Jill Duggar and her husband, Derick Dillard, were nearly left speechless when asked to name the “last time” they saw Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.
The couple appeared on the Wednesday, January 10, episode of “The Unplanned Podcast” with Abby and Matt Howard, opening up about their experiences filming reality TV, Jill’s book Counting the Cost and more. Jill, 32, noted that she has spoken to her parents since her book was released in September 2023, but they didn’t have a sit-down conversation.
“I’ve heard that they did [read it],” she continued. “I heard they, like, listened to it on audiobook or something. I don’t know. … They’re my parents and I’m gonna tread lightly.”
Jill acknowledged that she didn’t want to “create more controversy” with her extended family. “It’s kind of like when you get together at the holidays, and there are just certain things that you don’t, like, just want to bring up,” she said. “It’s probably a sore subject.”
Jill predicted that Jim Bob, 58, and Michelle, 57, would likely want to “sit down with a therapist” and “hash it out,” which hasn’t been successful in the past. “It just is not the healthiest way to go about it,” she added. “So we’re still on the road to figuring things out.”
The former reality star noted that she’s only seen Michelle since Count the Cost hit shelves. When asked to detail the last time she and Dillard saw both Jim Bob and Michelle, the couple hesitated for a moment before finally answering.
Dillard theorized it was “probably” when their youngest son, Freddy, in July 2022, but Jill wasn’t so sure. “Was it that? Or was it a wedding?” she wondered. “I can’t remember.”
After a brief back and forth, Jill determined that they were with Jim Bob and Michelle at a “birthday thing or baby announcement” for one of her siblings. “Some kind of family function,” she said.
Jill clarified that the event was before her book’s release. “That was over a year ago,” Dillard added.
Along with Freddy, Jill and Dillard share sons Israel, 8, and Samuel, 5. The couple were first featured on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting before it was canceled in 2015. They later starred on a spinoff titled Counting On, but Jill and her husband left the series in 2017. (Counting On was eventually canceled in 2021 following Josh Duggar‘s arrest on child pornography charges. He was convicted and is serving more than 12 years in federal prison.)
Jill has been candid about distancing herself from her parents since her exit from TLC, exclusively telling Us Weekly in 2021 that there was some “drama” between her and her extended family. “Certain people are more supportive than others,” she said of regaining “control” over her life. “I think it ebbs and flows with a family of that size.”
She went into more detail in her latest book about what caused the tension, claiming that Jim Bob wasn’t open to the idea of his children and their partners being paid for appearing on the family’s show. Jim Bob allegedly offered to give his sons and son-in-laws $80,000 — as long as they signed a contract extending their commitment to the Mad Family Inc. production company. (Jim Bob and Michelle noted in a September 2023 statement that they weren’t going to comment on the specifics of Jill’s book.)
While her relationship with her parents is strained, Jill is still on good terms with some of her 18 siblings. “It’s still one of those situations where you kind of have to know, like, ‘What am I up for emotionally?'” she explained on Wednesday when asked how often she sees her brothers and sisters. “A lot of times, Derick and I will debrief afterwards … and I would be lying if I said it was completely like it used to be. … But I can definitely get together with some of my siblings and just have a great time or go to lunch.”
Dillard pointed out that “everyone is on their own journey,” and Jill confessed that she feels “sad” sometimes about the state of her bonds with her siblings. “I wish things could be like they were before,” she said. “But at the same time … I don’t want to just go back to living in this crazy, controlling environment.”
