Skirts, Side Hugs, And Supervised Texts: Get The Inside Info About The Famous Duggar Family
The Duggar family from 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On is undoubtedly unique. They are the ones that began the obsession with many reality television shows produced that focus on atypical families. Being TLC’s most popular show, Season 10 averaged 2.3 million viewers each episode and ranked high in Nielsen’s “Cable Top 25”. Aside from being a massive household with 19 children (yes, you heard that right!), this family is also infamous for their religious views and conservativism – which generates buzz among the audience. Their conservative views and way of life made for an engaging show to watch every week. However, a few other Duggar facts may come as a shock to some followers. As a result of their extreme conservatism, the Duggars have enacted several bizarre regulations and traditions that will probably make you go, “There’s no way that is true!”. To better understand what we’re talking about, take a look at this list of the strangest, most unusual, and shocking facts that we’ve come across about the famous reality TV family!
The End Of Their 15 Minutes
The family first aired on TLC in 2004 with the title 14 Children and Pregnant Again! That continued to air for many years to come with title changes based on the growing family. Their final episode aired in March 2021.
Things were going well until a slew of scandals came to light. The network decided to cancel the show. They stated to People magazine, “TLC feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
Josh’s Downfall
TLC explained that the rumors and suspicions around Joshua Duggar were the final straw. Josh was arrested for downloading and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was then found guilty on these charges and sentenced to 12+ years in prison.
Josh was also previously accused for molesting four of his younger sisters when he was a teenager. At that time, the network chose to remove Josh from the show, but his final act was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Checking Into Rehab
Joshua admitted to infidelity and was connected to the Ashley Madison scandal. At the time, Joshua was working for the Family Research Council. He released a statement that said, “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values…
…I have secretly over the last several years been viewing [inappropriate videos] on the Internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife.” Duggars wife stood by his side as he chose to check into a rehabilitation facility.
Counting On
19 Kids And Counting was officially cancelled in 2015 and a spinoff by the name Counting On(formerly Jill & Jessa Counting On) started filming that year. The show focused on the older siblings and their life after marriage and starting their own families.
Jill and Derrick Dillard, and their children Israel and Samuel removed themselves from the show in 2017, 4 years before the series was cancelled. The family is still healing from this decision and continues to have strife with their siblings.
Accidental J’s
Aside from being a big family, the Duggars are also known for having first names that start with the letter J. Usually, in this case, most people assume that this was intended. However, contrary to popular belief, it was purely accidental at the start!
In fact, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar had no intention of naming all of their children with a J. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar kept up with the tradition to ensure that their children didn’t feel like they were missing out.
Wedding Day
The Duggars are recognized for being conservatives. During Jessa’s wedding, the bride experienced being shy and awkward when it was time to kiss her groom. A bit unusual, right? We’re sure all of us are wondering what might be the cause of this.
It may be common for many brides and grooms to already share kisses even before their wedding day, but this is not the case for the Duggars. The family members are not allowed to kiss before marriage, which is why Jessa experienced this for the first time on her wedding day in front of all of their guests!
Struggles With Siblings
Whether we like it or not, it is not unusual to experience even a bit of sibling rivalry. If we experience this in a small household, we undeniably believe the odds increase when there are also 18 other children present.
This also applies to the Duggars. Jana and Jessa are often the ones struggling with this conflict. When it comes to questioning her older sister Jana and her authority, Jessa is always eager to engage in this dispute. Oh well, like what we’ve said, a bit of rivalry is standard!
Cutting Ties
The Duggar family adheres to a tight set of rules and beliefs, including those pertaining to clothing, physical contact, and obligations. For numerous people, it’s unavoidable to experience conflict with family members who have formed their personal ideas or practices that are different from their parents.
When this occurs in the Duggar family, members are ordered to cut ties with this person. Because of this, Jill Duggar’s connection with the family has been strained since she left the show. In the end, Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, decided to leave the program to pursue their own interests.
Football King Jim
Jim Bob is known for being a family man and a devoted father. Raising a household with 19 children is a big job in the parenting community. However, are you aware that this renowned dad has some skills and talent in football?
Before Jessa and Ben’s wedding, watching Jim Bob pick off Ben Seewald during a football game was the best thing for the clan. “I still think I can whip up on these young ones,” this was what Jim Bob told the cameras on 19 Kids & Counting. “Ben’s pass was intercepted, and it was a foreshadowing of things to come for me.”
No Tattoos
There is no doubt that the Duggars are deeply devout Christians, and as such, they adhere to their own doctrinal teachings. To avoid offending the rest of the family, getting tattoos is also a no-no in their set of rules.
