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Amy Duggar King often provides a different perspective on the Duggar family of reality TV fame. The 19 Kids and Counting clan often portrays a pleasant family with little to hide. Over the years, however, darker elements of the conservative family have come to light via interviews, memoirs, and the Amazon series Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.

Concerning parts of the Duggar family life are often revealed by Amy and some of the older Duggar children. Now, Amy is adding to the lore regarding her mother and Jim Bob’s upbringing in Springdale, Arkansas.

Jim Bob Duggar’s father was an ‘unpredictable, reckless’ man with a ‘darker side’

Jim Bob Duggar grew up in Springdale, Arkansas, alongside his older sister, Deanna, who is Amy’s mom. The devout Christian household later influenced the famously large Duggar family he raised. His father, the late Jimmy Lee Duggar, was a real estate agent and businessman who also served in local politics. Jim Bob and Deanna’s mother, Mary Duggar, worked in real estate and was known for her strong religious convictions.

It’s common knowledge that the Duggar family was deeply rooted in conservative Baptist traditions. Jim Bob’s upbringing revolved around church activities, Bible study, and a belief in traditional gender roles. His parents emphasized frugality, modesty, and obedience — values Jim Bob carried into adulthood and instilled in his own 19 children. His childhood appeared typical for a small-town Southern family. But it was shaped by a sense of religious duty and moral discipline that foreshadowed the strict structure of his future household.

Over the years, this “strict” reputation has been revealed to be much more. In Amy’s memoir, published on October 14, she detailed the abuse her mom, Deanna, allegedly experienced at the hands of Jimmy Lee. In Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder With the Truth, Amy shared that her grandfather was “hilarious” but also “unpredictable” and “reckless,” with a “darker side.” Amy explained, via People, that Deanna and Jim Bob were raised using “corporal punishment.” Their father had “little distinction between discipline and cruelty.”

Several incidents of abuse defined Deanna’s childhood alongside Jim Bob Duggar

One of the worst incidents Jimmy Lee’s children experienced involved the day he discovered that Deanna wanted to move in with her then-boyfriend. Amy alleged that her grandfather “went ballistic,” grabbing Deanna by the throat and carrying her from the kitchen to his bed. Jimmy Lee allegedly jumped on top of her so she couldn’t move and “started strangling” with his hands around her neck. Deanna yelled for her brother. Jim Bob was able to stop the altercation before their father “almost succeeded in murdering” her. “Jim Bob might not have known it at the time, but he saved her life that day,” Amy explained.

Another incident occurred around the time Deanna returned from college. Jimmy Lee beat her with a leather belt for “more than an hour,” leaving Deanna “black and blue and beaten to a bloody pulp.” Although these details about Deanna’s childhood have gone public, Jim Bob has remained buttoned up regarding his father’s actions. Jimmy Lee died in 2009. Deanna and Jim Bob’s mom, Mary, died in 2019. She accidentally drowned after falling into a pool at her home in Arkansas.

Now parentless, Jim Bob and Deanna once had a close relationship. Now, Amy describes their relationship as “strained.” Regardless, Jim Bob’s worldview, influenced by his parents’ adherence to traditional Christian living, began long before cameras entered their lives.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

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