Jill Duggar Marks Major Family Milestone

In the midst of major family turmoil, Jill Duggar Dillard is clinging to the positive. Her husband, Derick Dillard, recently graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law, and she posted a loving selfie of the two of them to her Instagram story ahead of the ceremony. “Getting ready for graduation,” she captioned it. “So proud of my man!”

Derick also shared his feelings about graduation, crediting his mother and Jill with his academic success. “My mom reminded me it was exactly 10 years ago today I graduated from OSU’s School of Accounting, and tomorrow I will graduate from the UA School of Law,” he wrote on Instagram before shouting out both of these important women in his life. “My mom was my biggest supporter during that time, and my wife has helped me make it through law school,” he wrote. “I couldn’t have done it without either of them, and they both continue to be my biggest supporters. Happy Mother’s Day to Jill and my mom!”

Following the news that her brother Josh Duggar had been arrested for receiving and possessing child pornography, Jill and Derick released a brief statement. “We just learned this information. It is very sad,” they told Yahoo. Jill also posted on Instagram about the importance of “community” during difficult times. “We were reminded this morning in church about how important community is,” she wrote. “I think I’ve brought this up before, but I’ve literally prayed for [a] good community!! We need others for support, prayer…people to do life with and so much more!”

Jill and Derick ended up leaving Counting On and distancing themselves from the controlling Duggar family, starting to make moves independent of the family’s plan three years ago. “Our control to choose what jobs we were allowed to accept and even where we were allowed to live was taken away from us,” Jill said, explaining that her goals and relationship were strictly dictated by her parents and TLC. “The first few years of our marriage, we spent time and money working towards opportunities only to hit a dead end when we’d be told, ‘Well, you’re not allowed to do that,’” Derick added. “It didn’t go over very well with anyone,” she said. “By that point we’d had enough. We knew we had to pull out completely to reevaluate and get our bearings.”