Jill Duggar’s Life After 19: Secrets and Shocking Turns, From Darkness to Light Jill Duggar and Unexpected Secrets!
Jill Duggar’s Life After 19: Secrets and Shocking Turns, From Darkness to Light Jill Duggar and Unexpected Secrets!
This article contains references to child sexual abuse.
Jill Michelle Duggar was just 13 years old when her unusually large family caught the media’s eye. A documentary about the Duggar family quickly spawned the long-running reality show “19 Kids & Counting.” (It actually began as “17 Kids,” but the clan expanded by two as the series went on.) For years, every aspect of her life was caught on camera for millions to see, from her daily chores to dentists’ visits, her marriage to Derick Dillard and her entry into motherhood. Not even the horrific scandal surrounding her oldest brother Josh Duggar, now serving time in prison, could stop the show; the producers simply rebranded it as “Counting On,” focusing on her and her married siblings. Finally, in 2017, Jill and Derick walked away from the series to pursue a private life.
Fans still enjoy getting updates on Jill’s doings through her social media posts and her family website. She’s seen wonderful joys and difficult trials, but through it all, she’s maintained her faith, her dignity, and her determination to live on her own terms. Here are some of the highlights of the former reality star.
Jill is happily married
Because their beliefs frown on casual dating, the adult Duggar sisters met their husbands through church work or family connections and went through a courtship period in preparation for tying the knot. Jill Duggar was the second of the sibling group to get married, and her engagement and wedding to Derick Dillard were witnessed by millions on Seasons 13 and 14 of “19 Kids & Counting.” Patriarch Jim Bob Duggar was their matchmaker; he’d met Derick, who was doing overseas missionary work at the time, and urged Jill to talk with the young man.
Some might see this as a divorce waiting to happen: a woman barely in her 20s marrying a man chosen by her dad, with TV cameras following them everywhere. But Jill and Derick are still going strong; indeed, they’re generally considered to be one of the happiest of the Duggar couples. Their shared struggles have brought them close, and Derick has been unswervingly supportive in the midst of Jill’s family drama. The Dillards recently relocated to the Arkansas-Oklahoma border, where Derick works as a prosecuting attorney while Jill is a busy at-home mom to their three sons. Trained as a midwife, Jill has hinted she might return to that line of work one day.
In 2024, the Dillards celebrated their 10th anniversary with a kid-free weekend getaway to Branson, Missouri featuring river tubing and a visit to the Silver Dollar City theme park. Jill got a bit queasy on one of the roller coasters, but considering all her personal ups and downs, it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.
Jill saw her brother brought to justice
One of the darkest aspects of Jill Dillard’s childhood was a secret the Duggar family covered up for years. Josh Duggar, the oldest of the 19 siblings, inappropriately touched several of his sisters as a young teen — Jill among them. Parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar sent him to a “training center” run by their controversial ministry for three months of prayer sessions and physical labor, but it wasn’t enough. In 2015 Josh was exposed as a user of the Ashley Madison website for married people looking to cheat, and around the same time, a tabloid broke the story of Josh’s past. Jill says she was pressured to do “damage control” for her brother Josh by giving an interview defending him.
Four years later, Josh was arrested for downloading child sexual abuse material on his work computer. The trial that followed drew international attention. Jill was put on the witness list, poised to testify about the abuse she had endured from her brother, but was never called to the stand. She didn’t have to; Josh was found guilty and sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison. The decision polarized her family. While Jill and several of her siblings supported the verdict and sentencing, Michelle and Josh’s wife Anna wrote letters to the sentencing judge begging for mercy. “After seeing all the evidence as it was presented, we believe that the jury reached a just verdict today, consistent with the truth beyond a reasonable doubt,” the Dillards wrote in their blog. “Nobody is above the law.”
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Jill’s relationship with her dad is still shaky
Even before the Josh scandal broke, there were hints all wasn’t all smiles and prayers in the Duggar household. Jill and Derick’s abrupt departure from “Counting On” left fans questioning, and gradually Jill began revealing answers. At first, she gave vague hints about “distancing” and “disagreements” (per People), but as she continued to build her life and heal from the past, she felt the strength to speak her truth. While she loves her dad Jim Bob, she claims he got so caught up in the fame and perks of the show that he neglected to act in her best interests. He withheld her earnings from the show and pressured her into signing an agreement that required her to be available for filming at any time. Jim Bob was also the one who coerced Jill to discuss her brother on TV, hoping to keep their show from getting yanked.
