Right now, Joshua Duggar, 27, has the spotlight on him in the most negative way. Information that the firstborn of the 19 Kids and Counting family allegedly molested five underage girls has shown that the Duggar family isn't what the public thought they were. The allegations prompted TLC to pull the show, but promotional material for 19 Kids and Counting still remains on the TLC website. It should also be noted that the JA20 website that details Josh and Anna Duggar's Courtship is still up, and it gives a different side of Josh Duggar that the media isn't focusing on.
According to the JA20 website, Josh Duggar accepted Christ at age of seven, and his family became the subject of a show on the Discovery Health channel that was called 14 Children and Pregnant Again. The show eventually became known as 19 Kids and Counting on TLC, and had over 11 seasons before its recent pulling by TLC amidst the allegations against Josh.
Joshua and Anna also shared about how they met on the website. Like Josh, Anna also comes from a big Christian family which she has 7 siblings. Apparently, she had heard about the Duggar family through mutual friends, and the two met when their families ran into each other at an ATI Conference. Anna felt like Josh would be the one she's going to marry, and the feeling was mutual.
The two eventually started courtship with the approval of both of their parents. After a short courtship and engagement, the couple were married on September of 2008.
Josh did not mention that he molested underage girls as a teenager in their story. But according to the statement that Anna released to People, she discussed how Josh even revealed his "mistakes" two years before they were married:
"I can imagine the shock many of you are going through reading this. I remember feeling that same shock. When my family and I first visited the Duggar home, Josh shared his past teenage mistakes. I was surprised at his openness and humility and at the same time didn't know why he was sharing it. For Josh, he wanted not just me but my parents to know who he really was - even very difficult past mistakes."
Most people may understand that it was a mistake that Josh Duggar did as a youth, and apparently his wife understood it and didn't hold it against him. However, the biggest problem in this incident is that apparently Jim Bob tried to cover the charges so the family would not be associated with his son's actions. Since Jim Bob Duggar was a politician, if word got out that his son was molesting teenage girls, this would have easily killed his campaign.
It should be noted that nothing current about Josh's situation has been added to the JA20 website. There is a noticeable link to a message from the Duggars, and that goes to a Duggar Family Official Facebook page explaining that Jim Bob and Michelle knew about what Josh had done, and they worked through it together as a family.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will break their silence regarding the molestation scandal in an upcoming interview with Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly. The interview will be aired at 9 PM ET this Wednesday.
Josh and Anna Duggar currently have three kids, with the fourth baby on the way. In October of 2009 they welcomed first daughter Mackynzie Renée, who is now 5. Their first son Michael James was born in June of 2011 and second son Marcus Anthony was born in June 2013. The new baby girl is due on July of 2015.
