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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jessa Duggar, a well-known reality TV star from the infamous Duggar family, has been forging her own path in recent years, away from the television spotlight that once captivated millions. With the upcoming release of 'Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets' on Amazon Prime on June 2, viewers are eagerly anticipating the revelations it may bring.
However, amidst the excitement, curiosity lingers about the 'Counting On' alum's current whereabouts and the reasons behind her noticeable absence from the family's docuseries. Speculation of a possible feud and estrangement between Jessa and her relatives emerged but she hasn't publicly addressed her current relationship with the Duggars. That said, her husband, Ben Seewald, has seemingly been throwing shade at his in-laws while giving sermons at Immanuel Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas.
The Duggar family
Jim and Michelle Duggar, who were at the helm of the family, gained fame for their large brood of 19 children and their unwavering emphasis on the significance of strong familial bonds. The family's wholesome image, however, was abruptly shattered when disturbing allegations emerged regarding their eldest son, Josh Duggar. His subsequent arrest on charges of possessing child pornography unveiled a dark and unsettling reality behind the carefully cultivated facade of the Duggar family.
The exposure of Josh's molestation of five young girls, including four of his sisters and the family's babysitter, had severe consequences, leading to the cancellation of the family's show and putting them in the unwanted spotlight for all the wrong reasons. As the highly anticipated docuseries 'Shiny Happy People' draws near, it offers insight into Jessa's life, uncovering the painful truth that she, too, suffered the trauma of sexual assault inflicted by her brother, Josh.
Where is Jessa Duggar?
Jedidiah and Katey Duggar's recent YouTube video showcasing the family's ugly Christmas sweater party left fans puzzled. Jessa, along with her husband Ben and their four children, Spurgeon, Henry, Ivy, and Fern, were noticeably absent. This, combined with their absence from the fall festival in November 2022, has led to speculation about a possible rift within the Duggar family.
However, in July 2022, Jessa attended her sister Jill Duggar's baby shower, which seemed to indicate a strained relationship with her parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar, also considering her husband, Derick Dillard, was fired from their TLC show in 2017. After Jessa and Jill’s cousin, Amy Duggar, shared photos from the baby shower via Instagram, Jessa commented, “It was so fun celebrating this new life.” Fans quickly questioned if there was any reason she didn’t appear in photos from the party. Jessa clapped back, “Please let’s not assume there’s a negative motive behind everything we do and do not do.”
While rumors of estrangement persisted, Jessa surprised everyone when she reunited with her mother, Michelle, and her eight sisters in April 2023. “The older everyone gets, the busier life gets— which means it’s always extra special when we manage to get all 9 of us sisters + mom together again in the same place at the same time!” she captioned a photo from the gathering via Instagram on April 4. “Last week was golden."
Jessa Duggar's heartbreaking miscarriage
In a deeply emotional YouTube video, Jessa Duggar Seewald shared the emotional news of her miscarriage over the holidays in February. She documented her experience, from the initial joy of the pregnancy announcement to the devastating moment when the doctor revealed that something was wrong with the baby. "Nothing could have prepared me for the weight of those words in that moment," Jessa said. "At that moment I was just in complete shock. I didn't have words. I just immediately started crying."
"We were just sitting there holding hands and crying, like, 'What do we do from here?'" Jessa recalled. "I feel like in some ways miscarriages can be so jarring because you don't have clear signs of something going wrong," she added. "I had minimal spotting for 24 hours, and that was it." To avoid potential complications associated with expelling the fetus at home, she made the decision to admit herself to a hospital and undergo a dilation and curettage procedure to safely remove the fetus from her womb.
After the revelation of the heartbreaking news, Jessa said, "I was able to thank God in that moment for giving us this life, even if we wouldn't be able to hold this baby in our arms. Those 10 to 15 minutes before I was taken back to the room where Ben and my mom were waiting were probably some of the hardest in my life, just laying there feeling so alone," she explained, as her voice tearfully broke on camera.
Jessa Duggar compared abortion to the Holocaust
In 2014, the '19 Kids and Counting' alum paid a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. The mother of four reflected on the experience by comparing abortion to the devastating genocide that took the lives of approximately 11 million people. "I walked through the Holocaust Museum again today... very sobering. Millions of innocents denied the most basic and fundamental of all rights—their right to life. One human destroying the life of another deemed 'less than human.' Racism, stemming from the evolutionary idea that man came from something less than human; that some people groups are 'more evolved' and others 'less evolved.'"
She continued, "A denying that our Creator—GOD—made us human from the beginning, all of ONE BLOOD and ONE RACE, descendants of Adam. The belief that some human beings are 'not fit to live.' So they're murdered. Slaughtered. Kids with Down syndrome or other disabilities. The sickly. The elderly," the engaged TV star wrote in the caption. "The sanctity of human life varies not in sickness or health, poverty or wealth, elderly or pre-born, little or lots of melanin [making you darker or lighter skinned], or any other factor."
Quoting Proverbs 24:10-12, Jessa added, "'If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works?'" The former TLC star continued, "May we never sit idly by and allow such an atrocity to happen again. Not this generation. We must be a voice for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Because EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS. #ProLife."
