Jill Duggar’s Husband Derick Dillard Jokes About Why the Family Marries Young: ‘We Want to Have Sex’

Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband, Derick Dillard, got real with a fan asking why members of the Duggar family get married at such a young age. Tuesday, the Counting On alum gave a cheeky response to a follower asking about brother-in-law Justin Duggar, 18, proposing to fiancée Claire Spivey, 19, after just two months of courtship.

Commenting on Instagram that they were “surprised” Jill’s younger brother was appearing to “rush” into marriage, the fan asked, “Why do you guys rush to marry life. He’s a kid and Claire too!!!” to which Derick replied, “because we want to have sex.” The blunt response had Jill’s fans shocked at its candidness. “I’m loving your honesty! This comment just made me love the two of you even more,” one person wrote, as another declared it the “best thing ever.”

After her husband’s comment, Jill joined the conversation, replying, “@derickdillard and you’re more popular than me babe [crying laughing emoji].” The former 19 Kids and Counting star, who left Counting On in 2017, added a smiling emoji and an OK hand sign emoji in a separate comment.

Jill and Derick wed in June 2014, and are now parents to sons Samuel, 3, and Israel, 5. Since leaving her family’s show, Jill has been open about distancing herself from her parents’ ultra-conservative religious beliefs, choosing to use birth control and drink alcohol. In October, the former TLC shared on her YouTube channel that she was “distancing” herself from parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

“We’re not on the best terms with some of my family. We’ve had some disagreements, but we’re working towards healing definitely and restoration, but we’re having to kind of just take some time and heal,” she shared at the time, adding she did hope for reconciliation down the road. “We’re doing what’s best for our family right now and just working through, it I guess,” the mother of two continued. “We are praying and trusting God that like the timeline is his and what that looks like and everything.”

As for the reason they left Counting On behind, Derick has been vocal on social media about his disapproval of Jim Bob’s alleged business practices, accusing him of keeping the money owed to his children for their appearances on the show. “That’s when we got an attorney involved and finally recovered some of the money,” Dillard told PEOPLE last month, adding, “It was a process.”