Patriarch Jim Bob Duggar was raised in a strict Missionary Baptist household, according to his sister Deanna Duggar, who recalls successful Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets not being capable to deterioration jeans, spell to dances oregon beryllium a cheerleader erstwhile she was successful school.

But it was Bill Gothard's Institute successful Basic Life Principles—the content strategy Jim Bob and woman Michelle Duggar (also a Christian, but a precocious schoolhouse cheerleader) adopted aft they joined successful 1984—that dictated joined women should person as galore children arsenic physically possible.

"My grandparents, neither 1 connected either side, agreed with my parents having a cardinal kids," Jill Duggar, the 4th of Jim Bob and Michelle's 19 kids, says successful the Amazon series. "They were acrophobic astir my mom's wellness and they would ever say, 'Oh, is this your past one?'"

In May 2015, In Touch published an astir decade-old Springdale, Ark., constabulary study that revealed Josh Duggar had been accused of molesting five underage girls betwixt 2002 and 2003. The study noted that his parents sought guidance wrong their religion but didn't alert authorities for much than a twelvemonth aft finding retired astir the archetypal incidental successful 2002. 

(Testifying astatine Josh's kid pornography proceedings successful 2021, Jim Bob admitted to trying to "handle things successful house" erstwhile helium recovered retired that Josh had molested his sisters. "It was a precise hard clip successful our family's life.")

While their names were redacted successful the report, Jill and sister Jessa Duggar soon stepped forward as two of their brother's victims. 

"We privation cipher had ever recovered retired astir immoderate of that," Derick Dillard, Jill's hubby since 2014, says successful the Amazon series. "There were definite things she shared with maine successful assurance due to the fact that we were a joined mates that, with each of our hopes, would stay assured betwixt america until we some died and cipher would person ever recovered retired astir it. This is thing that is heavy guarded."

Adds Jill, "Nobody should person ever known astir it, truthful I don't similar talking astir it. The infinitesimal that the reports, everything, was released, that was the infinitesimal it was public."

In 2015, Josh—by then a joined begetter of three—said successful a connection that helium had "acted inexcusably" and was "extremely sorry" for his past actions.

Longtime Duggar household friends Jim and Bobye Holt recall successful the bid how Josh—who wed woman Anna successful 2008—was their girl Kayleigh's archetypal boyfriend, the kids having grown up unneurotic aft being calved 2 days isolated successful 1988.

Asked erstwhile they archetypal heard astir Josh molesting his sisters, Jim replies, "How heavy bash we go, 'cause that's a rabbit hole. Damn, it's truly twisted."

With a grunt of disgust, Jim recalls accepting Josh's early-'00s petition for support to "court Kayleigh for the intent of marriage." He pinpoints March 30, 2003, arsenic the time they recovered retired what Josh had done. 

"'Josh has gotten into immoderate trouble, he's touched his sisters inappropriately,'" Bobye recalls Jim Bob telling them. "That was their large happening that they would say." (Bobye was the prosecution's past witnesser during Josh's proceedings connected kid pornography charges and shared akin details during her testimony.)

Adds Jim, "Yeah, [Jim Bob] adjacent said 1 time, 'He molested his sisters,' and Michelle said, 'Don't you accidental that again.' [Josh] had seemingly been doing it since helium was 12, but we recovered retired astir it erstwhile helium was 15."

Jim says helium past asked their friends when they had planned connected telling them astir this, and Michelle said, "'We weren't gonna person them archer you guys astatine all. We were gonna person Josh confess to Kayleigh erstwhile they were married.' And truthful I asked Jim Bob, 'So are you fundamentally saying you were kinda utilizing my girl arsenic similar a carrot to get him to behave the close way?' And helium goes, 'Well, yeah, kinda.'"

Jim says successful Shiny Happy People he told Jim Bob that Josh had to crook himself in. Jim Bob said they were readying connected it, and invited Jim to spell with them to the Arkansas State Police.

"Josh told him what we thought was everything," Jim says, recalling however the authorities trooper they spoke to fto the teen disconnected with a warning, telling him "'but if you bash it again, I'm truly gonna travel down hard connected you.'" He didn't cognize astatine the time, Jim adds, that the trooper they talked to was a person of the Duggar family.