They consider getting inked at par with the offense of being physically intimate before marriage. If you think tattoos are for self-expression, the Duggars think it is despicable and should not be done. Up until now, there isn’t a tattooed Duggar insight.
We Like Sharing
We do not doubt that when you learn that a household has 19 children, you immediately think about the bedrooms and their sleeping setup. That would be an option if you required one for each child, but this family likes to pool their resources.
The boys share a room in the Duggar house while the girls share the other two bedrooms. This sounds like a field trip or a sleepover we experienced with our friends! Only this time, it’s done every day by this family without much space or room for privacy.
The Mother Michelle
In light of her strong opposition to contraception, it’s understandable that Michelle Duggar has spent a significant portion of her adult life with a child. Michelle was pregnant for 12 years in total, from Joshua, the oldest, to Josie, the youngest.
Michelle has gotten pregnant and given birth on average every 15 months for the past 21.5 years. The total time she spent in the womb for all of her children works out to 144 months of her life. In 2009, she gave birth prematurely to their daughter Josie, her last full-term pregnancy.
Wardrobe Rules
Everyone who has seen the show knows that the youngsters must follow a particular dress code. Girls, who aren’t allowed to wear pants, are particularly affected by this. Understanding how this family values modesty, this comes off as no surprise.
The girls have been taught that a modest lifestyle mandates long skirts or dresses when it comes to clothing. After they turn 18, the family’s young women follow the rules, but a handful has broken with tradition and worn pants. Even their wardrobe has rules!
Family Finances
When you think about a huge family, there’s no doubt you also wonder about their food expenses. You can only imagine the enormous grocery expenditure that came with feeding 20 or more people. When it came to milk and cereal, the family consumed about 16 boxes per week.
To sum it up, the average monthly grocery spent by the Duggar family was $3,000. If you want a large family like the Duggars, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of money, especially on food and necessary finances.
Rules In Hugging
If you believe your folks are too rigid, prepare yourself for the Duggar parents. Almost all of us usually hug our friends and people close to us as a greeting. Most of the time, we don’t think there is any malice in the act of hugging someone.
However, the Duggars beg to differ. It is not permitted for the children to hug and be hugged from the front. They are only allowed to give side hugs. According to the Duggar parents, a hug is viewed as an intimate gesture that should only be shared when the couple is married.
The Aspiring Politician
Although Jim Bob is most known in the field of real estate in entertainment, he had a variety of other jobs. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for three years. He even sought for senate after that tenure, but he lost.
A runoff election for the Arkansas state Senate did not go well for Jim Bob Duggar. In his journey as the Republican candidate for state Senate District 7, the star of 19 Kids and Counting finished in third place. Because he didn’t win, he went back to what he knew best: real estate.
Parents In Group Chats
Wouldn’t it be horrifying if your parents had access to your group chats? If anyone can imagine this scenario, it would be the Duggar daughters. Jim Bob and Michelle are both parts of a group chat with all of their daughters.
As a result, they are able to monitor their connections and be alerted to any inappropriate behavior. While this may be embarrassing for some, for the Duggars, it’s just part of their daily routine, and the girls don’t seem to mind.
Gifts, gifts, gifts
When Jessa and Ben were getting married, they didn’t hesitate to ask for wedding gifts. Perhaps it’s because it’s normal to give offerings and other services to married couples. In addition to friends and family, they also solicited support from the public.
They were not afraid to come clear to their fans and followers that they would welcome any money or gift cards they wanted to offer. If you are looking for a wedding that became the talk of the town, this is it!
What About Dancing?
Now that we’ve covered everything from hugging to wearing clothing, what about dancing? Dancing isn’t seen as a positive thing in the Duggar household because the key reason is that it encourages girls and boys to interact in a way that could lead to indecent and immodest behavior.
Even though dancing is not strictly forbidden, it’s not something you usually witness in the household. This is another one of their core values and beliefs coming through. Although it is legal after marriage, before that – dancing is discouraged.
The Protective Father
It’s safe to say that this one was on everyone’s radar. The bond between a daughter and her father is typically very close. Most fathers are protective of their daughters, and Jim Bob Duggar is no exception in this regard.
Since he is highly perceived as his daughters’ “gatekeeper,” no man is allowed to take any of them out without his prior agreement. He has strong views and will go so far as to play matchmaker for men he likes for his daughters.
Dirty Laundry? More Like Clean Laundry
When you offer help to the Duggars, and they hand you your duty list, we bet you’re hoping laundry isn’t one of them. You can only imagine how much clutter there is in the home with so many people living there.
If the number of washing machines and dryers in the Duggar household is any indicator, the home does about 40 loads a week on average. You can see just how much laundry this family has to do in this picture!
