9 Wild Theories About the Duggars

There have been a lot of crazy things said about the Duggars over the years, and sometimes it can be difficult to tell which fan theories are true.

After all, things that sound like they might be false — that dancing is against the rules, that siblings of different genders aren’t allowed to be alone together and that nothing more than a side hug is allowed until marriage — are all rules the Counting On family has been open about.

The Duggars’ super conservative lifestyle has certainly lent itself to some interesting fan speculation throughout the years. So here are some of the most scandalous theories from around the Internet about the TLC family.

Joy-Anna Got Pregnant Before Her Wedding

Fans have long theorized that Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth and Austin Forsyth may have broken the Duggars’ number one courtship rule by having sex before walking down the aisle.

The couple tied the knot back in May of this year, but the two were originally planning on getting married in October of 2017 before surprisingly pushing the date forward by six months. The date change was not addressed on Counting On, leading fans to think there must have been a covert reason for the change.

In September, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, but fans have continued to point out that the 20-year-old looks far more pregnant than the timeline she’s telling people would allow for. Family friends have defended the mother to be, however, saying that every pregnancy is different and she’s simply carrying her baby weight in an unusual way.

Which leads us to…

Joy-Anna Secretly Gave Birth Already

Some Counting On fans think Joy-Anna has actually already given birth!

In December, a photo seen here shows the 20-year-old at the wedding of family friends Tori Bates and Bobby Bates. Looking noticeably thinner than a photo posted in November, some fans theorized that the young mother had already given birth after her shotgun wedding. 

In early January, the reality TV couple took a picture of themselves flying in a helicopter, something that isn’t allowed during the later stages of pregnancy. 

Jana Is Forced to Stay Home With the Children

Is Jana Duggar her siblings’ keeper? The 28-year-old is the only Duggar daughter over 18 that hasn’t married and moved out, and fans have begun speculating that she’s being kept from courting by parents who want to keep her home to watch her younger brothers and sisters.

This has led many fans to start calling her “Cinderella,” speculating that because the Duggar family works on a “buddy system,” in which older daughters care for younger siblings, she is being kept around to act as a kind of surrogate parent for Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. Others have theorized that one of the younger children is one Jana had out of wedlock, and that she’s sticking around to raise them in secret, but there’s no evidence she’s ever been pregnant.

The Duggars Disowned Jinger

After marrying husband Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo moved to Laredo, Texas, far from her family in Arkansas. But some fans think her big move wasn’t entirely voluntary.

One theory is that the 24-year-old was disowned by her family for rebelling against their conservative beliefs by wearing clothes her family wouldn’t approve of, such as pants and athleisure wear. But according to Jeremy, her new “rebel” wardrobe isn’t immodest at all.

“It is your liberty as to whether you dress modestly with a modest pair of pants, or with a skirt, or with a T-shirt, or with a blouse,” Jeremy explained on the show. “It is not your liberty, women, to wear sensual, seductive clothing that is designed to draw the attention of your brothers.” 

Jim Bob Duggar Runs His Home With an Iron Fist

Jim Bob Duggar definitely is the boss in the Duggar household, but a 2013 report in PEOPLE paints a disturbing picture of his role in the TLC family dynamic.

“Jim Bob’s favorite word is ‘no.’ He’s like a dictator,” a source told the publication. “He once saw a guy kissing a girl before marriage and confronted him about it. And the guy said, ‘Jim Bob, show me that verse in the Bible that says we can’t kiss. Get out your Bible.’ And Jim Bob was like, ‘Uhhhh …’ because no one ever confronts Jim Bob. No one.”

Aside from the family’s strict rules on courtship and dress, the family does have some interesting rules even within their home.

According to the 2014 book Growing Up Duggar by Jill and Jessa Duggar, the girls were taught to say “Nike” if they were walking by their brothers while wearing immodest clothing, to prompt the boys to stare at their shoes.

The Duggars Abuse Their Kids

In 2015, In Touch Weekly obtained a police report about Josh Duggar’s molestation charges, which in addition to disturbing details about Josh’s behavior within the family, revealed that Michelle and Jim Bob use a rod to spank their children, although they have defended themselves as not hitting their children hard enough to leave bruises.

The Duggars have also been open about using blanket training on their toddlers, which according to Gawker includes smacking children as young as babies with a ruler to teach them what not to do.

“It’s not waiting until they do something wrong to correct them, but actually taking moments to train them,” Michelle explained at the time. “What they’re learning is self-control.”

Derick Dillard Is Cheating on Jill Duggar

Is Derick Dillard hiding a secret affair? Fans think the fired Counting On cast member may have revealed he was cheating on wife Jill (Duggar) Dillard through a serious of cryptic tweets this fall.

The first tweet, dated Sept. 22, is Proverbs verse referencing “forbidden women.”

“The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it,” Dillard quoted.

He followed that up on Oct. 6 with another Proverbs verse. This one made specific reference to adultery.

“He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.” he quoted.

Fans were pretty sure these tweets were the sign of a guilty conscience, but some thought they may have actually been a dig at brother-in-law Josh’s infidelity. 

 

Josh Duggar Never Went to Rehab

After Josh’s molestation and cheating scandal were exposed, the 29-year-old promised to attend rehabilitation therapy with Reformers Unanimous in 2015 to make amends for what he’s done.

But many fans think Josh never went to rehab, or at least not for as long as he originally said.

On Dec. 13, the Duggars posted a throwback photo of their youngest children during the holidays on their official Facebook. Although they only dated the photo as being from “a while back,” some fans zeroed in on the fact that it was from 2015, when Josh should have been in “long term treatment,” and wife Anna Duggar was staying with his parents.

But in the background of the photo, a man wearing a button-down shirt appears to be Josh. Although his head is cropped out, fans were pretty convinced the photo was proof of Duggar deception.

Derick Dillard Is Scamming People With His Missionary Work

Fans have long been curious as to where Derick gets money to furnish his family’s upper-middle class lifestyle, periodically slamming him for “scamming” people by fundraising for various missionary work.

As a missionary, Derick has revealed he doesn’t get paid for his efforts, and Jill is busy raising the couple’s two children, so fans have been unsure where they have been getting the money to go on date nights and take trips to places such as Washington D.C.

While before, Counting On could be relied on to be paying their bills, TLC fired the father of two after he made repeated transphobic comments about I Am Jazz personality Jazz Jennings. 

After Derick was fired from the show, he set up a GoFundMe page “to raise the funding I need for various missions opportunities.” But some fans aren’t buying his reasoning. Instead, they claim those donations are supporting the Dillards’ lifestyle.