How Josh and Anna Duggar Moved on From His 2015 Sex Abuse Scandal
The Duggar family rose to fame through their TLC shows 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. But with plenty of fame can sometimes come controversy. And in the case of Josh Duggar, when he became well-known, a dark secret about his past was uncovered, which put his marriage to Anna Keller to the test.
Josh Duggar is the eldest Duggar child
The Duggar family is most known for the number of children that parents Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have. In total, there are 19. And Josh Duggar was the first born. When the show initially premiered, Duggar had just turned 20, and he was courting his future wife, Anna Keller. In real time, the couple had gotten married just three days before the show premiered. Keller and Duggar met back in 2006 at a homeschooling convention. Keller’s parents were also very conservative, so it was good news for both families when Duggar and Keller fell in love. They wed about two years later.
In 2015, a dark sex scandal about his past came to light, which cost his family their show
With 19 Kids and Counting at the height of its fame, a major scandal involving Duggar broke. Information leaked that Duggar had been accused of molesting several women as a teenager, four of whom were his sisters. According to the police report obtained by USA Today, the events initially occurred in 2002 and happened several times. Duggar admitted the problem to his father, and the police report said Duggar was punished. However, the incidents recurred, and Duggar eventually went to a Christian counseling center. There was reportedly more sexual abuse in 2006. Eventually, Duggar received more help and the family moved past the incident. But once fame struck them, it resurfaced; InTouch Weekly published an article all about the sexual abuse.
When the news broke, TLC pulled the show from its lineup as advertisers refused to air commercials during the Duggars’ show. Their world had been turned upside down, and the one who suffered the most was Duggar’s wife of nearly seven years, Keller.
The sex abuse scandal nearly cost Duggar his marriage — but they say they came out of it stronger than ever
When Keller learned the news of her husband and the father of her four children, whom she trusted so much, it put a major strain on their marriage. However, the couple trusted in their faith and did not want to get divorced. For about two years from when the scandal broke, Duggar and Keller worked to rebuild that sense of trust and regain their marriage. “For nearly the last two years, we have quietly worked to save our marriage, focus on our children, and rebuild our lives together as a family,” the couple wrote in a statement on the family’s website. Duggar had checked himself into a faith-based rehab center once more after the initial news of the scandal broke. The couple also chose to seek marriage counseling to work on their issues.
But despite a traumatizing event for Keller, she remained at her husband’s side. They spent time rebuilding their marriage because they were determined not to let it crumble. And while an incident such as that may never fully disappear, the couple is doing much better now than before. In 2017, they announced they were expecting a fifth child together — about two years after everything occurred. Today, they’re still married, seemingly happily, and raising their five young children.
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