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In 2008, a family from Tontitown, Arkansas became unlikely television stars.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are the parents of 17, then eventually 19 children, all with names beginning with J: Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie.

Watch: A discussion on what really happens when you cut family off. Post continues below.

Together, the family made up the cast of the US TLC reality series, 19 Kids and Counting.

The family are devout Christians and members of the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), an organisation occassionally described as a 'cult' by some former members. The rules of IBLP involved no hand-holding or kissing until marriage, no dating (only courtships) and definitely no contraception, hence the 19 children.

The show was an instant hit and each one of the 21 family members began to rise to fame.

That was until 2015, when accusations surfaced that turned the entire family on its head.

Josh Duggar, the eldest son of Michelle and Jim Bob, was accused of molesting five girls when he was a teenager — four of which were his own sisters.

But that wasn't the end of it. In 2021, Josh was arrested on federal charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials.

The news would result in the cancellation of the TLC show and the downfall of the Duggar family.

Introducing the Duggars.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were high-school sweethearts, only teenagers when they married in 1984.

Following a devastating miscarriage after their first child, the couple turned to God to determine the size of their family.

"We began to read in the Bible that children are a blessing and a gift from God. It was then that we prayed and asked Him to give us as many children as He saw fit," they write on The Duggar Family website.

The family continued to rapidly grow and in 2002, a photo of the Duggars was printed in the New York Times, capturing the attention of a TV executive who asked if he could run a documentary on the unconventional family.

"We prayed about it and felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to share with the world that children are a blessing from God," they wrote in their website bio.

The first show was initially called 14 Children and Pregnant Again! which eventually turned into the viral TLC reality show.

Over 9 seasons and over 200 episodes, viewers watched week after week as the Duggars navigated life as a family of 21. There was an industrial-sized kitchen and colour-coded chore charts. There was a meticulous "buddy-system", with older kids paired with younger ones, responsible for dressing, feeding and bathing them.

To the audience, the Duggars might not have reflected a stereotypical American family, but they loved the life they were creating. The show averaged 2.3 million viewers per episode at its peak.

But behind their smiles, something was very wrong.

A revelation about the eldest Duggar.

In 2015, the eldest Duggar son, Josh, was accused of sexually assaulting five girls when he was a teenager, four of whom were his own sisters, according to The Guardian.

In a statement to People, Josh acknowledged what he had done.

"Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably, for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends," he wrote.

"I confessed this to my parents, who took several steps to help me address the situation."

As a result of the scandal, TLC promptly pulled 19 Kids and Counting from the air, following public pressure, including any re-runs of the show.

The network said at the time, "We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time."

Josh's parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, released their own joint statement to People after the news broke, claiming though terrible, it had brought their family closer together.

"Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God. We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family. We have challenges and struggles every day."

But that wasn't all.

"The biggest hypocrite ever."

Only a month later, Josh's name resurfaced in headlines once again.

It was revealed that he had been cheating on his wife of 7 years, Anna, when his name was among one of the 32 million to be leaked as a result of the infamous Ashley Madison hack.

The website, used by married people to cheat on their spouses, was adorned with the slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair."

Josh had been using the website under the username, josh_the_man, and described himself on his profile as an "attached male seeking female", according to CNN. He listed his desires as conventional sex, experimenting with sex toys and one-night stands.

Once he had been exposed, he once again released a statement.

"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife," CNN reports.

Addressing the previous month's scandal, he said, "I brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions that happened when I was 14–15 years old, and now I have re-broken their trust."

151 months in prison.

Only a few years after regaining his family's trust, Josh Duggar was back in the news and this time, he wouldn't ever be able to come back from it.

In 2021, when he was 34-years-old, Josh was charged with receiving and possessing child sex abuse materials on his work computer, ABC reports.

The files included "images of prepubescent children and depictions of sadistic abuse," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors sought the maximum sentencing of 20 years, arguing that Josh had a "deep-seated, pervasive and violent sexual interest in children," according to ABC.

On May 25th, 2022, at the US District Court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Josh was sentenced to 151 months (12.5 years) behind bars and ordered to pay fines of over $50K USD, NBC reports.

At the time of sentencing, his wife Anna was pregnant with their seventh child.

