It’s no secret that Amy Duggar King has distanced herself from her extended family in recent years, but where do they stand now?
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly before the release of her memoir, Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder With the Truth, Amy, 38, revealed “it’s been a very long time” since she’s spoken to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, her uncle and aunt.
“It’s been basically [since] right before the trial of Josh,” she said. (Amy’s cousin Josh Duggar was arrested in 2021 for receiving and possessing child pornography. His trial was held that same year, and he was ultimately sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.)
Amy claimed “lies” were told by her family leading up to her cousin’s arrest that made her feel like she wasn’t “worthy of the truth.”
Amy Duggar earned a reputation as the rebellious cousin throughout her extended family’s tenure on 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. Amy is the only child of Terry Jordan and Deanna Duggar, whose brother, Jim Bob Duggar, shares 19 children with wife Michelle Duggar. When the former politician and Michelle’s first reality series debuted […]
“And I hate how that’s come about, but at the same time, it made me [realize] like, ‘OK, I see where I stand in the totem pole,’ you know? … So for that reason, there’s boundaries there,” she explained, “because I’m not going to put myself through that again, and neither is my mom.”
Amy told Us that her mother, Deanna, who is Jim Bob’s sister, had also “realized really quickly that there were some unhealthy patterns” within the family.
While her relationships with Jim Bob, 60, and Michelle, 59, are on rocky ground, Amy has found an ally in her cousin Jill Duggar.
Amy Duggar King, Jill Duggar Courtesy Amy Duggar King/Instagram
“[We’re] super close,” Amy told Us. “[Her] boys were over just the other day. We have so much fun. And whenever Jill goes over to see her mom and her sisters and brothers, I watch her kids. So we have a very close relationship. … It’s such a blessing to have her in my corner, and I’m in hers, and it’s just really, really awesome.”
Jill, 34, made headlines in 2020 when she revealed in a YouTube video that she and husband Derick Dillard weren’t “on the best terms with some of my family” after leaving their reality series Counting On two years prior. When she spends time with Amy, conversations about family are somewhat off the table.
“We kind of don’t talk about [her parents] when she’s here. We focus on the [kids], we focus on life and peace and all of that,” Amy told Us, sharing an update on Jill’s relationship with Jim Bob and Michelle now. “I don’t think it’s gotten worse, but I don’t know if it’s gotten better. … I’m not gonna speak for her either, because I feel like that’s kind of her thing. But I know that she has boundaries.”
The twosome have “had a lot of heart-to-heart talks” over the years. “We’ve really got to discuss a lot,” Amy added. “It’s things that are between her and I, but … we see eye to eye on a lot of different topics.”
While they’ve covered plenty of ground, Jill might be in for some surprises when she reads Holy Disruptor. “She’s like, ‘I guarantee you there’s going to be things in here that I don’t know,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, girl, you just wait,’” Amy told Us.
Amy hasn’t “heard from really anyone else” in her family since her book was announced earlier this year, but she’s still hopeful her cousins will read her story.
“I’m really hoping that they get a chance to read my book, or they pick it up at Walmart when you know they’re by themselves or something, and they’re like, ‘What is this?’ And they actually get the truth,” she said. “Because, like I said, a lot of things have slipped underneath the rug in my family, and not a lot has come out. … There’s more to the story.”
Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder With the Truth hits shelves October 14.
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