After some tense confrontations and attempts at mediation, Jill realized her relationship with her father would never be the same. She and Derick see him during family occasions — such as sister Jana Duggar’s wedding to Stephen Wissmann and brother Jason Duggar’s nuptials with Maddie Grace — but otherwise she keeps her distance. She’s closer to her mother, who was there to help with Frederick’s birth and who came to her aid when Jill needed gallbladder surgery just weeks later. Jill and her eight sisters also maintain their special bond; most recently, she joined Jessa, Joy, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn, Josie, and mom Michelle for lunch to celebrate Joy’s birthday. (Jana and Jinger, who live out of state, were there in spirit.)
https://www.instagram.com/joy4site/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=7464b69b-eb96-4674-9391-cbb4c159556f
Jill became a best-selling author
Fans and critics alike raised eyebrows sky-high when Jill announced the publication of her memoir, “Counting the Cost.” As expected, she detailed both the fun and the headaches of growing up on reality TV. But what really caught readers’ attention was Jill’s bravery in speaking about her father and about the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), the faith group in which she was raised. For the first time, fans realized how this Duggar daughter struggled to claim her privacy, her earnings, and her life choices. The book became a New York Times bestseller.
Jill surprised many once again when she and Derick appeared in the 2023 Amazon documentary “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” to speak out against the IBLP. In addition to revealing the group’s strict lifestyle rules — which included the modesty dress code followed by the Duggars — the exposé offered insights into the church’s toxic patriarchy, its questionable homeschooling curriculum, and the abuse that went on behind closed doors. It was a huge risk for Jill to take, not knowing what her family’s reaction would be. Indeed, Jim Bob and Michelle released a statement criticizing the docuseries and subtly scolding Jill for making their family business public. Brother James Duggar posted a cryptic social media message about maintaining calm in challenging times, as well as a glowing Father’s Day message shortly after the show aired. Even sister Jinger Duggar Vuolo, another critic of the IBLP, spoke out. She’d turned down an invitation to appear in the documentary, preferring “to share my story in my own words and my own timing” (via People).
But for Jill, sharing her trauma is part of her ongoing healing process. She may have paid the price for that honesty, but she’s no longer willing to put on a “shiny happy” face for the sake of her family’s rep.
Jill suffered two heartbreaking losses
Jill never aspired to have as many children as her mother did, so she and husband Derick planned their family through non-hormonal birth control. They welcomed son Israel in 2015 — his birth was documented in the TV series — and Samuel two years later. Then in October 2021, the Dillards announced the crushing news that Jill had miscarried their third child just days after learning she was pregnant. “Even though it was too early to tell the baby’s gender, we picked a name that we feel encompasses our baby’s significance and the life we will always remember: River Bliss Dillard,” they wrote on their website. Their prayers for another child were answered quickly; Frederick Michael, the third Dillard son, arrived nine months later.
In April 2024, fans grieved along with the Dillards when Jill suffered another heartbreaking loss of a daughter they named Isla Marie. She had just entered her second trimester when doctors discovered the baby had died in utero. Jill and Derick shared poignant photos of a pink-wrapped bundle and a small funeral service attended by family and friends. Months later, their sons helped lay flowers from their garden on the gravesite of the sister they never got to know.
Whether Jill and Derick plan to expand their family again is strictly their own business, but nothing will entirely ease the pain of their losses. Friends and fans continue to send cards and mementos in support of the bereaved parents.
Jill lives by the values she grew up with
Though she renounced the harsher IBLP rules long ago — she wears jeans, has a nose ring, and has sent her sons to public school — Jill Duggar Dillard still lives by many of the principles she learned as a child. She and Derick joined a Baptist church, and Jill reads the Bible regularly for guidance, comfort, and inspiration. Like her parents, who taught the value of living within one’s means, Jill practices budget-friendly habits such as growing her own vegetables in the summer and shopping at her favorite thrift store for clothes and toys.
The Duggar family has always been politically active. Dad Jim Bob is a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives and unsuccessfully ran for both the U.S. Senate and the Arkansas State Senate. In 2019, Jill’s brother Jedidiah Duggar also ran for Arkansas State Representative, but fell short of his goal. The clan also has a history of stumping for favorite candidates and marching in anti-abortion rallies. Keeping to the patriotic tradition, Jill posted photos of herself and Derick showing off their “I Voted” stickers after casting their ballots for the 2024 presidential race. (She didn’t mention whom she voted for, but fans had their own theories.)
What’s next for the fourth Duggar sibling? Perhaps she’ll continue her story in another book, or maybe she’ll be persuaded to come back to reality TV. Maybe she’ll think about pursuing a college degree or launching her own business one day. For now, Jill is content to raise her happy household and chart her own future.
