From actual years of watching the Duggar family on TLC on 19 Kids and Counting and later on Counting On, we know a thing or two about the way they operate. Life as a Duggar comes with a lot of rules to be followed. Jim Bob and Michelle aren't messing around. They know the way they believe their family should live, and they expect their kids to toe the line. But more and more, as their daughters grow up and begin lives of their own, they've started to rebel — some more than others — and the oldest of the daughters seem to be breaking the rules left and right.
Even though we'd definitely point to Jill Duggar as the daughter who has strayed the farthest from the Duggars' original ideals, there are other rebels in the making right behind her. Jinger Duggar was the first to rebel, wearing skinny jeans not long after she married Jeremy Vuolo, much to everyone's shock. Since then, sisters Jessa, Jana, and Joy-Anna have joined in, breaking rules here and there in their own ways.
Read on for the ways the Duggar sisters have rebelled against their family's rules. We're sure their parents want the best for them, but we can't help but be proud of them for figuring out what's best for themselves — on their own terms.
Jill's Nose Ring
It was a big deal when people realized that Jill's nose was pierced a few years back. In fact, it was one of the first Duggar rules she'd ever broken. Though she'd never formally announced her new jewelry, it started showing up in her photos on Instagram. It was a good rule for her to break, though, because she's been rocking it ever since. It looks so cute on her!
Jessa Wearing Pants
Over the last year, Jessa's been caught wearing pants on multiple occasions — just like in this picture, where she's sporting sweatpants while hanging out in the yard with her kids and her husband, Ben Seewald. Whether she's been caught wearing jeans out at lunch with her family or in the background of someone's Instagram story, it's definitely happening!
Jill's Wardrobe
Few of the things Jill wears would pass Jim Bob and Michelle's wardrobe tests if she was still living under their rules. Though she does still go for modesty for the most part, it's on her own terms — and that includes shorts, jeans with rips in them, tank tops, and necklines that are a bit lower than what we would have seen under her parents' roof.
Joy-Anna Breaking Courtship Rules
On a 2017 episode of Counting On, Joy-Anna and Austin Forsyth admitted to breaking courtship rules before they were married, though they were pretty tame ones. They admitted to staying out late talking past their curfew — and they were totally unsupervised at the time. Oh, and there was some full-frontal hug action, instead of side hugs, which are the family-approved version before marriage. Uh-oh. Watch out for these two!
Jinger's Entire Wardrobe
We've got to hand it to Jinger Duggar: Long before her sisters started showing up in pants of their own, she was changing the game and breaking wardrobe boundaries left and right. Short skirts, skinny jeans, sleeveless tops … it was like nothing was off-limits for this lady once she got married. Let's be real: Jinger walked so Jill could run!
Jill Drinking Alcohol
After Jill posted a photo of herself out at dinner with a cocktail on Instagram, the internet went wild — especially after she confirmed that no, it was not the virgin kind. As far as we know, she's the only Duggar sister so far who has confirmed that she drinks. She and her siblings were brought up believing that alcohol is absolutely a no-no for their family.
Jana Wearing Pants
On more than one occasion recently, Jana has been spotted wearing pants, and we never saw it coming! Though she's rebelled in her own small ways, Jana typically follows the rules — especially because she still lives with her parents — so this was a pretty big deal. So far, we've seen her wear pants to go bike riding and to hang out with her nieces and nephews, but maybe they'll end up being a bigger part of her wardrobe rotation.
Jill Sending Israel to Public School
Because Jim Bob and Michelle homeschooled all of their children, it was all but given that the grandchildren would follow that tradition — but not for Jill's kids! When her oldest son, Israel, was due to start kindergarten, Jill enrolled him in public school instead, becoming the first (and so far, the only) member of her family to do so.
Joy-Anna Wearing Pants
Add Joy-Anna to the list of Duggar daughters who wear pants — even though hers was the most recent discovery. In October 2020, Joy posed with her son, Gideon, while wearing pants at home. So far, we have no evidence of her leaving her house in anything but a skirt or a dress, but hey, this is a start — and it definitely counts as breaking the rules!
Jinger's Hospital Birth
When the Duggar sisters first began having children, home birth was the name of the game, and both Jill and Jessa attempted it, even though they ended up in the hospital anyway. But Jinger decided to break free of her family's expectations and do things her way from the start: She gave birth to daughter Felicity in the hospital just as she wanted, and she even got that epidural.
Jana's Instagram Account
The fact that Jana even has an Instagram account is breaking a rule. In her family, most kids — especially the daughters — don't get accounts of their own on social media until they're courting or engaged. But Jana got hers all on her own, and she was the first female in her family to do so.
Jill Spoke Out About Her Family
So far, none of the Duggar children has ever said anything negative about Jim Bob and Michelle, except for Jill. In a tell-all interview with People, Jill finally admitted that she and her family were on bad terms after she found them to be a bit too controlling of her and her life while she was starring on Counting On.
"I never expected this to happen or for it to get to this point," she said at the time. "But I'm realizing I can't put a timeline on healing. I love my family and they love me. I really just have to follow God's lead and take it one day at a time."
Jinger's Modern Lifestyle
Though Jinger's lifestyle in Texas was still a bit different than the way her parents were living back in Arkansas, she's really gone rebel since moving to Los Angeles. She gets her hair cut and colored — something the rest of her family, minus Jill, doesn't really do — wears designer clothes, and is always eating at fancy restaurants. She's living the dream!
Jana's Unchaperoned Vacation
Normally, even when the adult Duggar daughters travel, they don't go alone — and that would include Jana. But apparently, she needed a real getaway without her parents in 2020, and it seems Jana traveled unchaperoned. Of course, this is NBD for most 30-year-olds, but for Jana, it was definitely a rule-breaking moment.
Jill's Bathing Suit Photo
As a rule, the Duggar women usually stay covered up, especially in public or in photos that are going to be seen by thousands (if not millions) of people online. But even going back to 2018, Jill was making her own rules in that department when she showed up on Derick's Instagram in a swimsuit, having fun in the pool with her sons.
Dressing Up for Halloween
Halloween is a holiday that the Duggars usually ignore — likely because many in their religion consider it to be a little too close to Satan's fiery grasp. But in October 2021, Jinger and Jeremy donned their best Winnie the Pooh-themed costumes to match their daughters and headed out to a party.
Waiting To Have a Baby
All Duggar fans know that waiting between pregnancies isn't really a thing in their family — and neither is using birth control. But Jill has done both, and in February 2022, she announced that she's expecting her third child more than four years welcoming her second son, Samuel. Yep, this is the largest age gap between siblings in the family so far.
Dressing Sexy
Yep, we've seen Jinger wear shorts, pants, and tank tops. Her wardrobe includes just about anything we'd never imagine Michelle and Jim Bob signing off on. But her most rebellious fashion moment was when she wore a spaghetti strap dress as a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. Scandalous!
One-on-One Time
In a post he shared on Instagram about his love for wife Jill, Derick Dillard hinted that they'd broken courtship rules right from the start of their love story in Nepal.
"I definitely enjoyed our unchaperoned motorcycle ride around the area," he wrote at the time (including a telltale winking emoji). "And I have fond memories of the extra week we had over Thanksgiving to enjoy more intimate time together and get to know each other even better."