Family’s Creation
After seeing the Duggars’ washing duties, another notion sprung into our heads—and it was all about the costs that came with them. In spite of this, the Duggars came up with a creative and practical solution to the issue surrounding sky-high bills.
The Duggars manufacture their soap instead of paying outrageous prices for commercial brands. There are only two ingredients in Michelle’s recipe, which produce 10 gallons of soap. How much soap do you need? The recipe provides 180 loads in a top-load machine, and 640 loads in a front-load machine.
Premarital Rules
The most important rule of being in a relationship with a member of the Duggar family is that there should be no premarital actions as they are considered immoral for the religious family. This is expected coming from a family with a reputation for conservatism.
The family adheres to a strict set of beliefs that are substantially different from most people. The girls have admitted that if it may seem unusual to you, then you are simply someone who isn’t familiar with these kinds of rules and beliefs.
When To Use Social Media
In today’s digital age, whether children should have access to social media is the subject of much discussion. Many parents prefer to wait until their children are of the right age before having social media accounts. But in the Duggar household, marital status is more important than the age of the children.
There are no social media privileges allowed for the children till they are adults who are already married. Imagine being the family’s 30-year-old oldest daughter, who is still single and even forbidden to have access to any social media. Perhaps they might have to revisit this one.
No To Birth Control
We’ve already established that the Duggars are anti-birth control advocates. However, prepare to be shocked as Jim Bob and Michelle used birth control before they sealed their union. This was due to the fact that they had planned to have only a few children.
The pair, however, decided to stop using the contraception at some point. Other than religious or conservative reasons for abstaining from contraceptives, the family says they stopped taking the pill because they now believe it is to blame for miscarriages.
Birthday Facts
Birthdays, especially for large families, are one of the most joyous and exciting occasions. This is the time of year when you get to eat and spend time with loved ones. We can’t help but think of the birthday customs in the Duggar family!
You’d think that, with 19 children, there would be a Duggar for each month of the year and would have all the zodiac signs present in their household. But this is not the case! Even more surprising is that none of the Duggar siblings were born in February, June, or September.
The Wedding Dress
When you have so many children, let alone 19 of them, what do you do if your mother’s wedding dress is not enough for all your daughters to wear at their own weddings? The Duggars had to deal with this wedding tradition at some point.
The answer was to incorporate a piece of Michelle’s gown into each of the bride’s gowns. Each daughter will carry a memento of her mother’s gown, whether it’s a handkerchief or a swatch of fabric. Talk about being fashionable and strategic!
First Date Reminders
For many of us who have already experienced having our first dates, we’d say it’s a little bit awkward at the start. That’s why it’s not out of the ordinary to have a chaperone accompany you to feel a little at ease.
However, for the Duggars, they take chaperoning to a whole new level. It’s a family rule for them always to include their parents on their respective first dates. Michelle and Jim do this to ensure that the kids will not violate their tight regulations.
Keeping The House Clean
You would expect the house to be constantly chaotic when you have a big family. Now, think about having 19 children in your home. While it may seem like a disaster for the Duggars, they have their unique style of completing their household duties.
Duggar kids have their respective list of chores that they are expected to complete by the time they are three years old. An allowance is given to them to keep them in order and see if they’re successfully doing their tasks. They used to get paid three cents for every job they completed.
Tying The Knot
We have heard so much about the Duggar children and their lavish weddings; it is now time to focus on their parents! In contrast to most engaged couples, Jim Bob and Michelle decided to get married in a simple yet memorable place — the hallway.
In a family blog post, Michelle Duggar recalled how the church was still under construction, causing them to have their services in a large gymnasium. The Duggars tied the knot in the corridor of the building, where folding chairs had been set up as pews.
There Needs To Be A Ring
Their family’s beliefs are applied to their professional lives as well. When Jill Duggar was on her path to becoming a midwife, a friend sought her help. However, the friend’s single status was not considered conventional for the Duggar family. Hence they decided not to accept her.
She could not help her friend because of her lack of marital status. As a family, the Duggars adhere to conservative principles, and their emphasis on the sanctity of marriage is a cause for controversy and concern for some individuals.
Babies, Time For Blanket Training
There are many parts of the Duggar family’s way of life where the word strange is not even enough to describe it. This includes the parenting methods they teach and practice at their homes, which most people find unusual and controversial.
Blanket training is a common form of child discipline for younger children. The baby is placed on a blanket with a toy and must remain there for a fixed amount of time. If they leave their spot, they will get swatted with a ruler.
Young Love
Another interesting detail about the Duggar parents has surfaced. Their church was responsible for bringing them together in the 1980s, and they have been married ever since. Early on in their life, they made the decision to begin a new chapter together.
