Exiled Duggar Couple Welcomed Home for Christmas

Despite their recent familial estrangement, Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband Derick Dillard spent Christmas at the home of the 19 Kids and Counting alum’s parents. Jill and Derick were spotted hanging out in photos from the Duggar family celebration, held at the home of Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar, that were posted by Jill’s brother, James Duggar.

Other photos included in the post showed Jeremiah Duggar, Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth, John-David Duggar, Jana Duggar and Jase Duggar. Jessa Duggar Seewald and her husband, Ben Seewald, didn’t appear to be in attendance after they welcomed their fifth child, a son named George Augustine, on Dec. 19. Jill reposted James’ post to her Story after the celebration, adding, “Merry Christmas! It was great to see you bro.”

Jill and Derick have been open about the tension between them and Jill’s parents, revealing in Jill’s recent book, Counting the Cost, that they were currently estranged. In the book, Jill accuses her father of both verbal and financial abuse, sharing the story of an emotional in-person confrontation they had after she wrote her parents a letter detailing her feelings. 

“Pops took a step toward me, closing the gap. It wasn’t a gesture of reconciliation. It was an act of aggression,” Jill wrote. “He towered over me, his whole body fueled with anger. My face flushed red. My eyes filled with tears.” Being asked to apologize for what she had written in the letter, Jill recalled getting emotional, telling her dad, “You treat me like I’m a prodigal who’s turned her back on you. You treat me worse than you treat my pedophile brother.” (Jill’s oldest brother, Josh Duggar, was sentenced in May 2022 to more than 12 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.)

In September, Jill claimed to TODAY that her father had sent a serious message to his children after Jill’s book had been announced. “My dad texted the entire family group text… and he was just saying, ‘This is so sad.’ [He was] basically threatening that if anybody speaks out against him or my mom that they would be cut off from the inheritance,” she alleged at the time.

The following month, Jill revealed on Christy Romano’s Vulnerable podcast that her husband had threatened her father with a restraining order. “[Derick and Jim Bob’s relationship] used to be really great. Derrick trusted my dad and my dad trusted him,” Jill said in the Oct. 24 episode. “But once we started having some differences, it got a little rocky there to the point where Derick had to have some really hard conversations with my dad and more recently [Derick] had to stand up for me … and said, ‘If you keep contacting her directly, I will have to file a protective order.’”