Josh Duggar was arrested days after his wife, Anna Duggar, revealed she is pregnant with the couple’s seventh child.
The 19 Kids and Counting alum, 33, was taken into custody and placed on a federal hold at the Washington County jail in Arkansas on Thursday, April 29. He is being detained without bail.
Anna, 32, announced via Instagram on Friday, April 23, that the pair are expecting again. She shared a video of the sex reveal at the time as the duo stood under a transparent umbrella filled with pink confetti.
“It’s a GIRL!!!!!” she captioned the post. “We are overjoyed to announce baby seven is on the way and we can’t wait to hold her in our arms this fall!”
Anna later made headlines for clapping back at a negative remark that followed the baby news. “How do you afford all those kids? Does Josh even work?” an Instagram user asked, to which she replied: “Yes, my husband is a diligent worker and provides well for our family.”
The duo tied the knot in 2008 and share six children: Mackynzie, 11, Michael, 9, Marcus, 7, Meredith, 5, Mason, 3, and Maryella, 17 months.
Multiple girls came forward in 2015 accusing Josh of molesting them when he was 14. “Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” he said in a statement at the time. “I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”
He continued: “I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
Josh admitted to cheating on Anna in August 2015 and subsequently spent time in rehab. “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote in a statement. “I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him. I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.”
In November 2019, a report claimed that Homeland Security Investigations agents raided the Duggar family’s Arkansas home. A rep for the family told Us Weekly at the time that it was “not true that any member of our family is the target of any investigation of any kind.” However, an HSI spokesperson allegedly told KNWA that agents were present at the residence “pursuant to an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” HSI allegedly also visited a business owned by Josh at the time.
Jinger Duggar opened up earlier this month about weathering her brother’s scandal, describing it as “one of the hardest times of our lives.”
“Our family was way closer because of that, and in spite of that, I guess you’d say,” the reality star, 27, exclusively told Us. “I will never forget how I felt in that moment. And I think even everything that happens in our lives — because we’re in the public eye — it makes it more challenging because then it’s not just dealing with these things inwardly, but you have to give an answer to the world. That makes it a much tougher thing to walk through.”
