JILL Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard have been taking down her family and patriarch Jim Bob for years, often calling out their strict rules and “hypocrisy.”
Derick recently slammed Jim Bob’s “manipulation and lies” after his son Josh was found guilty of child pornography charges, but that was just the latest in a long stream of outspoken moments.
Most recently, the family is dealing with the aftermath of Josh being found guilty of both possessing and receiving child pornography, but Jill and Derick’s desire to distance themselves from her family started years ago.
In 2014, Jill first slowly started to move away from her conservative family and her strict upbringing after she married her husband Derick.
A major turning point arrived in 2015 when it emerged that Josh molested five underage girls, including Jill.
She and Derick quit their family reality show, Counting On, two years later and have amped up their feud with Jim Bob.
The father-of-two claimed that Jim Bob had tried to force him to sign an NDA in 2019 but that “the truth” was more important, and that the show had “begged” Jill and Derick to return but they refused.
The couple have often publicly condemned the Duggar family patriarch, as well as others in the family and the severe rules members are supposed to follow.
Derick claimed to The Sun that he was “strongly discouraged” from talking to family members about compensation from their reality show.
He alleged that he and his wife were not paid for their appearances on Counting On, and the claim caused a further rift with Jill’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, and the patriarch banned them from the family compound.
He said of why he’s now chosen to speak out: “First and foremost, I want to do what’s best for my family.
“This includes the timeline of what I share, when I share it, and how I do so.”
He also told The Sun how their feud has caused a rift in their relationship with her siblings.
Derick said: “Because our visitation to the Duggar house has been restricted and that is where they and their spouses hang out, we have not been able to see other family as much as we would like, so that is difficult.”
As for his claim of being banned from the family compound, Derick said: “I think [Jim Bob’s] mainly worried about the influence we might have on his children.”
Jill and Derick have often rebelled against the conservative family in recent years.
Jill has broken the family’s modest dress code, as she’s worn jeans and tank tops, and the mother of Israel, six, and Samuel, four, also got her nose pierced and cut her hair short.
They also chose to enroll their oldest son in public school, despite the Duggar tradition of homeschooling their children, and they allow their children to listen to rave music as opposed to strictly Christian songs.
In a series of comments posted on Instagram, Derick said he “hopes” Jill’s siblings find a way to “break free” from their father’s control, as well.
As the Counting On couple continued to move away from the strict Duggar rules, they started to spend even more time with fellow family rebel, cousin Amy Duggar and her husband Dillon King.
Last year, Derick flaunted his decision to consume alcohol during his and Jill’s double date with them.
Jill not only visited a whiskey and cigar lounge, but she skipped out on her dad Jim Bob’s 55th birthday party with the family to do so.
Derick commented on the fun outing, writing: “Thanks for treating us! We had a great time!
“Good food, drinks, and company (not necessarily in that order ;)”
After seeing Derick’s note, fans congratulated the “reformed Counting On cast member,” as he refers to himself as, on “drinking alcohol now.”
Jill has also opened up about foregoing her family’s rules and drinking now, too, and has posted photos of her with alcohol on Instagram.
Continuing to publicly defy Jim Bob, Jill and Derick revealed they use birth control to prevent pregnancy despite the fact that her parents forbid it.
They made the reveal after uploading a YouTube video to their channel where they answered some Counting On fan questions about their small family.
Jill then got a bit more straight-forward with her anger toward her parents when she admitted that she’d “had enough” of her strict parents trying to “control where she lived and what jobs she accepted.”
She revealed in an interview with PEOPLE that the real reason why she left the show in 2017 was that she and her husband had lost the power to control their lives, thanks to Jim Bob and Michelle.
Jill shared how her decision to quit “didn’t go over very well with anyone.”
“By that point, we’d had enough. We knew we had to pull out completely to reevaluate and get our bearings,” the former reality TV star said.
Since leaving the show, they’ve since accused the family reality series of staging fake scenes, claiming Jill filmed “saying goodbye” to Derick during their first meeting in Nepal – before turning back and staying another week with him.
Jill, then 22, was accompanied by dad Jim Bob, as well as Counting On crew, to see Derick, then 25, who was in the country on a mission trip, and the pair also revealed they had some secret time alone, against the patriarch’s rules.
Derick was quick to admit their first date was actually “unchaperoned” while celebrating the eighth anniversary of when they first started dating with some throwback photos of their time in Nepal.
He wrote: “I definitely enjoyed our unchaperoned motorcycle ride around the area.
“And I have fond memories of the extra week we had over Thanksgiving to enjoy more intimate time together and get to know each other even better.”
After Jill’s brother Josh was arrested on child pornography charges earlier this year and through his recent trial, which found him to be guilty on both charges, Jill and Derick called out the ex reality star and those who surrounded him, including Jim Bob.
The two first said they “hope justice is done” after when he was arrested in April and told The Sun that they were “very sad” about the whole situation.
Shortly after it was revealed Josh was found guilty earlier this month, Jill and Derick took to their family website to share a statement on the matter, saying “nobody is above the law.”
They wrote: “We are thankful for the hard work of law enforcement, including investigators, forensic analysts, prosecutors, and all others involved who save kids and hold accountable those responsible for their abuse.”
The couple continued: “We have been lied to so much that we wanted to hear the evidence for ourselves in court.
“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.”
Days afterward, Derick called out his estranged father-in-law, who’s running for the Arkansas State Senate District 7 seat, in the comments section of a Facebook post.
He wrote: “It’s sad that this isn’t an isolated incident. I used to have much respect for Jim Bob, as my father-in-law, and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt for years.
“Unfortunately it’s only become clearer to us over time just how deep this man’s manipulation and deceit will go for his own gain, at the expense of others.”
The Counting On alum continued: “He has lied to my wife and I numerous times.
“Contrary to his campaign, he does not believe in freedom, but his manipulation has resulted in what is akin to human trafficking.”
Derick claimed that Jim Bob, 56, is “not humble” in private, adding that his father-in-law is “defensive and verbally abusive.”
Jill’s cousin Amy took to her Instagram Story to share a screenshot of the whole comment Derick had written on Facebook.
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS
