To be very clear, there's no chance Jinger Duggar is glad that her brother may have downloaded sexually explicit videos of kids under the age of 12.
She can't be happy that Josh Duggar was arrested on charges of child pornography possession and may go to jail for 40 years, okay?
HOWEVER...
There appears to be a slight silver lining to this catastrophe.
Earlier this week, two months after Duggar's arrest, TLC announced it has canceled Counting On, the spinoff of 19 Kids and Counting (which the network also canceled back in 2015; also due to Josh Duggar's awful actions).
In response to the news, Jinger released a statement that can be summed up in three words:
Phew! Thank goodness!
"We are grateful for TLC giving us the opportunity to be on their network over the years and their kindness towards the Vuolo family," remarked the Jinger and her husband, Jeremy, in the wake of this development.
"It's been a remarkable journey that has opened doors to traveling and experiencing the world in a way that we wouldn't have imagined possible.
"We wholeheartedly agree with TLC's decision not to renew Counting On.
"[We] are excited for the next chapter in our lives.
"We'd like to thank our fans, friends and the amazing film crew who have shown us love and support. We look forward to continuing our creative journey in Los Angeles and seeing what the future holds."
Why would Jinger be happy about her program getting the axe?
She seemingly explained as much on Thursday's edition of the podcast Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall.
"I think a lot of people do look into fame, and they think it's all beautiful, it's all wonderful, and yes, as I'm saying, there are tons of perks, but then, you also have to wrestle through a lot," Jinger confessed.
As we've delved into over the past several months, too, it sounds as if Jim Bob Duggar is the one who profited the most from his kids being on TV.
So it's not as though Jinger had been raking it in as a cast member on Counting On.
Continued Jinger on the podcast, delving into her mental health:
"We have times where we're walking through very challenging deep, dark times and other people may not know about it or they may not understand that that's something that's common to all of us as humans."
When the going really gets tough, to whom does Jinger turn?
"We all walk through difficulties and challenges and that is definitely something I think about for us," she said on air.
"We are people of faith and we have faith in God and so I think for me in those times when I wrestle the most, I just run to God."
Jinger added that the tabloid headlines and various opinions of her family online can be especially difficult for her to handle.
"I'm like, 'Okay, I cannot put up with what the tabloids are saying today, I can't put up with other people's opinions of even family relationships, what they say about my family.'
"That's painful to hear.
"So in those times I just have to go back to, 'Okay, wait I'm not defined by what everyone's saying today, I'm not defined by these things, my identity is only found in Jesus Christ and because of who I am in Christ now, it doesn't matter.'
"I don't have to worry about other people's opinions of me and I think that's something that I wrestle with and I think my family wrestles with."
Jinger shares 7-month-old Evangeline Jo and Felicity, who turns 3 in July, with Jeremy.
The absolute worst, she says, is when haters on social media actually attack these young children.
"If I post a photo on Instagram, immediately you’ll have people who’ll say, ‘Oh, what a cute family photo!’
"And then you’ll have those who will say really mean things... about my kids! And it’s like, ‘She’s 2.’”.
Jinger, of course, has given interviews to People Magazine, recently released a memoir and now here she is, opening up on a podcast.
If she doesn't like the spotlight so much, why doesn't she simply ... duck out of it?
With Counting On no longer in the picture, it sounds like she and Jeremy may do exactly that.
Unless it's too late.
"There are days where I just wish [I] could say, 'Oh, no one knows who I am, ever again,'" Duggar admitted on the podcast.
"But that's never gonna be true for me because people already know who I am.
"People can always look me up."
0 comments