By Holly Rasmussen
Josh Duggar of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting has checked himself in to rehab, his family announced today. As The Ashley previously reported, Josh was outed last week as a user on the cheating website AshleyMadison.com. After admitting to the infidelity, Josh said he had a porn addiction. He also called himself “the biggest hypocrite ever,” given that, while actively working to deny same sex marriage because he felt it was “detrimental to traditional marriage,” Josh was cheating on his wife, Anna.
Josh’s parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar released a statement on the family’s official website, informing their fans that Josh has been shipped off to get help.
“Yesterday, Josh checked himself into a long-term treatment center,” the Duggars wrote. “For him it will be a long journey toward wholeness and recovery. We pray that in this he comes to complete repentance and sincere change. In the meantime, we will be offering our love, care and devoted support to Anna and our grandchildren as she also receives counsel and help for her own heart and future. During this time we continue to look to God. He is our rock and comfort we ask for your continued prayers for our entire family.”
The Duggar parents also expressed their shame regarding their son’s actions.
“As parents we are so deeply grieved by our son’s decisions and actions. His wrong choices have deeply hurt his precious wife and children and have negatively affected so many others. He has also brought great insult to the values and faith we hold dear.
Of course, Josh’s cheating scandal comes just a few months after he admitted to molesting five girls during his teen years. TLC cancelled “19 Kids and Counting” after the news broke of the molestation, but they will be running a special on child sexual assault victims later this month. The segment will include two of Josh’s sisters who were his victims, Jill Dillard and Jessa Duggar.
The rest of the Duggars have remained silent on Josh’s cheating scandal since the news broke. However, Jill did post a sermon to her Twitter account on August 22 that encouraged people to satisfy their partner sexually or they will stray. It appears that they may be trying to lay some of the blame on Anna.
Anna’s family, on the other hand, have spoken out about their disgust for Josh and his inability to keep his hands off other women. Her brother, Daniel Keller, recently expressed his hatred for his brother-in-law, Josh, and told fans on Facebook that he wants Anna to leave her cheating husband.
The Duggar anti-fan site, Free Jinger broke the story that Daniel begged his little sister, Anna, to leave Josh and take her four young children with her. In a series of Facebook posts, Daniel also accused Josh of making an insincere apology.
“You have to confess and forsake your sin to have mercy,” Daniel wrote. “Not sin, confess, and repeat.” Some fans stepped in to defend Josh, but Daniel was having none of it.
“Tell me how you would feel if someone cheated on your sister and brought so much disgrace to you and your family,” he replied. “I have been thinking of [Anna] and [have been] sick to my stomach for her for the last few days.”
Daniel told fans that he begged Anna to move in with him in South Carolina.
“I have told her I would pay for her to move out her with me and pay for her kids,” he wrote. “I don’t think Josh will see that this is a big deal and truly be broken until that happens. I bet my life on the fact that Josh has not come to true brokenness yet.”
Despite her brother’s offer, Daniel says that Anna doesn’t want to leave.
“She said she’s staying where she’s at,” Daniel wrote. “But I won’t stop trying to get that pig out of our family.”
Radar Online revealed that Anna’s sister, Susanna, is also livid about what Josh has done.
“Susanna thinks cheating is unacceptable,” a source told the site.
Anna’s parents, however, seem to be taking Josh’s side.
“My parents are preaching stay with him,” Daniel wrote. “They’re more interested in how their daughter getting a divorce will look than they are trying to truly get Josh some help and getting Anna and the kids out of there until he has gotten the help.”
The Duggars have not indicated where Josh is going for treatment (or even why he is getting treatment).
According to the welcome message posted on Josh and Anna’s family website, the couple believes forgiveness is possible.
“ If you have made mistakes, start from where you are and let God be the sole proprietor of your life… including your love life!” the couple wrote. “We all make mistakes, but God looks at our heart and says that when we give him what we have left, he can take it and do great things!”
(Photo: TLC)
37 Responses
Jill would say that probably because she knew how to satisfy josh. Some flowers in the Attic bullshit.
