Every Time a Duggar Child Broke Their Family Rules: From Jinger Wearing Pants to Jana Traveling Unchaperoned

Credit: Courtesy of Jana Duggar/Instagram

Every Time a Duggar Child Broke Their Family Rules: From Jinger Wearing Pants to Jana Traveling Unchaperoned

Forging their own paths! Jinger Duggar and several of her siblings have seemingly strayed from their conservative parents' rules through the years — and have shocked some fans in the process. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar raised their 19 kids in a devout Baptist home, which came with some strict guidelines. Daughters were taught to dress modestly, meaning they wore skirts and dresses each day, and were not allowed to read romance novels. When the Duggar children are ready to date — or "court" — they must be accompanied by a chaperone on their romantic outings. Most of the family's rules are enforced on relationships, including staying abstinent until marriage and keeping physical touch to a minimum (side hugs are fair game, but front-facing ones are not). For many of the young TLC stars, their first kiss occurred on their wedding day. [jwplayer Fe4sboG4-zhNYySv2] "Jeremy and I had talked about it quite a bit leading up to our wedding day. You sort of have to when your first kiss is going to be in front of a thousand people," Jinger wrote in her 2021 memoir, The Hope We Hold, coauthored by husband Jeremy Vuolo. "‘Tilt your head to the right,’ he’d told me. ‘Just follow my lead.’" That wasn't the only big change that followed her November 2016 nuptials. After tying the knot, Jinger made her first foray into a new fashion realm: pants. "Growing up, I had a set of standards that I took as givens. ... [But] my convictions were changing," she wrote in her and Vuolo's book, noting that she discovered wearing pants "wasn't disobeying a biblical command." Still, she "struggled" to reconcile with what she'd been taught her whole life. "I knew [my family] deeply cared about their convictions, and I didn't want to hurt them now that I didn't share those convictions," she continued. "I felt emotional as I worried that my parents would think I didn’t appreciate how I was raised." Jinger's small rebellion is one that many of her sisters joined in on as they became adults. Other siblings — including Jana and Jill Duggar — have taken things one step further. While Jana has yet to settle down like many of her younger sisters, she's traveled without chaperones by her side. For her part, Jill has taken a step back from her family's world, choosing to speak openly about her sex life, drink alcohol and even put her kids in public school. Keep scrolling to see how some of the Duggar siblings defied their parents' house rules:

Credit: Courtesy of Jinger Duggar/Instagram

Jinger Wears Pants

After tying the knot with Vuolo in November 2016, Jinger "felt no inner conflict" when she became interested in wearing pants, she explained in her 2021 book. Growing up, she and her sisters were taught to practice modesty by wearing skirts and dresses. In adulthood, Jinger realized that she could follow her own version of modesty, even if it deviated from her family's expectations.

"We could come to different conclusions about Scripture but still love one another," she wrote. 

Credit: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard. Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram

Jill Drinks Alcohol

The Counting On alum, who began to distance herself from the rest of her family after leaving the TLC series in 2017, sparked controversy online when she posted a photo of a "date night" with her husband, Derick Dillard. On the table beside her plate, Jill had a glass of water and a piña colada.

In 2014, Jill and Jessa told Us that the family abstains from drinking alcohol.

Credit: Courtesy of Dillon King/Instagram

Amy Wears Bikinis

Unlike the children of her uncle Jim Bob, Amy had a more lenient upbringing. Her appearances on the TLC series through the years set her apart from her more conservative cousins — and her social media use still catches viewers' attention. While on her honeymoon with Dillon King in 2015, Amy raised eyebrows in a strapless blue bikini.

Credit: TLC

Joy Hugs for More Than Three Seconds

During her courtship with her now-husband, Austin Forsyth, Joy-Anna admitted to breaking quite a few of her family's traditional guidelines. Not only did the Arkansas native miss curfew while chatting on the phone with Austin unsupervised, but during a 2017 episode of Counting On, she fessed up to "going over the three-second hug" before marriage.

