File this under: “That’s a headline The Ashley never thought she’d be writing!”
Jim Bob Duggar celebrated his 55th birthday on Saturday night, complete with sunglasses, a big party at the Dug Compound, and his bounty of kids and grandkids. However, there were a couple of former Duggars missing from the festivities, apparently.
Jim Bob’s daughter Jill Dillard, as well as his niece Amy and their families appear to have skipped out on the Jim-Bob-a-polooza, instead opting to go on a double date with their husbands (Derick and Dillon, respectively) at Dillon’s new wine and cigar bar, Wellington NWA.
Again…that’s a sentence The Ashley never thought she’d write…
Amy posted a photo to Instagram of her, Jill and the guys hanging out at the bar on Saturday, along with a very telling caption.
“Our new favorite word: Freedom!” she wrote.
That night on Twitter, Amy also declared, “Remember: you can’t choose your family ..but you can choose your therapist!”
Remember: you can't choose your family ..but you can choose your therapist! ??
— Amy Rachelle King (@amyduggar) July 19, 2020
Amy and Derick also hinted that Jill and Derick may have imbibed in some—gasp!— possibly alcoholic beverages.
“Thanks for treating us! We had a great time! Good food, drinks, and company (not necessarily in that order),” Derick wrote on Amy’s Instagram post.
“We had so much fun! Next time Brunch, drinks and the patio!” Amy replied.
Both Amy and Jill have noticeably distanced themselves from Jim Bob and the Duggar clan over the past few years. Amy recently commended Jill for taking control of her life, stating that Jill “smiles brighter these days.”
Jill’s husband Derick has made it no secret that he and Jim Bob no longer get along, with Derick even revealing that he and Jill are no longer allowed at the Duggar Family home without Jim Bob’s permission. (This could be one of the reasons they were not at the party.) Derick has stated that he believes the ban is due to Jim Bob thinking that the Dillards are a bad influence on the other Duggar kids.
Speaking of the other Dugs, only a few of them— including Anna Duggar, Jessa Seewald and Joy Forsyth— actually wished Jimmy B a happy birthday on social media. This is, of course, a very different scenario than in years past, when the Duggars would each post a dedicated video for birthdays or special events.
Michelle Duggar still came through with a sappy birthday message for her man, though.
“We have had a wonderful day celebrating this amazing husband, dad, and grandpa!!” Michelle wrote on social media. “Happy birthday to the love of my life, Jim Bob! You are my best friend. I love laughing with you, praying with you, and doing life with you! Your heart to love and honor the Lord and follow the Bible as the ‘owner’s manual for life’ is something I treasure in you!
“Through all the crazy schedules and “organized chaos” that comes with having 19 children (and a growing number of wonderful additions to the family!), you make us all feel SO SPECIAL and loved! You have always put our family first, and it means the world to us. We love you dearly!! Happy (55th!) birthday!”
(Photos: TLC; Instagram; Twitter)
18 Responses
Ugh, I couldn’t hate any of these people more.
Its so sad that this cousin Amy came into the picture with bad intentions against the family as she has. its one thing to have his son in law (Derrik) to show so much disrespect but his own niece……I thought Jill had a better head on her shoulders. When the marriage ends because she one day doesnt agree with her controlling husband then she will have NO family to turn to because she is burning bridges that should be respected. Please dont give me that she plans on staying married forever because if she doesnt know the first step of respect to her family then her marriage is just as unimportant.
Is Jill wearing a adorable jumpsuit?
Nothing says “King of the castle” like a cell phone attached to your belt.
stay lit, and put that thing in your pocket bro
Good for Jill! It’s so great to see her doing her best to step out of the huge shadow of her father. It’s do sad that she has basically lost her family for it. However as they grow they will each see how she is being treated and with time will see that their father is the problem. Enjoy 55 jim bob, as I’m not sure how many more you will have all you family so close. They may not all wake up but as each one does it makes it easier on the next. So you are in fact helping this happen by being such a weird little man.
Yes!!!! Go Jill!!!
Really need to step on the fingers of these folks holding onto their 15 minutes. Amy has turned into the biggest Fame hore of all, hyphenating a last name that wasn’t even hers…
Her parents weren’t married when she was born. Duggar is her last name
Oh come on! You know Jim Boob has access to all their accounts. He posts The happy birthday messages himself.
Good for Jill but she traded one narc for the other.
Kind of off topic, but I just finished watching Plathville on Hulu (the Plaths are also a large-ish, religious, homeschooling family) and I thought it was SO much more entertaining than Counting On.
They have their own skeletons in the closet.
As someone who was raised fundie and was at Big Sandy a few years with the Duggars.
I wish these tv companies would stop trying g to market the systemic abuse of women and children as entertainment.
I don’t don’t they do, but their show is still so much more interesting than Counting On. Maybe because we haven’t been watching them for years, maybe because they’re doing something besides showing weddings and births, or maybe because the kids aren’t allowing themselves to be as controlled.
**I don’t doubt they do.
I wonder if it is IMPOSSIBLE for any of the others to have “freedom”, when they are literally tied to Jim Boob by either a house that he pays for, their employment, food money, allowances, cell phone monitoring. When you have NEVER had to make any important decisions, I bet its kind of scary. And now they see a sister doing it, but afraid to make contact.
The tell all book that is coming in ten or fifteen years is going to be unreal.
Whooo go Jill and Amy! I never rated Jill, but this is just fabulous. I hope she gets tipsy and drags on a cigar like a gangsta. Never thought any of those kids would make choices for themselves, but now the thought of them actually enjoying themselves is so damn tantalising!