The 2006 constabulary study noted that Jim Bob and the officer, Joseph Hutchens, had a idiosyncratic friendship. Hutchens, who was sentenced to 56 years successful prison successful 2012 aft pleading nary contention to 10 counts of distributing, possessing oregon viewing substance depicting sexually explicit behaviour involving a child, told In Touch in 2015 that he didn't get the afloat communicative successful 2003. The Duggars told him "it lone happened 1 time," helium alleged.

Jim Bob told constabulary successful 2006, per the report, that they admitted to Hutchens "what [Josh] had done" and the trooper "gave a precise stern speech astir what mightiness hap to [Josh] if helium continued specified behavior," but concluded that since he'd already been successful a attraction program, "there was thing other to do."

According to Jim, Josh was astatine an IBLP installation successful Little Rock, Ark.—Jim Bob told constabulary they'd heard astir a "Christian program" where Josh would do physical labor and get counseling—when Parent magazine, having seen a newspaper photograph of the sprawling Duggar clan, planned to illustration the family.

Jim Bob was going to accidental Josh was "away ministering," Jim says," but "instead of lying they checked him retired and brought him back," purportedly successful clip for his birthday. The resulting feature was published successful September 2003 and caught the attraction of Discovery Health, which aired its archetypal Duggar special, 14 Children and Pregnant Again!, a twelvemonth later.

Jim recalls informing Jim Bob astatine the time, "'It doesn't substance if you're the champion Christian household who ever lived, if idiosyncratic finds retired astir this 20 years down the road, they volition to devour you alive.' It wasn't a blessing to Josh, I'll archer you that." Adds Bobye, "No, it was a curse to Josh."

"There was an urgency to fig retired however the amusement was going to beryllium handled successful the aftermath of 2015 events," Jill recalls successful the series. "As acold arsenic betterment and harm control, you conscionable consciousness similar the load and the value falls connected you to, like, help—'cause you're the lone 1 who can."

During a surreal June 2015 interrogation with Fox News' Megyn Kelly, Jim Bob said then-14-year-old Josh had tearfully confessed to him that helium had "improperly touched immoderate of our daughters." Jill and Jessa—confirming they were 2 of Josh's victims—told Kelly they had been dormant and didn't adjacent cognize it had happened astatine the time. They besides said they'd known different girls who'd been done acold worse, truthful what Josh did was comparatively nary large deal.

"In hindsight," Jill says successful the Amazon series, blinking backmost tears, "I wouldn't person done the Megyn Kelly stuff." But again, she felt a definite unit to spell with the travel to support the TLC vessel afloat.

"I would not telephone it voluntary," adds Derick. "Basically being called connected to transportation retired a termination mission: You're gonna destruct yourself, but we request you to instrumentality the autumn truthful you tin transportation the amusement guardant due to the fact that the amusement cannot fail. And they were gonna bash immoderate they could to get the instrumentality connected their investment," adjacent if Jill was "collateral damage."

The interrogation was "something that I'm not arrogant of," Jill concludes. "If I hadn't felt obligated to, one, bash it for the involvement of the show, and two, bash it for the involvement of my parents, I wouldn't person done it."

Jim Bob and Michelle's niece Amy King, who was featured on their TLC amusement arsenic the benign achromatic sheep of the household ("but we emotion her anyway," 1 of the Duggar brothers cracked), recalls her cousins not ever watching TV and her ma Deanna needing to telephone them if determination was a tornado informing oregon different exigency they wouldn't beryllium proceeding astir connected the news. 

Moreover, followers of IBLP teachings "couldn't person Winnie the Pooh due to the fact that Eeyore glorified depression," ex-church subordinate Heather Heath says successful the series, referring to the gloomy cartoon donkey, and "Barbie dolls were conscionable harlots." Former IBLP subordinate Brooke Arnold says religion founder Gothard taught that Cabbage Patch Kids laminitis Xavier Roberts "was a warlock" and that his signature printed connected each doll was a demon mark.

"I've asked Jill astir the Cabbage Patch thing," Derick notes, portion Jill admits with a laugh, "I don't cognize if I afloat ever understood—we were ne'er allowed to person 'em, so...[shrug]."

And erstwhile Gothard preached astir the harm wrought by pornography—it's "done much harm successful America than a 100 Hitlers," helium said successful retro footage shown successful the series—Jim Bob and Michelle joined him successful denouncing everything from romance novels to paper inserts.

"My household had a immense bonfire," Amy recalls, "where they burned everything Disney and everything—literally everything—that was 'worldly.'"

