Jill Duggar and her parents have been through a lot of ups and downs in recent years, especially after she was forced to take legal action when her dad, Jim Bob, neglected to pay the money she was owed for her work on Counting On and 19 Kids and Counting. The last we heard, they were still estranged, but it looks like the family may have come together again for the holidays, according to a new photo. We have so many questions!
More from CafeMom: Jeremiah & Hannah Duggar Announce They Are Expecting Baby No. 3
James Duggar shared a glimpse of the family's Christmas celebrations.
In James Duggar’s Instagram post, we can see several photos of the family enjoying the holiday at Jim Bob and Michelle’s home. All the usual suspects appear to be there, gathered around the tree — including Santa Claus himself.
But in the background of one of the photos, we can see something a bit unexpected.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted Jill and Derick sitting on the couch.
As fans on Reddit pointed out, they weren’t just hanging out with Jill’s siblings, who she seems to interact with the most after distancing herself from her parents. Nope, Jill and Derick appear to be fully engaged in a conversation with Jim Bob. As far as we can tell, it seemed to be friendly, not an argument.
People have a lot of thoughts about this.
Seeing them together, chatting while they sit on the same couch wasn’t enough for people to believe that all is well between Jill and her folks.
“It’s interesting how Derek’s body language is leaned ALL the way away from Jimbob,” one Redditor commented. “And how it also looks like he’s guarding Jill.”
Another commenter wrote: “Jill just wants to see and have a relationship with her siblings. She wants her kids to know their cousins. She tolerates JB for a couple hours to get that. I’m so curious what her kids think because children have no filter.”
More from CafeMom: Katey Duggar Debuts Her Own Instagram Account Ahead of the Birth of Her Twins
Jill also shared a peek at her holiday celebrations on Instagram.
Among the photos she posted, Jill and Derick posed for a selfie at Jim Bob and Michelle’s house. She also shared pictures from a birthday gathering for her sister, Jinger, who was in town. One of the photos showed all of the Duggar sisters.
“Over the last several days (and more still to come!) we celebrated some birthdays & our Savior’s birth at home together and with church family, friends and relatives,” Jill wrote.
She recently opened up about her relationship with her parents.
“I feel like we are in a rebuilding phase now, with healthy boundaries still in place,” Jill said in a November Q&A on Instagram, via The Ashley’s Reality Roundup. She added, “We try to hang out whenever it works well and we have the bandwidth to navigate things.”
