Over the years, we've seen the Duggars get a lot of hate through being on TV on 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, and lately, we've truly seen that hate multiply. Although a lot of their decisions and ways they live their lives are certainly controversial, it can't be easy to constantly receive so much criticism. But the more they've gotten used to their life choices being up for discussion with strangers from all over the world, the more they've seemed to develop a DGAF attitude, and we are loving every minute of it.
Whether they're changing up their family's expected dress code, getting an unexpected piercing (we're looking at you, Jill Duggar!), or parenting their children, we've seen many of the grown-up Duggar kidsdecide they no longer care about what people think about them. And since haters are always going to be there, judging their every move — especially for as long as this family remains in the public eye — we think it's a pretty healthy attitude for them to have. After all, if they feed into it, it's only going to get worse!
Here are times that the Duggars truly didn't care what other people thought of them.
We love a good act of rebellion, and our fingers are crossed that there are plenty more to come as the youngest members of the family grow up and become adults. Anybody else feel like trading in those dresses for skinny jeans?
Jinger Made Her Own Dress Code
It wasn't long after Jinger got married, left her parents' house and moved to Laredo, Texas, with Jeremy that she started making her own definition for dressing modestly. Instead of confining herself to dresses and skirts and shirts with sleeves, she decided to start wearing sleeveless tops and skinny jeans, and since she moved to California, that dress code only became looser. Look at those shorts!
Jill Broke Out the Pants
It wasn't long after Jinger started wearing pants that Jill followed suit. We love that she's expanded her wardrobe to include jeans, shorts, and tank tops — it gets hot in Arkansas! And she looks so much happier this way, so who cares what anyone else thinks?
Jill Pierced Her Nose
Jill's wardrobe isn't the only thing she's changed up in recent years. We couldn't believe our eyes when she posted her first photo of her nose ring, but we're loving it. She's the only Duggar with a piercing like that, and it looks great on her.
Jana Got an Instagram Account
Joining Instagram has traditionally been reserved for married couples in the Duggar fam, but not Jana. She's still not courting (at least, as far as we know), and she decided to join the social media network all by herself. So far, we've loved keeping up with her adventures.
Jessa Stopped Caring About Mom Shamers
Jessa posted this photo of Spurgeon and Henry playing "dangerously" on Instagram to hit back at mom shamers, and we couldn't like the post fast enough.
"Yes, we’re barefoot, and we kept away from the roll of barbed wire, and he didn’t get to keep the prized nail that he found," she wrote. "There. Beat ya to it."
The Deviled Egg Debate
Fans couldn't believe their eyes when the Duggar Instagram account showed off their deviled eggs for Easter. Not because they looked so good, but because they actually called them "yellow pocket angel eggs." Saying "devil" would be too much, and of course, they got all kinds of comments for that one, but it didn't seem like they cared much at all about what anyone else thought.
Jana Started Her Own Business
For the Duggar daughters, the plan is usually to get married, have babies, and repeat for the rest of time, but Jana's doing things her own way. Not only has she taken her sweet time finding a man to court, but she's also reportedly starting her own business. Women working in the Duggar fam isn't something that normally happens, but Jana lives her life in her own way.
Their Fishing Trip
Innocent fishing photo? Maybe to some people, but when they shared this pic of Jackson's catch, people called the family out in full force. They were upset that they killed fish, since the Duggars are always talking about loving all of God's creations, but the Duggars didn't care.
Jana Cleared Up Rumors About Her Sexuality
Considering that Jana is in her late 20s and has yet to court, there's been speculation that she might be gay. But she took the opportunity to shut down the rumors, when normally, she'd just ignore them.
"I would like to stop that rumor. I have no interest in girls that way whatsoever," she wrote in a comment on Instagram.
Amy Duggar Talked About Her 'Wild' Sex Life
Amy has always been the Duggar who's the most out there, but this time, she really opened up beyond what we'd ever expect from someone in this family to do. In an interview with People, Amy said that she and husband Dillon King like to "keep it wild." We'd pay to see Jim Bob and Michelle's faces when they caught wind of that one.
Jinger Let Felicity Go Barefoot
When it comes to the Duggars who are moms, the mom-shaming is real, and not even Jinger is safe from it. When fans saw she let Felicity go barefoot, they lost their minds. But Jinger didn't seem to let it bother her — after all, Felicity wasn't walking yet, and she was indoors.
Jessa Defended Jana's Social Media Behavior
Jessa really let her DGAF attitude shine through when she had to come to Jana's defense on Instagram. When fans questioned her for not having an Instagram account of her own in the past, Jessa let them know right off the bat that "It's not a rule, it's just a coincidence" that she didn't have an account before she was married.
John David & Abbie's PDA
John David took his time finding the right woman to spend the rest of his life with, and now, he doesn't mind showing her off. John and Abbie never hold back when it comes to sharing PDA on their Instagram, despite what people might say. Who cares? They're in love!
Jill Gave Her Kids a Sex Talk
Fans raised one giant eyebrow when Jill revealed she's already talking to her boys about sex in posts on Instagram, even though they're both still so young. She showed off a set of books she got to help kids understand, and the judgments already started rolling in. But we don't think Jill even batted an eye at the hate.
Jessa Kept Spurgeon in Diapers
Spurgeon is potty training these days, but before that, Jessa was constantly getting flak for him still being in diapers at 2 years old. But Jessa took the time to respond and say that her son isn't quite ready yet, and she's waiting until he is. Good for her for standing up for herself.
Jill's Reward for Israel
In one of her Instagram posts, Jill let it slip that she bought Israel a new toothbrush as a reward after he finished a school book. No, it's not OK to make kids earn their toothbrush and toothpaste. But if it's something that motivated Israel, why not? We doubt she was withholding dental care from him otherwise.
Felicity's Lack of Shoes
Yet again, Felicity's lack of shoes got Jinger into trouble when she shared this photo of her hanging out on her dad's lap. People called her out for it, judging her for not putting shoes and socks on her baby. But Jinger just ignored the unsolicited comments, as she should.
Jill Keeps Celebrating Her Love for Derick
Yes, Derick has posted some seriously questionable tweets, but Jill's made the choice to stay married to him. However, it's impossible for her to talk about her husband without getting hate for it, like when she posted photos in honor of their anniversary. Fortunately, it didn't look like she let it get to her.
Jessa Gave Spurgeon Starbucks
We shouldn't have been surprised when people called Jessa out for giving Spurgeon a Starbucks drink — they thought she just handed him a coffee. But nope, it was a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino, which has zero caffeine. We have a feeling Jessa knew this post would rile people up, but she stopped caring about that a long time ago.
Jessa Let Her Boys Play With a Shopping Cart
Fans totally shamed Jessa for letting the boys play on this shopping cart, commenting on her post about how dangerous it was. But since that Jessa was pointing her phone at her kids at the time, it seems like she was watching them. We don't think she'd let them get hurt!
The Trump Law
Fans definitely weren't impressed when Jana shared this video of her younger brother, James Duggar, weed whacking the word "Trump" into the lawn of the Duggars' mega-sized home before the 2020 election. The family was pretty shameless about it, though, despite the backlash they received.
Justin's Marriage
The Duggars were thrown a lot of side-eye when Justin proposed to Claire Spivey at just 17 years old … and when he was only 18 when he married her the day before her 20th birthday. They both seem pretty happy, though, and they've ignored the negative comments they've received.
Jed's Secret Wedding
Jed didn't care what Duggar fans thought when he kept his entire relationship with Katey Nakatsu under wraps in 2021. They courted, got engaged, and got married before a word was spoken about their union publicly … and the couple seems as happy as can be.