I don’t even know 100% what I’m circling around here, but the more skeletons come out the more I take a closer look at Jana and John-David. They’re so close in the line-up to Josh, and are of marrying age statistically for secular folk and WELL past the fundamentalist age norm for marrying. I think Jill and Jessa are next in the line-up and they got married young. Does anyone else feel like we’re missing a puzzle piece with these two?? Like they got exposed to something and got turned off from marriage or the fundamentalist lifestyle more than is being advertised? John-David is barely on the show and I believe moved out. Jana is stuck there. I don’t know…does anyone else have a hunch that there’s something up that hasn’t come to light or am I reaching?
There are a lot of people there, with guesses ranging from gay, JimBoob not giving Jana permission to court because then Mechelle might have to actually do something (highly plausible), in Jana’s case it being too difficult to leave her sibling-children, one or both of them running down the clock in an attempt to have fewer than a dozen kids to the anticlimactic “haven’t found anyone good”.
Right on. I’ve heard all of those too. I’m convinced some of the early teen boys are gay, because well, they just seem it. Maybe it’s nothing too scandalous with John-David and Jana it’s amazing how wildly different they are from the oldest…
I absolutely agree with you, and feel the same. John David strikes me as someone who just wanted to get the heck out and live his own life away from a million children. Have more of a typical, Christian-lite life.
But I think there’s something a little more going on with Jana. First off, we know she’s incredibly shy- and combine that with The Duggar’s teachings (brainwashing) I could see how the thought of a relationship could completely petrify her.
There’s also something I’ve noticed that I’ve never seen anyone mention. We hear very little from Jana on the show, but I’ve found several length uber-Christian podcasts that she has been interviewed on, and it sounds like she has some kind of speech impediment and issues pronouncing some words/sounds. It could be as simple as a little speech issue/lisp, or possibly deeper (ie; part of a larger learning disability that was never properly addressed which could be hindering her).
Then of course, one of them could very well not be heterosexual..not that it would ever be admitted, though.
rehab aint gonna help this perv
@TheAshley – do you know if the story about Josh and a stripper/porn star is true?
Can we please start a FREE ANNA or SAVE ANNA movement?
Omg I can’t believe Jill said that… Brainwashing is scary stuff.
That’s sickening that they’re trying to blame Anna for Josh’s behavior. If they’re going to blame anyone they might as well blame themselves for his messed up upbringing. It’s just sad that they see women only as baby machines and sex objects.
Couldn’t have worded it better myself.
The Duggars are doing a wonderful job of highlighting how harmful religion can be. Instead of him getting real help they are just relying on praying harder and reading the bible more.
They have already failed many of their children and now it is affecting another generation of children. So sad.
Agreed on every point. Now I’m almost not as much waiting for the next scandal (of course there will be another one) but waiting for one of them to finally breaks free. SOMEONE in that 19 kid brood is deep down questioning things by this point. Whether it’s an older kid who will break free sooner than later or a young one who’s still impressionable enough to be observing all that is happening and applying critical thinking skills–who will have to wait years to rebel–is the real question now.
Josh is the oldest, the first born, and the first kid that the Duggar parents raised. He didn’t grow up to be a well adjusted, or even a decent person. Is that just a coincidence or is this the result of raising children in a super fundie home? When you take away childrens choices, privacy, and suppress their natural instinct, is this the product? I guess only time will tell.
My guess is that it’s very much in part his upbringing, but that he also has issues that were organically there and the fundie household only exasperated them. How the others turn out will tip the scales in regards to just how much which is which.
He didn’t even get the full dose; it seems like they were semi-normal with him for a couple years (until Michelle’s miscarriage) and that JD and Jana were the first to get blanket-training and the like. And one of the specials showed a picture of Jill in what looked suspiciously like a Halloween costume when she was little. I’d guess they were settled in by the time the Howlers came around. I feel bad for those guys. Like, there’s nine straight boys you can’t tell apart half the time and I swear a few of them bailed on developing personalities because they realized it was pointless.
Yeah “treatment center.” Of course they would blame Anna for JOSH’S “mistakes” and I can just picture Michelle locked in a room with Anna asking her “didn’t you pay attention to what I was saying?! Always be ready for your man!” It makes me sick. This woman just had his FOURTH baby and it’s her fault that Josh can’t keep it in his self-righteous pants? Shame on Mr. and Mrs. Keller for not putting their daughter’s feelings and well-being before their image. Shame on the Duggars for being so blinded by their cultish Christianity and pointing the finger at the woman and not the man who violated basic trust. Josh screwed up big time.
