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The television viewing world has been given glimpses into Jim Bob Duggar’s controlling nature for years on 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. In small doses, however, his weird quirks didn’t seem too terrible, and his kids, for the most part, seemed reasonably happy. Now with several of the Duggars grown and married, the cracks are really becoming evident. Jim Bob actually is way more controlling than most fans thought, and the proof was there all along.

Amy Duggar was never allowed to hang out with her cousins unless there was supervision

Amy Duggar, the family’s rebellious cousin, would be considered a peer to several of her cousins by anyone’s standards. Jim Bob, however, has never felt that way. Amy has admitted that she was never allowed to hang out with the Duggar girls without supervision, even as they moved into their teen years.

Back in 2016, Amy told a social media commenter that she was only ever allowed to hang out with her cousins on her uncle’s terms and that mostly meant she had to go visit them at the house, where Jim Bob and Michelle could keep an ear in their conversations. According to People, Amy told the commenter that Jim Bob and Michelle didn’t want Amy influencing their 19 children, presumably with her more worldly ways. Amy, who identifies as a Christian, does not belong to the ultra-conservative Christian ministry the Duggars are associated with. She attended traditional school and dated rather than entering into a courtship.

Amy must go to the Duggar house if she’d like to see her much younger cousins

Amy’s commentary from back in 2016 seems to hold true for today, too. There are currently 11 Duggar kids out of 19 that are not yet married. While many are still children, Jana Duggar, now 30, still lives under her family’s roof. Amy, suspiciously, is never pictured with Jana, who is closest to Amy in age. She also doesn’t appear to spend much time with the younger Duggar kids, or Joy-Anna Duggar, who now lives next door to her.

The last time Amy was mentioned by the Duggar family was when she gave birth to her first child, Daxton Ryan. Daxton’s October 2019 birth prompted a visit from the family, but don’t expect to see many more bonding photos. Amy’s younger cousins must be visited at the Duggar family compound, and, from the sounds of it, Amy doesn’t have time for that. Besides running her own boutique, Amy is also involved in her husband’s new business venture. Dillon King recently opened a whiskey bar. It is certainly not an establishment that Jim Bob and Michelle will be visiting.  

Amy is currently closest to Jill Duggar, who has been mostly disowned by her parents

Amy might not have unfettered access to the majority of the Duggar kids, but she does seem to be forging a close relationship with at least one of her cousins. In recent months, Amy has been outspoken about her support of Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard. Jill and Derick have been seemingly excommunicated from the family.

Derick admitted, back in December 2019, that he and Jill are not welcome at the Duggar family home unless Jim Bob is on hand to monitor their movements. Amy showed her support by suggesting that Derick keep talking about what goes on behind the scenes, a move that surely didn’t endear her to Uncle Jim Bob. Considering Amy’s 2016 admission, critics of the family believe that Jill probably isn’t allowed access to her siblings unsupervised either, which is pretty strange since she reportedly raised several of them.

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