Skip to main content

Counting On has become one of TLC’s hit shows, though the Duggar family is unlike most modern American families. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar are extremely religious, and they raise their children with very strict rules and values. When the kids are 18, they can begin courting, and Michelle and Jim Bob only allow them to enter into courtships with people who have those same values.

As the kids get older, though, more drama seems to be unfolding. And fans think one family member will eventually write a tell-all book about what really goes on inside the Duggar family.

The Duggar family
The Duggar family | D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra

Michelle and Jim Bob have been caught up in some drama lately

When 19 Kids and Counting first premiered, all of the children were still fairly young. However, as they have gotten older, more drama has started to unfold. Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard apparently don’t have a close relationship with Michelle and Jim Bob at all. Jana Duggar is still unmarried, and fans theorize that her parents have told her she isn’t allowed to wed.

Jinger Duggar has since broken away from the family a bit and appears to be the only one who is trying to break her parents’ mold. Jedidiah Duggar moved out of his parents’ house, proving to be the first-ever Duggar son to do so prior to marriage (and had fans questioning why Jana Duggar isn’t treated equally). And the family was supposedly raided by Homeland Security earlier this year — they have since denounced the rumors, but local reports have said otherwise.

Some think the Duggar kids’ upbringing has permanently damaged them

Now that the Duggar kids are getting older, some fans think it’s becoming clear that they weren’t raised properly. Fans have asked Jill on her Instagram if she was raised with food insecurity. And others theorize that the Duggars weren’t shown any real love growing up, since there were so many of them.

Plus, Josh Duggar’s sexual abuse scandal led many to look at Jim Bob and Michelle in a different light as parents. They swept the incident under the rug and never got their daughters the help they needed to recover from it.

Jill Duggar no longer has a strong relationship with her parents.

Fans think Derick Dillard will eventually write a tell-all book

Jill’s husband, Derick, has perhaps been the biggest source of information for what really goes on in the Duggar household. Now that Derick and Jill are no longer close with the family, Derick has been slowly spilling the beans on Michelle and Jim Bob’s ways. He recently revealed on Instagram that he and Jill need permission from her parents to visit their house (including the time Jill came over to help Jessa while she was in labor with Ivy Jane).

Derick has also hinted that Jim Bob doesn’t distribute the Counting On salaries fairly. Jim Bob essentially sets up his kids with jobs and homes, so maybe that is meant to be part of their compensation — it’s unclear. But all of Derick’s revelations have people thinking he might eventually write a tell-all book about the family.

“He’s holding [out] for either a book deal or a People Magazine exclusive. That’s been my theory since he started these tweets,” someone posted to Reddit about Derick’s social media presence. “I’m sure [his tell-all book] will be a lot like this post and many of his others,” another user wrote, referencing a comment Derick wrote about the family. Many are convinced that he could be the one to spill what it’s really like to be a part of one of America’s largest and most religious families.