservative family’s taste. No? Well, they’re definitely missing out.
Just kidding. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the title should tell you plenty about how ridiculous the book is. Maybe the Duggar parents are onto something.
Don’t even think about premarital shenanigans
A brother playing with his sister is bad. Hugging is bad. Kissing is bad. Getting a tattoo is bad. If all of these things are bad, then try and think about how the mom and dad feel about premarital shenanigans. That’s right. It’s bad as well.
Though considering how deeply religion plays a role in the Duggar household, is it really a surprise? They do take the New Testament’s words literally, which would indicate that getting down and funky before marriage is definitely out of the question. So, yeah, nothing else to see here, folks. Let’s move on.
Speaking using soft words
We’ve heard of using your indoor voice before, but in the Duggar household, you should never, ever raise your voice. The threat of being introduced forcefully to The Rod should be a good enough reason to “use your soft words” as the family puts it.
With over 20 people at home, not having your words drowned by another conversation should be a problem. However, since everyone’s using soft words and hushed tones to speak, we’re guessing everybody can get a word in. That’s not too bad if you ask us. But we’re guessing mom and dad have the final say in everything that goes on.
$3,000/month on groceries
Let’s talk about the obvious for a minute. Jim Bob has over 20 mouths in his household to feed. That means he has to cash a fat check each and every month to keep their tummies filled with delicious and nutritious food.
But $3,000 words of food is a lot, and that’s just in a single month! How much did they have to spend on diapers while their kids were still growing up? How much on the formula? How much for doctor visits? But somehow, Jim Bob makes it work. We’re guessing that check from TLC helps out a bit as well. Whatever the case, good job, Jim Bob.
Brothers and sisters can’t play with each other
We repeatedly mentioned that the boys can’t play with the girls. What’s the underlying reason for creating such barriers between siblings? Well, there’s a pretty dark secret that the family has failed to hide, which we’ll talk about later on. But the reason they’re selling to their kids is that boys and girls together don’t make for good playmates.
Take it however you want, but when it comes to brothers and sisters, we think there shouldn’t be a problem at all. And this is especially true when they’re still kids! Boys can play with dolls, and girls can play with racecars. There’s no shame in that!
Must adhere to household dress codes
As you might’ve already guessed by how we described the Duggars throughout this article, they have a pretty strict dress code, even at home. The girls can only wear dresses and skirts, while the guys can wear shorts. Seems pretty discriminatory if you ask us.
However, some of the women in the Duggar group aren’t completely okay with the dress code. Even before leaving home, they’ve put on pants, perhaps out of spite. Arguments did break out regarding what the women could wear or not, but it appears that Jim Bob and Michelle aren’t enforcing this rule as they once were.
Two bedrooms
With nine bathrooms and seven showers, you’d think that there’s be more space for every child to sleep, but this isn’t the case. In fact, all of the kids still living with their parents have to share two bedrooms with each other. One bedroom for the boys, another for the girls.
We’re guessing that privacy is pretty much out of the door, assuming it can slide its way past all of the children’s belongings. Not like there was very much privacy in the first place. When one child leaves home, the others probably breathe a collective sigh of relief while feeling guilty about their sibling’s departure.
Jason’s starting his own construction company
Jason is the 12th kid out of the Duggar brood. He, like his father, plans to become an entrepreneur one day. In fact, he started building his own construction company at a pretty young age. That’s impressive, considering that he limited experience in how to deal with people outside of the Duggar family.
Jason is what his nephews and nieces call the “funicle.” Every December, he heads to South America to not just spread the Good Word but also hand out candy and other fun treats to the children. The best of luck to your construction biz, Jason!
Jennifer’s planning her escape route
Jennifer is the 17th sibling. Michelle gave birth to Jennifer while the cameras were rolling, so fans got to know Jennifer from the very beginning. In fact, the reality TV show might’ve just been a regular part of her life since it was all she knew from birth.
She’s considered to be the shyest girl of the bunch, which makes sense since she’s also one of the youngest. However, rumor has it that she plans on leaving her home as soon as possible. Hang on for just three more years, girl, then you’ll be a legal adult that can make her own decisions!
Josie’s got pipes!
Josie is the youngest of the Duggar clan whose birth was a shock for Michelle. Due to pregnancy complications, Michelle went under the knife to have the Josie extracted from her body. Weighing in at just over a pound at birth, people were doubtful as to whether she would make it.
But make it she did, and with flying colors. Not only did she grow up perfectly healthy, but she also came out of a sticky situation singing. Josie has the pipes of a professional musician. Maybe after she leaves the Duggar home, she can pursue a career in the music industry.
A 1,500-person wedding guest list
Jill Duggar is the fourth child and arguably one of the most popular of the 19-member Duggar party. From a young age, she was already learning how to play the piano and violin. She never sought a career in music, but instead, she became a certified midwife (the one who couldn’t help her unwed friend give birth).
