Is Jill Duggar reconnecting with her parents?
Even though Jill and Derick aren’t necessarily the best people, that doesn’t mean that people don’t sympathize with what she’s been through.
In addition to having a notorious monster for an eldest brother, she also has loathsome parents, Jim Bob and Michelle. She has not had an easy start in life.
For years, things have been strained for Jill Duggar and her parents. Where do things stand now?
On the “Shiny Happy People” documentary, Jill Duggar tried to convey the complex emotions that she still feels towards her horrible parents. Husband Derick Dillard was by her side. (Image Credit: Amazon Prime)
How are things for Jill Duggar and her parents?
During a recent Q&A session on her Instagram account, Jill Duggar answered fan questions. Some questions centered upon her relationship — such as it is — with her awful parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.
One question just asked what things are like now. Obviously, they’ve had their ups and downs.
Jill Duggar described things with her parents as feeling “complicated.” That is both accurate and an understatement.
A wide-eyed Michelle Duggar makes a memorable expression on YouTube. (Image Credit: YouTube)
During the Saturday, November 2 Q&A session, Jill Duggar hinted that progress has taken place — but acknowledged that there’s still a long way to go.
“I feel like we are in a rebuilding phase now,” she characterized.
Jill then emphasized the importance of carrying on this rebuilding with her parents “with healthy boundaries still in place.”
Even though Jinger Duggar and Jill Duggar do not always make the same choices, they are still sisters and have a lot in common. Their reunion in this July 4, 2023 snapshot is a great reminder of that. (Image Credit: YouTube)
Is Jill Duggar seeing her parents regularly?
One gets the impression that Jill Duggar is seeing parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar from time to time. The frequency is unclear.
However, this marks a stark contrast with where things stood even earlier this year. In January of 2024, Jill confirmed only that she’d seen her mom in the previous few months. At the time, she confessed that she could not recall when she had last seen her dad, too.
Most would celebrate not having to interact with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. However, it’s been clear that Jill Duggar’s strained relationship with her parents is not how she wants things.
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar in happier, more innocent times. Still bigoted and kind of backwards, but less controversial for sure. (Image Credit: TLC)
However, that doesn’t mean that she’d rather be next-door neighbors and see them every day. Mental health has to come first, she explained.
“We try to hang out whenever it works well,” she told her fans and followers.
Jill Duggar added an important caveat: “And we have the [mental] bandwidth to navigate things.”
Jill Duggar tells her story during an appearance in a documentary about her family. (Photo Credit: Amazon Studios)
Can they ever mend fences?
Jill Duggar clearly wants a relationship with her parents. Even if no one else can understand or relate, that’s her boundary to set — or to not set, as the case may be.
Jill and Derick published a tell-all memoir, Counting The Cost. They also took Jim Bob to court to receive fair compensation for their share of appearing on reality TV — a gig that tremendously enriched Jim Bob.
Jill Duggar ‘Rebuilding’ Bond With Awful Parents – But Can She? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.