After oldest sonJosh Duggar’sarrest in Aprilon charges ofreceiving and possessing child pornography, TLC cut all ties with theDuggars andpulled the plug onCounting On— fracturing the unity of the once tight-knit family and leaving their future uncertain.
“They aren’t as close as they once were because of all of Josh’s legal drama,” a family source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “It’s creating a lot of stress on them — although the majority of the family is acting like nothing has happened.”
Jim Bob Duggar, 56, his wife Michelle, 54, and their 19 kids — the stars of two wildly popular reality showsabout their deeply conservative Christian family — have weathered crises before.
For more about the Duggar family, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.
But what’s unfolding now is different than the 2015 scandal that forced the network to cancel the family’s first show,19 Kids and Counting, after a 2006 police investigation surfaced revealing that Josh had been accused of molesting five underage girls (including at least two of his sisters) in 2002 and 2003 when he was 14.
Three months later, a massive data hack revealed that Josh was a dues-paying member of Ashley Madison, a cheating website, and he soon confessed to being unfaithful to his wife Anna Duggar and having an addiction to pornography. After some time in a faith-based rehabilitation center in Illinois, he returned to his family.
Duggar family.
The following year, older sisterJill (Duggar) Dillard— married to recent law school grad Derick Dillard — quitCounting Onand said she had learned that Jim Bob was earning $25,000 to $45,000 an episode for the family’s participation while she’d never received any compensation.
The 30-year-oldmom of two, who hasn’t seen her parents in more than two years, told PEOPLElast year that she’s at peace with lifestyle choices that would have been unthinkable years ago. “We wanted more control of our own lives,” Jill said.
Most recently, news of Josh’s arrest this year caused even further strain on the family’s unity.
Currently, Josh, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing and receiving child pornography, is staying withthird party custodians, Lacount and Maria Reber, and is confined to their home via GPS tracking as he awaits hiscriminal trial on Nov. 30.
Though he was granted"unlimited contact"with his six young children, provided thatAnnais present, he is not allowed to see any other minor children, including his many nieces and nephews.
Josh Duggar.Washington county arkansas
With his trial date just three months away, the family’s eldest sibling is feeling confident he won’t be convicted, according to the family source: “He really thinks he’s going to get out of it.”
“Jim Bob always wants to sweep things under the rug,” the family source shares. “He’s never going to talk about the scandal because it’s bad for business.”
source: people.com