According to aggregate erstwhile IBLP members interviewed successful the series, Gothard preached that, successful summation to having babies for arsenic agelong arsenic they were physically able, women should deterioration skirts of humble magnitude only—to debar "eye traps"—and support their hairsbreadth long.

Ex-member Lindsey Williams recalls Gothard taking her speech and expressing interest that her hairsbreadth wasn't curly enough, that "it needed much godly oomph."

Michelle Duggar's soft, astir baby-like dependable was "a precise intentional, trained thing," says former IBLP member Tia Levings. Adds Heather Heath, "She infantilizes herself connected purpose." 

The Duggar matriarch "used to beryllium a cheerleader," Tia continues. "I cognize the pistillate tin outcry and she does not outcry anymore." 

IBLP wants "young, innocent, saccharine girls," Heather says. "Not women."

"The amusement is fundamentally saying, cleanable angel children exist," former IBLP subordinate Lara Smith observes successful the series, referring to 19 Kids and Counting. "But I didn't spot calm, blessed children. I saw breached spirits."

Jill says speaking up simply wasn't an option.

"Having a dependable astir what you deliberation and however you feel," she explains, "and being capable to...say nary astir things was stifled and not encouraged successful the IBLP setting, successful my family."

The bid shows footage of Gothard demonstrating however to spank a child, corporal punishment—or instilling the fearfulness of it—another tenet of IBLP, according to ex-members.

Asked if she saw her cousins being spanked, Amy doesn't reply yes oregon nary but says, "It was called encouragement. They virtually said, 'You request to travel into the country and we request to springiness you immoderate encouragement.' But it was similar successful the sweetest code ever, similar [sweet voice], 'Do you request encouragement? I deliberation you request encouragement.'"

In a video posted connected societal media of Michelle giving a speech alongside daughters Joy-Anna and Jessa successful 2017, the parent advised, "Choose to beryllium soft-spoken" erstwhile disciplining children, "and nary anger."

Joy-Anna said she couldn't adjacent retrieve seeing her ma aggravated oregon raising her voice, but rather "just lovingly correcting us."

E! News reached retired to a rep for Jim Bob and Michelle but person not heard back.

For a study connected the downfall of IBLP, the couple told NBC News successful a February 2022 statement, "We bash not hold with everything taught by Dr. Bill Gothard oregon IBLP, but immoderate of the life-changing Biblical principles we learned done IBLP's ministry person helped america deepen our idiosyncratic walks with God."

After TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting successful 2015 successful the aftermath of Josh's scandal, the web green-lighted Jill and Jessa: Counting On to support the household connected the air. 

"I didn't privation to but astatine the aforesaid clip I've ne'er said nary to my household before," Jill says successful Shiny Happy People. "It's this full 'umbrellas of authority' thing. That was ingrained successful me. I felt like, if I said no, I americium not obeying my parents and atrocious things are gonna hap to me. IBLP and the teachings gully successful people, similar my dad, who privation this control. It tin foster this cult-like environment. I perfectly deliberation radical would beryllium drawn to that."

The "umbrella of authority," arsenic devised by Gothard (footage of signs and other church lit are shown passim the series), showed Christ astatine the apical of the proverbial nutrient chain, followed by husband, past wife, past children.

Jill recalls not wanting the commencement of her archetypal kid to beryllium televised, but TLC compromised successful the signifier of making definite she and Derick had cameras to self-chronicle her 60-plus hours of labor. "They inactive got the footage," she notes.

Former IBLP member Emily Elizabeth Anderson shares successful the bid that she was Jane Doe III, arsenic she preferred to beryllium identified erstwhile she and 9 different women sued Gothard successful 2016, alleging intersexual maltreatment and harassment.

She recalls Gothard inviting her erstwhile she was 14 to discontinue homeschool and spell unrecorded astatine IBLP's Chicago office "indefinitely." He told her that her begetter didn't emotion her anymore and "had mislaid each authority over her," she alleges, truthful Gothard "would beryllium her caller authority."

Elizabeth describes an evening wherever Gothard brought her up to his bureau and was visibly startled to spot a antheral adjunct inactive working, assuming they were going to beryllium alone.

Gothard resigned from the IBLP committee successful March 2014 amid an extracurricular ineligible counsel probe into intersexual misconduct allegations that yet determined helium acted successful an "inappropriate," if not criminal, manner. When IBLP shared the investigation's findings successful June 2014, Gothard said successful a later-deleted statement, "My actions of holding of hands, hugs, and touching of feet oregon hairsbreadth with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong."

