Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband Derick Dillard can thank couples therapy for teaching them tricks for dealing with family “drama” following their exit from Counting On in 2017. In a new interview with Us Weekly, Jill revealed things haven’t “gotten significantly better” since she and Derick decided to stop filming for the TLC show, but that therapy has helped them to handle the shift in the family dynamic.
“It was one of those things where we knew therapy was helpful but until we got to the point where we were, like, desperate … we didn’t venture out to actually sign up for it,” Jill said in a joint interview with her husband, whom she married in June 2014 and has since welcomed sons Israel, 5, and Samuel. 3. “It’s been so helpful learning to communicate as a couple and knowing your triggers.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
The couple first decided to get some outside help after “a lot of transition” in their lives. “There were just a lot of things that we were working through and then learning to develop boundaries with even just extended family,” Jill explained. “[There’s] a little bit of drama there. … At that point, we were like, ‘We really need somebody outside the picture to speak into our lives to help us sort things out.’”
After deciding to leave her family’s show, a spinoff of 19 Kids and Counting also starring sisters Joy-Anna, Jessa, and Jinger, Jill said there “wasn’t a lot of support” from her loved ones as she decided to take the step she felt was best for her family. “We were ready to leave and felt strongly about leaving. … There are definitely some issues there,” she added. “We definitely feel like we’re in a healthy place now for our family and have control over our lives.”
When it comes to her family, however, Jill admitted “certain people are more supportive than others,” and that with a family of her size, the support “ebbs and flows” over time. “Every family has drama and so when you’ve got that many more people giving opinions or whatever, it can get crazy,” she said.
Derick has been a vocal critic of Jill’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, online, accusing him on numerous occasions on social media of failing to pay his children their due cut of the family’s show earnings. In an October 2020 YouTube video, Jill confirmed the tension, saying there was “some distancing” going on with the Duggars. “We’re not on the best terms with some of my family,” she shared. “We’ve had some disagreements, but we’re working toward healing definitely and restoration, but we’re having to kind of just take some time and heal.”
