After two years of avoiding social media, Jana Duggar returned to Instagram in May 2024 in a big way. The last time the former 19 Kids and Counting star had posted on the platform before that was in March 2022, when she shared a picture of a DIY project she was working on. Jana has never explained why she suddenly disappeared, though it could have had something to do with oldest brother Josh’s court case and conviction that inspired her to take a break. Last year was also pretty eventful for the family, as two of her sisters released books exposing some of the reality TV family’s biggest secrets. Now, Jana's return is leading to a lot of new speculation.
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Jana eased herself back onto the platform.
Jana posted on Instagram twice in May. The first post, which marked her official return to the platform, didn’t feature her or anyone from her family. It was simply a Reel of flowers in her garden.
“Spring beauty,” she wrote.
Her second post was dedicated to her mom.
She returned with another post just a few days later to share a tribute to Michelle Duggar in honor of Mother’s Day.
“Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!" she captioned the picture of her and Michelle, standing side by side and smiling.
“She’s the best!!!” younger sister Jessa commented.
Jinger chimed in, too, writing, “Aww wish I could be there today!"
Fans are beginning to speculate about her return to the 'Gram.
Fans couldn’t help but comment on her seemingly sudden return to social media, taking to popular subreddit DuggarSnark to share their feelings on Jana’s mostly nature oriented content.
“Either she’s trying to jump on the influencer bandwagon all the women in her circle are currently on or a mega scandal is about to drop,” one person wrote.
“She's trying to finance a new she-shed,” someone else quipped. “This one with ac and indoor plumbing.”
Another person wrote: “Of course she is. Jim Bob probably has her out there again to deflect from Joy’s most recent YouTube video where she talks about the negative aspects of her childhood and the impact Jill’s and Jinger’s books have had on her. He does this kind of thing every time something negative arises. I hope more and more of these adult kids will start to wake up. Sadly, I think most of the guys are lost causes. The girls, however, seem to be the ones moving farther away from the cult. I say props to them!”
Could the Duggars be coming back to TV?
While people speculate a lot of different possible causes for Jana’s sudden return to Instagram, there are people who think that the family could be eyeing a return to reality TV. As The Hollywood Gossip website pointed out, Jana’s public praise of mom Michelle happened to come at the same time her sister Jessa made a sudden return to social media of her own. It could be a coincidence, but it could also be a sign of something bigger.
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The family has been rocked by scandal in recent years.
Since Josh Duggar’s arrest in 2021 (which led to a conviction on charges involving child sexual assault material and time in prison), many members of the Duggar family have put distance between themselves and their fans. This only became more apparent last year when both Jill and Jinger released books talking about the dark side of growing up Duggar.
Jana may feel that the dust has settled by now, but has it really?
