Duggar Family Drama: Jill Dillard Says She Originally Went to Therapy to Reestablish a Relationship With Her Parents

Jill Dillard appeared to be the most enamored with her family’s ultra-conservative Christian lifestyle during the early years of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. She would go on to be the Duggar offspring who walked away from the lifestyle. Today, Jill is mostly estranged from her famous family. Duggar family followers suspected her husband’s less conservative upbringing, a power struggle over money, and much-needed therapy led to the estrangement. Sure, therapy played a role, but not how you might think. In a recent interview, Jill revealed she initially sought therapy hoping to repair her tattered relationship with her parents. Jill is Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s fourth child. The opposite happened 

Jill Dillard went into therapy to help repair her relationship with her parents 

Jill Dillard is the only Duggar who has spoken publicly about seeing a therapist. She entered therapy several years ago, but it probably isn’t for the reasons you think. In a recent interview with People, Jill Dillard revealed that she started treatment with her husband, Derick Dillard, with the goal of reestablishing a relationship with her parents. Surely, the mother of three hoped to create a healthier relationship with her parents. It seems healthy comes with some geographical and emotional distance these days. 

Jill told the publication that when she told her counselor about her goals, they suggested she and Derick spend more time unpacking things. She went on to explain they spent time figuring out who they were first. The approach was a good one for the Dillards. Jill said the process helped and has led to pretty significant changes. Her familial relationships still need some work. 

Is she still estranged from the Duggar family? 

Jill Dillard might have headed into therapy hoping to reestablish contact with her parents, but the therapeutic process ensured the opposite would happen. Since beginning therapy, Jill has remained mostly estranged from her family. While Jill and Derick attended Josh Duggar’s trial, they remained separate from the rest of the family. Jill also appears only to be invited to specific family events, namely, ones her father is not involved with. 

While she appears to have some contact with select siblings, others avoid her. Jedidiah Duggar, in particular, took to social media to like comments condemning Jill for appearing in Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. Whether the estrangements will worsen once her book, Counting the Costs, is released to the public is anyone’s guess. If Jill is as honest in her memoir as she has been in recent interviews, the rift is likely to deepen. 

Jill Dillad’s book, Counting the Costs, will be released on Sept. 12.