End Rant.
The Duggar woman believe Josh cheated because Anna was not available for Josh as much as she should!!! 4 babies in 5 years can slow a woman down. Breast heavy with milk, and lack of sleep doesn’t exactly make a woman feel sexy.
I think something is wrong with Anna’s parents I would never want to see my daughter go thru that not only that they should realize he is a very sick person….Think about it Anna’s PARENTS you want your daughter & grandkids to be around a MOLESTER really thats sick!! Worried about what a divorce would look like….Anna’s parents look like idoits!! Wanting there daughter & kids to be around a very sick man
One a cheater always a cheater I don’t care how long he stays in rehab….they haven’t even been married really that long and he’s cheating and have a fun time when ever he can
On the show they struck me as ::gasp:: even weirder than the Duggars. As they aren’t featured a ton, if memory serves correctly, the mom was kind of quiet (too quiet) and that dad 100% weirded me out. He reads bible passages to prisoners and had a weird arrogance to him, though he was trying to come off as a humble servant to god. (Not unlike Josh, actually…) I have the feeling that guy has many skeletons in his closet, married a woman who doesn’t have a backbone, and now we have this situation. It’s awful, but their stance isn’t all that surprising to me. ALL of these people are way too insulated and have no comprehension that there are other and healthier ways to deal with things.
Thank you for breaking this down. I don’t watch the show, but what you wrote makes 100% sense. It is terrifying that there are people like this in the world, and even more terrifying that they think THEY are the good ones.
Happy to help! Yeah, it’s really scary to think how many people are out there living like this that don’t have a TV show or any kind of limelight…
How about putting a sermon out about if you aren’t emotionally satisfying your wife she likely won’t want to have sex with you? This family is unbelievable. They are such jerks!
Right?!? I liked Jill up until the end of that sentence.
Of course they will find some way to blame the woman. Pathetic.
Yeah it’s sickening. I would have serious anger issues if I was a girl brought up in that family, or married into that family. It’s those types of beliefs that encourage this type of behavior in the first place, along with the whole idea that one must live completely repressed and not experience life before marriage in any way. We will see how the rest of them turn out. Josh is the oldest we are just seeing all of his issues first
I am really disgusted by this whole story:
1. Josh is a pig And he will not change.
2. He was cheating on Anna and according to his family it was somehow her fault for not being available enough.
3. Their brand of counseling didn’t work the first time.
4. I still don’t think that Anna had any idea the extent of Josh’s past. I think they glossed over it and they were just happy to get him out of their house.
5. She has just had a baby and this is so stressful. I hope she listens to someone who is willing to help her and not take advantage of her…sadly we know that is not the Duggars.
Yeah right…Anna is getting counseling!??? From who, His Holiness Jim Bob! Ha!
Ugh that is truly worrying. I can’t imagine brainwashing errrm, sorry, “counseling” sensing with Jim Bob. Yikes!
Seariouly Jill? A fucking SERMON about putting out regularly to keep your poor man occupied and satisfied?! Disgusting and just a bit tactless, dontcha think? What a joke this family is.
Unbelievable!!! Jill, how insensitive of you! Your parents got Anna to stop him from molesting you and your sisters, now you are blaming Anna for not doing her job??? You are too much my dear, I am sickened by that kind of statement.
I wonder if this is a “treatment” program like when he was sent to “counseling” after the sexual abuse of the 5 girls.
http://gawker.com/josh-duggar-s-sex-rehab-is-probably-just-another-chri-1726747380
Thanks for the link. Apparently my sarcasm was fairly close to the truth. And seriously, he’s had what, 28 years of strictly enforced Bible study and general self-loathing? It did nothing to prevent two rounds of incestuous adolescent molestation and an internet profile (in which he revealed that be likes women in sinful, sinful pants) to help him have his affair. *Maybe* add real counseling. Although the 4:30 am wake-up time will be new. Maybe the schedule will break him of “Duggar Time”.
Somebody check if the Gothardites are renovating any buildings.