Jill Duggar Hasn’t Seen Her Parents Jim Bob & Michelle In Over A Year!

Jill Duggar is keeping her distance from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

The 32-year-old former reality star and her husband, Derek Dillard, appeared on The Unplanned Podcast with Abby and Matt Howard on Wednesday, during which she got very candid about her estrangement from her parents! Perezcious readers know Jill has not been on good terms with the couple ever since she left Counting On.

In her book Counting the Cost, she claimed part of the reason for the tension between her and her parents was because Jim Bob did not like the idea of his kids and their spouses getting paid for the family’s show. When they began to push back, the 58-year-old, whom she also accused of being verbally abusive, allegedly only offered to give his sons and sons-in-law $80,000 to appear in the series. However, they had to sign a contract and extend their commitment to the Mad Family Inc. production company.

This drove a wedge in her relationship with Jim Bob and Michelle. And things between the family members still seem rocky to this day! On the podcast episode, Jill revealed she has spoken to her parents since the release of her memoir in September 2023. However, they did not have a sit-down conversation. Jill said:

“Yes, I didn’t like sit-down and have a conversation and say ‘What did you think about the book?’ I’ve heard that they did [read it]. I heard they, like, listened to it on an audiobook or something. I don’t know. … They’re my parents and I’m gonna tread lightly.”

And that means Jill doesn’t plan on addressing the book with them anytime soon! She shared that she didn’t want to “create more controversy” with her other family members, explaining:

“It’s kind of like when you get together at the holidays, and there are just certain things that you don’t, like, just want to bring up. It’s probably a sore subject.”

If Jill were to have a conversation with Jim Bob and Michelle, she noted that they most likely would want to “sit down with a therapist” and “hash it out.” However, Jill knows that would be a waste of time for her situation since it has not worked in the past. She added:

“It just is not the healthiest way to go about it, so we’re still on the road to figuring things out.”

The trio hasn’t had a full-on sit-down chat to talk things out. However, Jill believes she only has seen Michelle since Counting the Cost dropped in September 2023. However, when it comes to the last time she and Derek saw both Jim Bob and Michelle, the couple knew it had been a while!

Derek guessed it was “probably” when their son, Freddy, was born in July 2022. Jill couldn’t remember at first, but she eventually realized they were with Jim Bob and Michelle at a “birthday thing or baby announcement” for one of her siblings. The “family function” happened before her book’s release, to which Derek pointed out:

“That was over a year ago.”

Whoa!

No one can blame her for staying away from Jim Bob and Michelle! After the gut-wrenching moments Jill described in her book, we’re surprised she still is in contact with them at all! As for the rest of her family? Jill revealed she still talks with her siblings:

“It’s still one of those situations where you kind of have to know, like, ‘What am I up for emotionally?’ A lot of times, Derick and I will debrief afterwards … and I would be lying if I said it was completely like it used to be. … But I can definitely get together with some of my siblings and just have a great time or go to lunch.”

Derek recognized that “everyone is on their own journey.” Although Jill is on good terms with her brothers and sisters, she admits she feels “sad” at times about how they aren’t as close as they once were:

“I wish things could be like they were before. But at the same time … I don’t want to just go back to living in this crazy, controlling environment.”

At the end of the day, you need to protect your peace — even if it means distancing yourself from family. It appears that is exactly what Jill and Derek are doing, at least when it comes to her parents. You can watch the entire interview (below):