Reality TV
Jill Duggar’s Husband Derick Dillard Says Father-in-Law Jim Bob Has ‘Google Alerts’ for Family News
Jill Duggar’s husband, Derick Dillard, revealed that his father-in-law, Jim Bob Duggar, still keeps tabs on the entire Duggar clan amid the couple’s estrangement from the family and her parents.
“Her dad gets these Google alerts whenever the family name is in the news,” Derick explained on the Tuesday, November 14, episode of the “Ask Dr. Julie Hanks” podcast when discussing an incident regarding Jill’s style choices.
Derick, 34, and Jill, 32, expressed their frustration with the patriarch of the Duggar family when he contradicted his beliefs by condemning Jill for rumors on the internet saying she wore pants while simultaneously praising Derick’s mother.
Dr. Hanks asked if Derick was ever scared to “court Jill” due to the family’s “extreme beliefs,” and the attorney admitted he wasn’t aware of certain aspects.
“I didn’t know if there was as much, like, unspoken rules until after we got married. They’re technically not a sin, per se, but if you broke it down everyone would consider it a sin,” Derick said, as the mom of three cut in saying, “For example, children.”
“Or even wearing pants,” Derick added. “My mom wears pants and my in-laws, Jim Bob and Michelle [Duggar], would say, ‘She’s such a Godly woman. We love your mom.’ And I was like, ‘She wears a business suit, and she wears pants.’ Why is it so simple? And when Jill – there were rumors and we hadn’t even said anything – and her dad pulls her aside and says, ‘Hey, I heard you’re wearing pants,’ and gave her a book on why it’s not good to wear pants.”
The couple stated Jill goes into more detail in her memoir, Counting the Cost, and Derick continued, “But I was like, ‘That’s at odds with, like, my mom who’s been a wonderful Christian lady for over 50 years,’ and they’re, like, singing her praises but I’m like, ‘Well, she’s doing the same thing that Jill’s doing but it’s wrong when Jill does it.’”
The reality TV alum also confessed that Jim Bob, 58, and Michelle, 57, looked down on him for his “choice in music.” He learned about their concerns from Jill, saying, “Jill told me that her dad said, ‘You need to talk to Derick about his choice in music,’ and I think [Jill] said, ‘Well I don’t even know what my convictions are on that.’”
After about a year of speculation, Jill confirmed her estrangement from her family in March 2021 via YouTube. The couple started to distance themselves from Jim Bob after they left the family’s now-defunct TV show, Counting On, in 2017. Jill and Derick have listed several reasons for their estrangement such as the family’s strict rules against wearing pants, the manipulation of her sister, Jessa Duggar, and Jill regarding their oldest brother Josh Duggar’s sexual abuse, and the fight that ensued when she confronted her father about the money she was rightfully owed after filming several seasons of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. During the podcast episode on November 14, Jill added that Jim Bob wanted her to choose between him and Derick, and ultimately, Jill chose Derick which led to her estrangement from her father.
Jill teased in her book that she and Derick were working toward a better relationship with her parents, but since then it appears things have shifted. The Counting On alum admitted that their current situation is a bit rocky, especially since Derick stood up for her against her father and even threatened to file a protective order.
However, Jill says that she and Derick hope “things can get better.”
