I’m genuinely surprised that People Magazine is still doing Duggar-family covers. My guess is that People Mag has already formed relationships with Duggar Inc. and they figure, “Why not just milk all of the exclusives that we can get out of this family?” Still, it feels like the Duggar story has sort of subsided in the national consciousness and it would have been great to see another Jennifer Aniston cover (with exclusive wedding photos, which I guess People does not have) or a Ben Affleck cover (with more exclusive details about how he totally did not bang the nanny, of course). CB says that People Mag was supposed to do a Kelly Rutherford cover this week, so this Duggar cover might be a last-minute editorial decision. So we get this cover, with Jessa and Jill Duggar, arguably the most sympathetic and popular people within the Duggar clan.
What seems like a simple follow-up on the Josh Duggar-molestation scandal is probably something more. TLC is going to air Breaking the Silence, a Duggar-centered documentary about child abuse, on August 30. The tabloids have claimed for weeks now – ever since 19 Kids & Counting was officially canceled – that the family will do ANYTHING to get back on TV. A source told Star a few weeks ago: “The family can’t afford to not have the show—it is their main source of income, and with a family of that size, without it they’re in enormous trouble…They know they have to at least pretend to be sorry about what happened, and now they want a spin-off where Jim Bob and Michelle would give advice to abuse victims—even though they’re in denial about their culpability in Josh’s crimes.” That’s the background you need for this People cover story:
Three months ago a scandal turned their world upside-down – and the Duggar family is still trying to figure out a way forward.
“They are still stunned that this is how it has all gone down,” a source who has worked closely with them tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “I think they are still trying to absorb the fact that their life has so radically changed.”
In mid-May, oldest son Josh, 27, apologized for his earlier “wrongdoing:” A 2006 police report revealed that he molested five underage girls as a teen, and his sisters Jill, 24, and Jessa, 22, subsequently stepped forward as two of the victims. Since then, the sprawling reality TV family has struggled to move on following the cancellation of their hit TLC show, 19 Kids and Counting.
“The better part of the last decade has been doing their show, and to have that removed – and instead for there to be this intense scrutiny of their every move – just isn’t something you get used to overnight,” says the source.
When it comes to Josh’s “mistakes,” parents Michelle, 48, and Jim Bob, 50, “truly felt people would understand and eventually be okay with it,” adds the source.
Jessa, Jill, Jim Bob and Michelle have all publicly said they forgive Josh, now a married father of four, and “none of the Duggars think Josh is to blame” for the tremendous fallout, says the source. Instead, it is the officials who released the police records about Josh and his young victims who are the focus of the family’s anger. Rarely seen in public or on his family’s social media feeds since the scandal, Josh has had to distance himself in order to avoid drawing further negative attention upon them all, says the source.
“Jim Bob and Michelle love their son, and they love when they can spend time with his family. But every time they’re photographed with him, a story gets made out of it that rehashes the whole mess – and it’s painful for everyone.”
