Josh Duggar has checked into rehab following his cheating confession and Ashley Madison scandal, the Duggar family announced in a statement on their official website on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
"We are so thankful for the outpouring of love, care and prayers for our family during this most difficult situation with Josh," Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar wrote in their update. "As parents we are so deeply grieved by our son’s decisions and actions. His wrong choices have deeply hurt his precious wife and children and have negatively affected so many others. He has also brought great insult to the values and faith we hold dear."
The parents of 19 revealed that their eldest son, 27, is now on the road to recovery. "Yesterday Josh checked himself into a long-term treatment center," they shared. "For him it will be a long journey toward wholeness and recovery. We pray that in this he comes to complete repentance and sincere change."
They also provided an update on Josh's wife, Anna Duggar, and the couple's four kids, Mackynzie, 5, Michael, 4, Marcus, 2, and Meredith, 1 month. "In the meantime, we will be offering our love, care and devoted support to Anna and our grandchildren as she also receives counsel and help for her own heart and future," they shared. "During this time we continue to look to God—He is our rock and comfort. We ask for your continued prayers for our entire family."
The news of Josh entering rehab comes six days after he admitted to cheating on his wife of seven years. "I have been the biggest hypocrite ever," Josh wrote, after it was reported that his emails and credit card info were linked to subscriptions on the infidelity website Ashley Madison. "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."
The information linked to Josh, which was released by hackers alongside millions of other users last week, showed listed interests like "one-night stands" and "experimenting with sex toys."
This is actually the second scandal for Josh in 2015. Back in May, it was revealed that the father of four had molested five girls, including his sisters Jill and Jessa Duggar, back when he was a teenager. At the time, he received treatment for "inappropriately touching" the girls.
While he and his wife have remained mum since his cheating confession, family patriarch Jim Bob was spotted for the first time on Tuesday, Aug. 25, since the scandal broke last week. In their statement released last Thursday, Josh's parents expressed disappointment about their son, writing that their "hearts were broken" when they learned of their son's infidelity.