On her wedding day, there were reportedly over 1,500 people in attendance. Most people like to keep these ceremonies small, but Jill isn’t one of those people. Hopefully, she didn’t ask for gift cards from her fans on her wedding day.
16 Children and Moving in
The title of the reality TV show has changed several times over the years, depending on how many Duggar kids there were at the time. However, it all started when Jim Bob and Michelle appeared on TV after receiving a much-needed renovation on their home. From there, TV execs decided to create a show surrounding their large family called 16 Children and Moving in.
But when Michelle gave birth to her 17th child, they created an entirely different series called 17 Kids and Counting. As more time went by and more Duggar kids popped out, they increased the number until it finally stopped at 19 Kids and Counting. However, with the and Counting still there, we might expect a title renewal sometime in the future.
Renewed marriage vows
Despite the allegations of Jim Bob’s infidelity, Michelle wasn’t going anywhere. After all, that’s exactly what she taught her daughters to do. However, regretful for making such wrong decisions in his life, Jim Bob decided that he and Michelle should renew their wedding vows.
Ever since then, the Duggar children gather around on their parents’ anniversary to relisten to the updated wedding vows. Maybe this is a safety measure to keep dad in check. Or maybe they just like listening to how genuine he sounds in the recording. Anyway, what happened happened, and Michelle has forgiven him for all of his mistakes. It’s time we move on.
A dark stain on the goody-goody lifestyle
Now, onto the juicy bits, we feel guilty for talking about. The eldest Duggar son, Joshua, has a pretty dark stain from his past. Joshua reportedly groped his sisters on multiple occasions. We won’t go into detail about what he did, but let’s just say it was bad enough that Jim Bob had to actually report his own son.
He confirmed all of the reports, expressing guilt for his past actions and begging for forgiveness from his family’s fans. Although the family has forgiven him, TLC hadn’t. They created a spin-off series, Counting On, without including the eldest Duggar child. Yeesh.
The miscarriage
Another dark stain on the family’s past was Michelle’s miscarriage. This took place in 2011 during the pregnancy of Jim Bob and Michelle’s 20th child together. They had planned to name their youngest daughter Jubliee Shalom, but only one month after their announcement, Michelle miscarried.
Since then, there were rumors that the Duggar couple didn’t have plans to try again. However, some analysts have argued that this might not be the case. Although a miscarriage can be traumatic to all parties involved, Michelle might be different. Some people claim that Michelle is suffering from something known as “baby hunger.”
“Baby hunger”
NO! We don’t mean she’s not eating her own children! C’mon guys, grow up! They say that women tend to forget about the pains and stresses of pregnancy, and Michelle is the perfect example of it. In fact, she’s been pregnant for 12 years out of the 54 years she’s been on this planet.
But is the trauma of miscarrying a child a good enough reason to stop what she’s done for so long? Some say no, she might have a 20th child soon enough. We don’t completely agree with the idea of anyone having 20 children, but she can do whatever the heck she wants. She’s rolling in reality TV money!
“Motherless” children
Here’s something that many people might not realize about the Duggar household. Because Michelle has been pregnant for so long and so many times, the kids have pretty much had to grow up by themselves. Sure, they have their brothers and sisters to rely on, but with dad working and mom incapacitated (pregnancy sickness and whatnot), they’re pretty much “motherless.”
We’re just glad that Michelle still dedicates whatever time and energy she has to help raise her kids how she feels is right. A mother’s love is irreplaceable, but being there for the brightest moments in your life will mean a lot. Remember to tell your mothers that you love them!
The camera crew loves the family
For the viewers, it might be frustrating to see that the Duggar kids are subject to a bunch of strange rules. It must feel weird having front-row seats and not stepping into at least salvage whatever sanity is left in the children. However, the camera crew not only enjoys doing their job but also enjoys being around the Duggar family.
And it’s not just about having a job, either. The production crew actually does activities with the Duggar family (not on the screen, of course). The family must be pretty chill if they can get to know and even hang out with the guys whose job it is to stick their noses and cameras all up in their business.
The Duggars don’t keep good company
This is pretty subjective, but rumors have sprouted that the Duggar family isn’t the best at keeping good company. Most of the complaints about who the Duggars associate with is based on their religious beliefs.
Bill Gothard, a minister whom the family closely follows, has been publicly accused of improper conduct. In fact, it was this man who helped Jim Bob when the allegations of infidelity came to light. Another minister and close friend of the Duggars, Doug Philips, has also had his fair share of lawsuits regarding harassment toward women. With friends like these, who needs enemies.
Homophobia
Is it really surprising that the Duggar family is homophobic? Just look at their history! Well, everything was going swimmingly until Michelle discovered that one of the production crew members was gay. This upset Michelle, and TLC had to remove the guy from the set and put him in another filming crew.
All of this was on the down-low, so the network paid the guy big bucks to keep his mouth shut. Even though the current production crew is pretty tight-knit with the Duggars, they do have to walk on eggshells when speaking with them. Remember: the Duggar family comes first!
