Not long after the documentary, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, premiered on Jun. 2, TV personality Jill Duggar, 32, took to the comments of her Jun. 4 Instagram post to reveal how she feels about her parents, Jim Bob Duggar, and Michelle Duggar. After a fan told Jill she did a “great job” on the documentary and didn’t do “any ‘dishonoring,”, the 19 Kids and Counting alum gushed over her mom and dad. “Thanks. I love my parents,” Jill wrote, along with a red heart emoji.
In the post, not only did Jill pose amid a body of water, but she also used the caption to seemingly hint at the difficulties she has faced. “Life a journey. Sometimes courage is built in the toughest storms,” the mother-of-three captioned the photo. Many of her 1.8 million followers took to the comments and joined the other fan in praising Jill for what she said in the documentary. “I just watched the documentary, I admire your bravery and courage. ‘Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes'”, one admirer wrote, while another added, “Growth looks good on you.”
Not only did Jill open up about her experiences being a Duggar, but she also revealed she was ready to testify against her brother, Josh Duggar, 35, during his 2021 child pornography trial. “I was prepared to testify against my brother,” she said on the Amazon Prime documentary. “I guess they got what they needed from someone else.” Her disgraced sibling was was found guilty on two charges of “knowingly receiving and possessing child pornography images,” and began serving his prison sentence in June 2022. Jill was present for the entire 2021 trial as well as for the day Josh was found guilty.
One day ahead the premiere of the documentary on Jun. 1, Jim Bob and Michelle released a statement sharing their disproval of the doc. “The recent ‘documentary’ that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love,” the note began. “Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format. This ‘documentary’ paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.” The TLC stars added that they prefer to “repair damaged relationships in a private setting,” however, they still “love every member of our family.”
As many know, Jim Bob and his wife rose to fame after their show, 19 Kids and Counting, premiered on TLC in 2008. The series ran for over seven years until the finale aired in 2015. As the title reveals, they pair are parents to 19 children, who all grew up on the hit reality series. After the initial series was cancelled, many of the kids appeared in the spinoff, Counting On, which aired from 2015 through 2020. In the new documentary, the Duggar family’s “secrets” are exposed, as well as those of the religious organization founded by Bill Gothard, The Institute of Basic Life Principles (BLP).