Credit: Courtesy of Josiah and Lauren Duggar/Instagram

Josiah Goes Unchaperoned

The Duggar children are expected to have a third party join them on their dates during their courtships — but Josiah seemingly threw that rule out the window. In 2018, he took a trip to the Silver Dollar City amusement park in Missouri with then-fiancée Lauren Swanson, and the couple appeared to fly solo. The pair tied the knot that June.

Credit: Courtesy of Jill Duggar/Instagram

Jill Has a Nose Ring

When fans started to notice a small stud in Jill's nose in her social media pics, they wondered how the statement jewelry passed the strict Duggar code.

Credit: Courtesy of TLC

Derick Dillard Dances

Growing up, the Duggars weren't allowed to listen to secular music or dance in the house. Derick married into the family when he wed Jill in 2014 and was caught busting a move at a fun outdoor party three years later.

Credit: Courtesy of Jana Duggar/Instagram

Jana Travels Without a Chaperone

In the summer of 2020, Jana showed glimpses of a sunny getaway on Instagram, leaving some surprised that the then-30-year-old didn't travel with a chaperone at her side. "Who else loves fresh coconut?? 🥥," she captioned a snap at the time.

Credit: Courtesy of Jessa Duggar/Instagram.

Jessa Speaks Unsupervised

Before they tied the knot in 2014, Jessa and Ben Seewald would often sneak away for nightly phone calls — privately — while their relationship blossomed.

Credit: YouTube

Jill Uses Birth Control

During a 2020 YouTube Q&A, Jill and Derick revealed that they weren't quite ready to keep expanding their family after welcoming sons Israel and Samuel. "We use birth control, but we prefer to use non-hormonal birth control methods," Jill explained at the time, later noting that "adoption's always had a special place in our heart."

Credit: Patsy Lynch/Shutterstock

Josh Is in the News

In 2015, 19 Kids and Counting was canceled after Josh was accused of molesting multiple girls when he was 14 and 15 years old. The same year, he admitted to cheating on his wife, Anna.

Scandal followed Josh six years later when he was arrested in Arkansas and booked on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. His trial began in July 2021. Nearly one year later, Josh was sentenced in May 2022 to 151 months in federal prison for his crimes.

Credit: Courtesy Jinger Vuolo/Instagram

Jinger Celebrates Halloween

In October 2021, Jinger posted a photo via Instagram of her and her husband trick-or-treating with friends.

In a blog post from a decade earlier, Michelle wrote that the family “do go to pumpkin patches and corn mazes [but] we don’t do the Halloween thing" — which might be why fans were surprised to see Jinger dressed as Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.

"Congratulations!," one social media user wrote. "Finally being expressive and free."

Credit: Courtesy of Jinger Vuolo/Instagram

Jinger Opening Up About Her Mental Health

In her 2023 memoir, Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger spoke about having anxiety after moving away from her family following her marriage to Jeremy Vuolo.

“Not long after we settled into our new life, I found myself feeling anxious in social settings, including church,” she wrote. “While I was genuinely excited to go to church on Sundays, I worried about the relational side of things. I had attended church nearly every Sunday since I was born, and I didn’t remember ever feeling this way. … I had visited all kinds of churches throughout my travels, and I had never felt anxious because I was with my family. They were my security blanket. In Laredo, my family was hundreds of miles away.”

The former TLC star also recalled how she chose to speak up — and break the Duggar mold — in her marriage despite being raised to be more passive. She remembered that for the first year of her life in Texas with Vuolo, she “never expressed an opinion.” Her upbringing taught her that she “needed to perform” for her future spouse in order “to keep him faithful” — but Vuolo was different.

“He gently encouraged me to speak my mind and let him know if I didn’t agree with something — and to not apologize for that. He didn’t want me to perform or be fake. He wanted me to be myself. More than once he said, ‘Jing, you’re not a Stepford wife,’” Jinger wrote. “The first time he said that, I asked, ‘What’s a Stepford wife?’ When he explained the concept, I realized … He wanted me to think for myself and figure out what my convictions were and what I liked and disliked.”