The present 88-year-old did not instrumentality E!'s petition for remark and declined to remark for the series. He has antecedently denied allegations of intersexual misconduct.

The plaintiffs dropped their suit successful 2018 but told Recovering Grace (an online enactment assemblage for alums of IBLP and its homeschool curriculum, the Advanced Training Institute) that they were "not recanting" their allegations "or dismissing the incalculable harm that we judge Gothard has done by his actions and definite teachings."

Explaining connected the amusement wherefore they stopped pursuing Gothard successful court, successful summation to statutes of limitations and the fiscal burden, Elizabeth says, "It's perpetually rehashing the astir horrific memories of your beingness and telling them again and again. If you determine to determination guardant successful a lawsuit it's besides important that you recognize the affectional toll that it's going to proceed to instrumentality connected you. Quite frankly, the outgo was excessively high."

Jinger Duggar, who elaborate her interruption from IBLP successful her 2023 memoir, was the lone subordinate of her household to seemingly remark successful effect to Gothard's legal issues. She tweeted successful 2018 that, portion she was a Christian, "I person to beryllium honest, and existent to myself by tweeting this. I bash not enactment Bill Gothard and the Institute of Biblical [sic] Life Principles successful immoderate way, shape, oregon form. I find his 'teachings' highly questionable."

After national agents raided the car dealership where Josh was working in November 2019, Jim Bob and Michelle denied that the Department of Homeland Security had besides searched their location arsenic portion of a national probe (the quality of which was not yet public).

"To the champion of our knowledge, it's besides not existent that immoderate subordinate of our household is the people of immoderate probe of immoderate kind," they stated done their rep. "Living a beingness successful the public's oculus has taught america that it is champion not to reply to each rumor and portion of 'fake news' that is circulated online. It would beryllium a full-time occupation if we attempted to bash so."

Derick says in Shiny Happy People that the household perfectly knew Josh was being investigated.

"We cognize the household had cognition that determination was a kid pornography probe against Josh, and they had that cognition connected the aforesaid time that they made the statement," helium says. "Yeah, you mightiness person fooled the public, but eventually, if there's thing to this, radical are gonna recognize it." (Jim Bob and Michelle person not yet returned E!'s petition for comment.)

Jill, recalling however reporters had shown up astatine their doorway aft the raid to inquire if Josh was astir to beryllium arrested, says, "I deliberation we were funny to conscionable spot however everything unfolded and to get the truth."

Jim Bob's sister Deanna says her member assured her "it's each gonna beryllium fine, this is each gonna stroke over. It's not true, nary of it's true."

Derick says he asked Josh via substance if determination was immoderate information to the rumors, and his brother-in-law replied, "'Absolutely not, particularly thing of that nature.'"

Josh was indicted connected a number apiece of receiving and possessing kid pornography the pursuing April. He pleaded not guilty and was released connected bail.

She yet wasn't asked to instrumentality the stand, but Jill—who was listed arsenic a imaginable witness—says she was prepared to attest against her member if she had to erstwhile helium went connected proceedings successful November 2021.

"The hardest parts for me," Jill notes, "were the parts of the aged worldly being brought up that should person ne'er been retired there. I conscionable anticipation and commune that this ne'er happens to anyone else, ever again."

Jill and Derick besides scoff astatine claims her begetter made—having announced helium was moving for Arkansas State Senate aft Josh was charged—that the prosecution was politically motivated.

"He was conscionable grasping for anything," Jill says. (Jim Bob mislaid the December 2021 Republican primary.)

Josh was found guilty of receiving and possessing kid porn, aft which the possession complaint was vacated. He's been sentenced to much than 12 years successful prison. A national appellate tribunal heard his appeal for a caller proceedings successful February but has not yet issued immoderate ruling.

"Everything wrong the household dynamic has shifted and not for the better," Jill says, with Derick adding, "We're precise overmuch connected the extracurricular with the family."

Amy's husband, Dillon King, flatly says that the Duggars "don't speech to us," truthful they chiefly find retired what's happening with the household from the media.

"If you were successful ATI oregon IBLP," Jill concludes, "unfortunately, a batch of times you person to spell done hell, due to the fact that it's not until past that you would hazard everything to get retired of those situations. Eventually you commencement making your ain decisions—like the chemoreceptor ringing that I got—and it's portion by piece, small by small by little, till...do what you request to, like, survive."