"As parents, we will never stop praying for Joshua, and loving him, as we do all of our children," Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said in a statement.

Upon his release from prison in 2032, Josh will be forbidden from any unsupervised contact with minors, including with his own children, and must participate in sex offender-specific treatment, NBC reports.

He isn't allowed to view any pornography, including materials depicting adults.

Josh Duggar is still currently serving out his sentence at FCI Seagoville federal prison in Texas. His release date was extended by two months after he was caught with a contraband mobile phone, he will now be released in October 2032, according to an article by USA Today.

Attentions turn to another Duggar brother.

Four years after his older brother's sentencing, attentions turned to Joseph Duggar, the seventh child of Jim Bob and Michelle.

In March 2026, Joseph was arrested by police in his hometown, Tontitown, Arkansas and charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor, BBC reports.

A 14-year-old girl had reached out to police to report incidents that happened several years earlier in 2020 on a holiday to Florida, when she was just nine years old.

BBC reported that Duggar had repeatedly asked the girl to "sit on his lap", and touched her thighs, underwear and genitals while sitting on the couch.

The victim's father confronted Joseph about the incident and he "allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives," People reports.

Duggar has a pretrial hearing set for July 14, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

An unexpected arrest.

But Joseph wouldn't be facing it alone.

Just a few days after his arrest, Joseph and his wife, Kendra Duggar, were both charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of false imprisonment, according to USA Today. These charges are unrelated to Joseph's ongoing court case and previous arrest.

"This remains an active and ongoing investigation," the police department said in a statement to NBC.

"To protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of those involved, no further details will be provided at this time."

Where is the rest of the Duggar family now?

Of Jim Bob and Michelle's 19 children, 13 are now married and have families of their own. With over 30 grandchildren expanding the family.

(Cousin) Amy Duggar King.

Amy Duggar, the niece of Jim Bob and Michelle, was somewhat of a guest star on the TLC show.

She was known for rebelling against the unconventional rules of the Duggar household, bringing a sense of modernity to the family. This coined her the nickname, "Crazy Cousin Amy", amongst the 19 children.

When her cousin Joseph was arrested, Amy made a public statement to People.

She said, "My first thoughts are with the victim, a child who deserved to be safe, protected and surrounded by people she could trust," she said. "At the same time, I am not surprised that another alleged predator has emerged from this toxic system."

Earlier this year, Amy released her own memoir, recounting her experience growing up alongside the Duggars, titled, Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder with the Truth.

The book goes into detail on what went on behind the "wholesome" family's closed doors and Amy's uncovering of their generational cycle of abuse from their grandparents to Josh Duggar.

Listen to Mamamia's No Filter interview with Amy Duggar, here. Post continues below.

These days, she is estranged from the family and only remains in contact with Jill Duggar.

Jana Duggar.

Jim Bob and Michelle's eldest daughter, Jana, starred alongside her siblings in a spin-off of the show, Counting On, which ran for 11 seasons and ended in 2021 following Josh's charges.

In 2014, she co-authored the book, Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships with her sisters Jill, Jessa, and Jinger, writing about their family life and faith, growing up in the Duggar family.

She married her husband, Stephen Wissmann, in 2024 and moved out of Arkansas to Nebraska, where they welcomed a baby boy, Archie in December, 2025.

John-David Duggar.

Jana was one half of the first pair of Duggar twins. Her twin brother, John-David, married his wife, Abbie, in 2018.

Only eight months later did they announce they were expecting a baby girl, who was born in January 2020 and named Grace Annette.

Two years later, John-David and Abbie welcomed a baby boy named Charlie and their third child in January 2026.

Jill Duggar.

Jill Duggar came to be known as one of the most outspoken siblings of the family.

In 2014, she married her husband, Derick Dillard and shared their first kiss in front of 1000 guests and on-screen in an episode of the TLC show.

However, since marrying, she has moved to the border of Oklahoma and Arkansas, had three boys — Israel, Samuel and Frederick — after publicly sharing her experience of miscarriage and pregnancy loss, and began to shy away from the strict rules she grew up with.

According to People, Jill now has a nose ring, wears pants instead of skirts and drinks alcohol.

