“You smile just a bit brighter these days,” Amy King (née Duggar) captioned her July 7 Instagram post featuring her and cousin Jill Duggar, 29. In the photo, Amy, 33, and Jill are beaming, with their smiles brighter than the sun in the summer sky. “So proud of you hippie chick!” added Amy, possibly adding a little bit of shade considering how Jill and Derick Dillard, 31, recently confirmed that they’re on the outs with her parents.
Though Jill and Derick stopped appearing on Counting On in 2017, this feud with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was just considered a rumor – until fans noticed that Jill and Derick weren’t included in Duggar family events like Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Because our visitation to the Duggar house has been restricted and that is where they and their spouses hang out, we have not been able to see other family as much as we would like, so that is difficult,” Derick said in a June interview with The Sun, confirming the rift.
Though Derick didn’t elaborate on what caused the rift, he hinted that he was going to spill the tea on his upcoming tell-all. “Although the book will be inspired by our own journey, the goal is for it to be relatable, in that it will examine themes that have haunted people for ages,” he said. “Our story is difficult, but it is not unique.”
Derick also spoke about this falling out in late 2019. After a fan brought up how much money the Counting franchise (17 Kids & Counting, 18 Kids & Counting, 19 Kids & Counting, and Counting On) has made since its inception, Derick responded, “TLC has issues. They begged us not to quit filming but then didn’t want to hear from us about why we quit. If money is all they care about, then it’s going to catch-up with them—you must care about people. All I’ve got to say is, they better lawyer-up b/c a storm is inevitable.”
In the wake of the feud, Jill seems happier and a little more liberated. She chopped off her hair in December (“I’ve never had more than like four to six inches cut off, but it’s pretty long” she said in a vlog), and she even dressed her kids – Israel David, 4, and Samuel, 2 – for Halloween. Considering the Duggars’ well-known religious background, this was a bit of a shock to fans. It wasn’t as shocking as when Jill promoted A Year Of Sexy Dates, a book that encouraged couples to engage in “Steamy ABCs,” “Spicy Pictionary,” and “Strip Never Have I Ever.”