Both of them were in their early twenties when they wed. Jim Bob was 19 and Michelle was 17 when they decided to say goodbye to their single lives. They quickly realized that they intended to spend the rest of their lives together, and they got married in 1984.
Waves Of Rules
Their destination trips appear to be governed by laws and regulations as well. According to Michelle Duggar, it used to be forbidden for the Duggars to go to the beach because “the boys just can’t keep their eyes diverted,” according to Michelle Duggar.
Some of the Duggar men have been spotted on a beach in shorts in recent years, so it looks like things have changed or that some of the Duggar brothers were given a pass. We all need a little bit of vitamin sea!
Forbidden Romance, Literally
When it comes to physical contact and dating, the family is beyond conservative and strict — to the point wherein whatever follows is not shocking anymore because of this pattern. Does it shock you that the Duggar children are not allowed to read romance novels?
Because they’ve been reared without them, the youngsters don’t think they are missing out on literature and pop culture. In our minds, a Jane Austen novel is essential to any bookshelf. However, this might be a good thing for Jim Bob and Michelle.
The Punishment
Jim Bob and Michelle use a method they usually refer to as “the rod” to ensure their children comply with the rules and boundaries they’ve set. This is another parenting strategy that has been met with skepticism and criticism from the general public.
Despite the fact that neither parent has ever spoken or admitted to employing physical punishment, police investigations have shown that it was used. The use of spankings as a method of discipline is problematic for most people, but the couple believes that it is necessary for their children to learn.
Expert In Laundry
There are more facts about laundry chores that need to be revealed in the Duggar family! Jessa, during an interview with People magazine, stated that she is a pro when it comes to taking care of the washing responsibilities at their home.
It is difficult to fathom how the daughter of the Duggar family managed to finish 5,000 loads of laundry. Even though it’s hard to imagine, that is a very significant amount of washing, given that Jessa is a member of a somewhat large and helpful family.
Follow Our Faith
The Duggar family is firmly committed to their beliefs, hence the prohibition in their household to having followers of other religions or faith. Their strong religious beliefs are reflected in many of the strict regulations and guiding principles that they follow in their home.
There is no possibility that the beliefs of others will interfere with their efforts to live their lives per their faith because every member of the family, whether they were born into the Duggar family or married into it, is required to adhere to the principles of the Baptist faith.
Parental Guidance Needed
In our adolescence, we learn things about puberty and growing up by consuming different media types. In these shows and movies, we see what happens to couples in relationships. However, not in the home of the Duggars! Get ready because this is going to feel very out of the ordinary.
If you are a female in the Duggar family, you will truly pick up these lessons from your parents. It’s already embarrassing when we watch movies featuring kissing scenes when our parents are around, so we can’t imagine how this goes.
No Room For This
The rule to “keep the door open” does not apply to the Duggar family. When a Duggar is in a relationship with someone, they are not permitted to be in the same room as that person without their parents being present to monitor the situation.
This is one aspect of the notion that children of different sexes shouldn’t be left unattended with one another. The most peculiar aspect of this rule, on the other hand, is that it applies not only to romantic relationships but also to those between siblings.
Mother’s Daughters
It was exhausting for a single mother to raise and care for 19 children independently without taking help over the years. Due to this, the matriarch of the family, Michelle, relied on the aid of her elder daughters to deal with this.
Each older female sibling was responsible for taking care of her younger siblings because for the family; it’s the responsibility of the older girls to look after and educate the younger ones. They are caring, helpful, and nurturing – they are genuinely their mother’s daughters!
Speak Softly
“Always use soft words” is one of the family’s guidelines in parenting. A rule like this can be deciphered in many different ways. We interpret this to suggest that no offensive slurs, such as curse words, may be used in front of their children.
There appears to be an effort by the family to teach the children not to speak impulsively. This rule in the Duggar family is one of the less bizarre ones we have so far, and more parents should think about including this guideline in the way they treat their children.
Long Table For A Big Family
This type of family is so religious and tight-knit that it would be expected that meals are a time to gather and express gratitude. Something must be done at the dinner table to accommodate a family with this many members. How did they fit all 21 of them together back in the day?
The 18-foot-long dinner table that the Duggars use is a testament to their extravagant dining habits. If you want to pass the butter around or tell everyone about your day, that’s a long distance. We don’t have to wonder why their dinner table is so much larger than the average one when they have a family this large!
The Pattern
We already explained earlier how the fact that all Duggar kids’ first names begin with J was not entirely intended but was just kept to maintain the pattern. Now, we will explain the origin of why they chose this letter to continue the tradition.
Joshua was the first of the boys. John was the first name given to the boy when the twins arrived. The custom began when they added a “J” to Ana’s name to honor a close friend. It should come as no surprise that the inspiration for this endeavor stemmed from the family’s religious beliefs.