In 2015, Jill revealed that herself and her sister Jessa were two of the four who were sexually abused by their brother, Josh.

"I was angry at first, I was like, 'How could this happen?'" she said to Fox News at the time.,

"And then my parents explained to us what happened and then Josh came and asked each of us, individually, I know, he asked me to forgive him. And I had to make that choice to forgive him, you know."

In 2017, Jill made the decision to leave the spin-off series, Counting On, and went on to write her own memoir, Counting the Cost.

Jill and her husband, Derick, shared a video to their family YouTube channel in 2020, stating they were putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the family.

"There's been some distancing there," she said in the video.

"We're not on the best terms with some of my family. We've had some disagreements and stuff, but we're working towards healing definitely and restoration. But we're having to kind of just take some time and heal."

Jessa Duggar.

Shortly after her older sister, the fifth Duggar child, Jessa, married her partner, Ben Seewald, in November 2014.

Jessa and Ben went on to have six children of their own, Spurgeon, Henry, Ivy, Fern, George and Edward.

In a 2025 YouTube video, Jessa talked openly about her mother.

"I'm not going to have 19 kids," she said.

"But honestly, my mom is my hero. I love her. I adore her [and] she is my role model in so many ways ... She is the golden example of a mother, in my opinion."

Jinger Duggar.

Jinger Duggar, now Jinger Vuolo, married a professional soccer player, Jeremy Vuolo in 2016.

They are parents to three children, Felicity, Evangeline and Finnegan and now live in California.

In early 2023, Jinger released her memoir, Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear and went into detail of what she described as "cult-like" tendencies of her family.

"The teaching I grew up under was harmful, it was damaging, and there are lasting effects," she said to People.

"But I know other people are struggling and people who are still stuck. I want to share my story, and maybe it will help even just one person to be freed."

In 2025, she released her second book, People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations, opening up about how her instinct to please others ultimately led to her detriment.

Josiah Duggar.

Josiah Duggar married family friend, Lauren Swanson in June 2018.

The pair experienced a miscarriage that October. The following May, they announced they were expecting another baby and soon welcomed their daughter, Bella.

They went on to have two more children, Daisy and Ezra.

Joy-Anna Duggar.

Joy-Anna met her husband Austin Forsyth as kids. They knew each other for 15 years before first entering their courtship.

In 2017, they married and welcomed their first baby the following year, Gideon.

Over a year later, the couple experienced a miscarriage at 20 weeks.

They went on to have two more children. Evelyn and Gunner, and become a family of five.

Jedidiah Duggar.

Jedidiah, or 'Jed' is the twin of Jeremiah Duggar.

In 2019, Jed ran for a state government seat in Arkansas, though lost the election and went to work for the family's car dealership.

He married his wife, Katey Nakatsu in 2021, and went on to have four children and twins of his own: son Truett and daughters, Nora Kate, Elsie Kate and Emma Kate.

Jeremiah Duggar.

Following the show, Jeremiah went to work as a licensed real estate agent, flight instructor and contractor.

He married his wife Hannah in 2022 and welcomed a baby girl, Brynley, on Christmas Day that year.

They had two more daughters, Brielle and Emery in 2024 and 2025.

Jason Duggar.

Jason Duggar married his wife, Maddie Grace, just 5 months after first announcing their courtship. Their wedding had over 300 guests in attendance.

The pair shared on his older sister Jinger's podcast in August 2025 that they were not planning on having children just yet as Maddie was waiting to complete her degree.

James Duggar.

Growing up as the "handyman" of the family, James Duggar now works as a rancher and helps his family care for their cattle.

He is also in the process of obtaining his pilot license.

Justin Duggar.

Justin married Claire Spivey just three months after announcing their engagement in 2021.

Their families had known each other for almost 20 years, so the pair had grown up alongisde each other.

They now live together in Texas.

Jackson Duggar.

The youngest Duggar son completed ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) Academy training in 2022.

He lives with his family in Arkansas.

Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace and Josie Duggar.

The four youngest Duggar siblings remain living on their family property in Arkansas.

According to the Duggar family website, they recorded an album 'Happy Heart' that included their favourite "well-loved hymns and joyful melodies".

Feature image: Getty.