Jinger Duggar had to unlearn some of the beliefs she took from the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

The 19 Kids and Counting alum, 31, opened up about how the teachings of former IBLP leader Bill Gothard made her feel like she wasn’t “enough” in an interview with People published on Monday, January 13.

“I will just say a lot of it started when I was in the teachings of Bill Gothard, because there was so much that was drilled into you through what he said about trying to please your husband and if you don’t, he’s going to leave you, because you don’t have a perfectly clean house or maybe you don’t make the dinner on time or you’re not joyfully available to him at all times,” she explained.

Jinger continued, “It was all so focused on, ‘Do this, do this, do this, do this,’ otherwise, you’re not going to be enough for him. Even having differences, because arguments don’t equal rejection and that’s something that I’ve learned over the years.”

The Counting On alum and her 18 siblings were raised on the teachings of the IBLP, a nondenominational Christian fundamentalist group founded by Bill, 90, in 1961. As seen on Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar’s family’s TLC shows, the IBLP follows several strict rules and ideas, including the beliefs that men are the head of the household and women must be submissive.

Bill led the IBLP until 2014, when more than 30 women accused him of sexual harassment. He denied the allegations but ultimately stepped down as president of the organization “to listen to those who have fought against him,” he said in a statement at the time.

Jinger left the IBLP in 2017 and went on her own journey to find her way in Christianity, which she detailed in her January 2023 memoir, Becoming Free Indeed.

“My faith is still intact, but it has changed. Instead of leaving the faith entirely, I’ve been disentangling it,” she wrote in the book.

Jinger told People that husband Jeremy Vuolo, whom she married in 2016, helped her break free from the beliefs of the IBLP.

“When we were first married, he would say, ‘Where do you want to go to dinner?’ And I’d be like, ‘It’s OK, babe. Wherever you want to go is fine,’ because I could never tell him what I was actually thinking out of fear of, those teachings kept coming back to mind, ‘Just have it all together for him,'” she said. “He was [like], ‘No, this is ridiculous. I want to know who Jinger is.'”

Jinger, who is currently expecting her third child with Jeremy, 37, added, “He wanted to know who I truly was. He pushed me to be vulnerable. He wanted to hear what I was thinking. Even if he said something that I disagreed with, he was like, ‘Tell me what you think, Jinge. I don’t care.’ He said, ‘I want to hear even if we have different opinions.'”

The author of her upcoming memoir, People Pleaser, which is set for release on Tuesday, January 14, explained that it took time for her to learn how to open up.

“It took me years to come to the place where I felt I was actually speaking my mind and able to open up,” Jinger continued. “He was so good about that, and to this day, he just continues to want me to grow, challenge me to be myself and push me to be my best.”