Jinger Duggar Shares Her Journey of Overcoming Challenges in a Famous Family
It is not easy growing up with 18 siblings, especially on reality TV. The former 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On star Jinger Duggar has never been silent on growing up with 18 siblings on national television, as she has always been honest about her experiences. Recently, she released a YouTube video with her husband Jeremy Vuolo, where they reflect on their first year of marriage and Jinger’s difficult upbringing on TV.
Viewers of the TLC show can remember that Jinger grew up with 18 siblings whilst being raised in a “cult-like” family. As she was raised in a religious family based on the teachings of Bill Gothard’s Institute for Basic Life Principles, she was raised on strict rules regarding gender, modesty, purity and more. Not only did growing up on TV affect her, but growing up with the teachings affected her adulthood as well.
In the video, Jeremy and Jinger shared some of Jinger’s unique challenges growing up on TV. “One of the most unique challenges that you and your family have is the reality of preconceived ideas of who you are,” Jeremy said. “Because people have seen you in a setting on a show, they’ve seen you so intimately for so many years, that really any setting you walk into where there is a pre-knowledge of you, you’re having to deal with preconceptions about you. And I can’t imagine how difficult that is to overcome.”
The Former ‘19 Kids and Counting’ and ‘Counting On’ Star Gets Candid About Her Upbringing
In the video, Jinger also opened up about having an identity crisis. She says, “On the show, I was so outgoing, had so much personality, was just rolling my eyes, acting silly, goofy. And then, I think the older I got, I went through a season where I thought, ‘OK, to be a mature Christian I just don’t need to laugh. I just need to be all pious and keep it together, so I look like I’m extra spiritual … But I think a lot of it was the temperament and personality of what people thought I was.
“On the show, I feel like I wasn’t living in a character because that’s legit who I was …,” she continued. “Coming out of that and then growing into an adult as you’re filming, I think there was a time where I’m like, ‘Am I an extrovert? Am I more introverted?’”
Last year, Jinger released a memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, where she opened up about her cult-like family and her upbringing. She is also releasing another book next year, People Pleaser, where she will likely explore her upbringing more. As of now, her relationship with her parents, Michelle Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar is strained, and her siblings grew up and started their own lives for themselves. Jana Duggar got married, and Jason Duggar is now engaged.
In the video, Jinger also opened up about the effect growing up on TV had on her. “I think I just became more guarded,” she shared. “I don’t know how much of it was the reality of what everybody thought I was supposed to be. I just kept playing into it, right? Realizing, OK, I like to have fun. I like to be spontaneous. That is me. But I’m also not going to be this wild person, you know? That’s really not me at my core. And a lot of people had a preconceived idea that I was going to run off and be this rebel, and they had painted a character of who they thought I was going to be.”
