What Happened To 19 Kids & Counting Star Jill Duggar?

Jill Duggar was once a central figure in the infamous TLC reality show "19 Kids & Counting" and its follow-up "Counting On." In the years since the show ended in 2020, Jill has carved out a quiet life that is both grounded and independent from the media spectacle that once surrounded her and her family. Married to Derick Dillard since 2014, Jill is now a devoted wife and mother of three sons: Israel, Samuel, and Frederick. Unlike many of her siblings, Jill has taken significant steps to distance herself from the Duggar family and their high-profile lifestyle.

In the decade since tying the knot, Jill's relationship with her husband has proven remarkably strong; the couple even celebrated their 10th anniversary with a trip to Branson, Missouri. Dillard, now a prosecuting attorney, remains an ever-supportive partner as his wife navigates a complicated life beyond the shadow of reality TV. It's one that has involved trying to mend a continually rocky relationship with her parents, Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar, and attempting to set the record straight about her religious upbringing and the damage that was done. 

Jill Duggar's relationship with her parents, particularly her father Jim Bob Duggar, remains fraught with tension ever since leaving "Counting On." Over the years, she has been very open about her struggles growing up under strict family rules and the control her father exerted even into her adulthood. This control extended to Jill's earnings from both TLC shows. During an interview with Today, she spoke on the way her father reacted to her revelation that he withheld earnings and coerced her into signing contracts obligating her to be available for filming. "[He was] basically threatening that if anybody speaks out against him or my mom that they would be cut out of the inheritance," she recalled.

It's all part of the drama that originally stemmed from the Dillards' departure from the series in 2017. Jill said the move away from the cameras was a necessary step toward building a healthier, more autonomous life for herself and her husband. However, the fallout from this decision only deepened the divide within the family. Not to mention, Jim Bob reportedly pressured his daughter to publicly defend her brother Josh Duggar during his scandals to protect the family's reputation. This caused lasting damage to their relationship, which Jill has called shaky. While Jill maintains a closer bond with her mother and sisters, she's still trying to reconcile with dad.

Jill Duggar's 2023 memoir "Counting the Cost" marked her boldest departure from the Duggar family image to date. In the book, Duggar details the challenges of growing up under the scrutiny of reality TV, her family's close ties to the controversial Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), and her struggles to claim her own identity after leaving both the Duggar household and the IBLP. Her revelations about her father's control (as well as the Duggars' restrictive lifestyle imposed by IBLP) offered fans the most unfiltered look at her journey to independence and freedom from the negative connotations of the Duggar last name.

Duggar further broke from her family's mold by participating in the Amazon documentary "Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets" in 2023. Duggar's decision to appear in the documentary with her husband, Derick Dillard, despite knowing it could spark even greater backlash from her family, really shows how committed she is to sharing her truth. "The recent 'documentary' that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love," her parents wrote in a joint statement on their website after its release. It surely didn't help her relationship with them, but this is ultimately what Duggar has been up to as of late: standing up for what's right, even if that means saying your family is wrong.