Those who have seen the TLC series 19 Kids & Counting and Counting On know that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar ran a pretty tight ship, heavily influenced by their involvement in the religious group the Institute in Basic Life Principles. But now that daughter Jinger is breaking out of what she describes as a "cult-like" group, she's sharing how her views on controversial topics like birth control have changed.
Jinger's family was always very adamant about their beliefs.
Fans of their reality shows will likely remember how strongly Jim Bob and Michelle felt that their daughters should all wear dresses and skirts, never pants, in the name of modesty. They also abstained from birth control — which is a big part of how they managed to get 19 kids — and never drank alcohol, among many other restrictions they put on their lives.
Now, Jinger has a different view on many of these topics — including birth control.
In an interview with People ahead of the release of her tell-all book, Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger revealed that she no longer believes that birth control should never be used.
"I always thought that was totally wrong," Jinger told the news outlet. "I just no longer see it as that. I definitely have changed."
She also changed her view on alcohol.
"On every topic, I have had to come back and say, 'Well, what does God's word actually say?' The Bible is very clear about drinking, and it simply says that alcohol is not a sin. Jesus made wine at a wedding," she said.
She went on to add that she doesn't drink, but she believes it's other people's "liberty to drink if they so choose."
She's not the only Duggar to change her mind on this subject — her sister, Jill, has too, and has been photographed enjoying a cocktail from time to time.
She also no longer thinks courtship is the only way to go.
So far, all of the married Duggars have followed the "courtship" process to marriage — only dating with the idea of marriage in mind, with their parents and other chaperones heavily involved until they walk down the aisle. Jinger and Jeremy courted, too, but looking back, Jinger now knows that dating would have been just fine.
"I've seen more people honor God — and live a very beautiful life — who have dated, and sometimes even better than courtship," she admitted to the magazine. "I could be so consumed with that — with having a chaperone, with not kissing before you're married, and not holding hands before you're engaged. All of these things that I had set up for myself that now I kind of laugh at."
She's come a long way since she lived under her parents' roof.
And because she's speaking her truth, it looks like her life is totally different now than it was growing up.
Becoming Free Indeed comes out on January 31, and it's going to be interesting to find out what else Jinger shares inside those pages.
