Kendra Caldwell Says She’s Been Unable to Walk or Eat During the Duggar Family’s Legal Troubles

Kendra Caldwell and Joseph Duggar are in serious legal trouble. Joseph was arrested on March 18 for molesting an unnamed girl when she was just 9. Kendra was picked up by Tontitown police two days later for unrelated incidents of child endangerment. Despite having plenty of legal trouble to sort out, Joseph and Kendra, who married in 2017, had time to chat while Joseph was in jail. The now-released jailhouse phone calls between Joseph and  Kendra revealed just how stressful the situation had become for the mother of four. She admitted that she had been so unwell in the days since her arrest that she could barely walk.

Kendra Caldwell says her legal troubles have her super stressed

Kendra Caldwell opened up to her troubled husband about how she’s been feeling since her March 20 arrest. The 27-year-old mother of four told her incarcerated partner that his arrest on child molestation charges, and her subsequent arrest on unrelated child endangerment charges, had her so shook that it had left her in a bad physical state.

The once-bubbly reality TV star told Joseph Duggar that the stress had left her unable to eat and so weak that she even had difficulty walking. She went on to reveal that she had received IV fluids in an effort to feel better. While Joseph didn’t have much to add, he did try to comfort his wife by telling her he had been praying for her “health.” Kendra also revealed that she had been moved to alternative living accommodations and was staying with someone who was keeping an eye on her. She also referenced having “coaches,” a term that raised more than a few eyebrows. Transcripts of the calls were published by a Reddit user.

Was she ill before her arrest?

Duggar family followers have been combing through the recently released phone calls and emails between Joseph and Kendra in search of information about the couple’s dynamic. The longtime duo didn’t give much away. Still, critics think they might have hinted that Kendra was dealing with medical issues long before her arrest. Despite remaining largely quiet on the phone call, Joseph’s wording about praying for her health has led some Duggar family followers to question whether Kendra Caldwell has been physically ill for some time.

It is entirely possible that the stress of the ongoing legal drama has left her feeling suddenly unwell. That’s not how the interaction seemed, though. The way the duo spoke about her well-being implies there might be a long-standing issue. Fans theorize that this could explain why the couple left the spotlight so abruptly. It could also be why they haven’t added to their family in the past 4 years. Kendra and Joseph were initially eager to grow their family, welcoming four children in the first five years of their marriage. Their youngest child, Justus, was born quietly and without fanfare in 2022 and has yet to become a big brother. Critics theorize there has to be a reason for that, and the jailhouse calls might hint at it.