Inside Jill Duggar’s Relationship With Her Dad, Jim Bob Duggar

The Gist:

• Jill Duggar Dillard is releasing her own tell-all memoir, Counting the Cost.
• Jill's relationship with her dad has been strained over the years.
• Jill is honest about her relationship with her dad although her parents would prefer to keep the details private.

The Duggars have been in the media quite a bit, with the once hugely popular show, formerly 19 Kids and Counting renamed to Counting On, being hit with scandal as Josh Duggar molested underage girls as a teen. He was also charged with possession of child pornography.

Sadly, one of those kids was Josh's own sister, Jill Duggar Dillard, and now she is coming out with her own tell-all memoir, Counting The Cost. We already know that Jill and her husband Derick Dillard have been distancing themselves from the family but what does the memoir say in regard to Jill's relationship with them now? Especially her dad, Jim Bob Duggar?

Jill Duggar's book, Counting the Cost, comes out on Sept. 12, 2023, and is a tell-all about her experience growing up as a Duggar. People actually got an exclusive excerpt where she details a fight with her dad that doesn't paint him in the best light.

There had been some speculation that there was bad blood for a while between Jill and her dad because on March 21, 2021, Jill and Derick talked about not visiting Jill's childhood home in multiple years in a YouTube video due to "prioritizing mental and emotional health."

E! News also secured court documents back in May 2022 where Jill spoke about her father to a psychologist saying, "I saw a whole new side to my dad once my husband and I started making decisions that were best for our family, but not in his best interest. Sadly, I realized he had become pretty controlling, fearful, and reactionary."

Now in the excerpt, Jill details a specific mediated argument with her dad:

"Pops took a step toward me, closing the gap. It wasn’t a gesture of reconciliation. It was an act of aggression. He towered over me, his whole body fueled with anger. My face flushed red. My eyes filled with tears."

Jill responded with tears in her eyes saying:

"'You want to know why I’m crying?' My voice was cracked, my eyes burning. 'It’s that you think I’m some kind of horrible person just because I wear pants and have a nose ring, and yet you see that girl outside and praise her. That’s why I’m crying, Daddy. I’m evolving and changing, just like that girl out there, but you can’t see it. You treat me like I’m a prodigal who’s turned her back on you. You treat me worse than you treat my pedophile brother.'"

Jim Bob and Jill's mom, Michelle Duggar gave People a statement as well:

"We love all of our children very much. As with any family, few things are more painful than conflicts or problems among those you love. We do not believe the best way to resolve conflicts, facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation, or communicate through difficulties is through the media or in a public forum so we will not comment."

Jill and her dad's relationship is obviously strained. She was very honest about their relationship in her memoir. Her parents appear to want to work on things privately, but Jill needed her truth to be told. Jill has made it clear that she set boundaries in her relationship with her dad for her own wellbeing. She did include her dad in a Facebook post on June 19, 2023, in honor of Father's Day. Jill posted a picture of her dad holding her when she was younger.