Jinger Duggar Admits Her Relationship With Parents Jim Bob & Michelle Is ‘Complicated’

Jinger Duggar has been open enough about how difficult it was growing up under the Institute in Basic Life Principles, the ultra-conservative religion that Jim Bob and Michelle brought up their oversized family under. And unfortunately, sharing her truth has come with consequences – like a “complicated” relationship with her parents, as she shared in a new interview this week.

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Jinger Duggar released her newest book this week.

In People Pleaser: Breaking Free From the Burden of Imaginary Expectations, Jinger wrote about leaving her “people pleasing” tendencies behind. And for her, that has included walking away from the IBLP and the teachings of Bill Gothard – teachings that her parents (and some of her siblings) still follow.

Now, she's opening up about where things stand with her parents today.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jinger showed off the new home she shares with husband Jeremy Vuolo and their two daughters, Felicity and Evangeline (plus their baby boy on the way!).

During the conversation, Jinger was asked if her parents also put expectations on her growing up. She said that the “system” they were living in meant that she and her siblings were expected to “keep a perfect smile” on their faces to show how happy they were – almost as an advertisement for the IBLP.

She said it was 'damaging' to have to hide her true feelings behind a smile.

“You feel like you can’t have a hard day because you have to keep it all together on the outside,” Jinger admitted, adding there was also the added “pressure” of knowing that people recognized her and her family from their reality series everywhere she went.

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Jinger called it 'painful' to lose relationships because of what she wrote about her upbringing in her books.

When Jinger was asked how her relationship with her parents is today, she responded, “It’s complicated. I would say there are definitely difficulties, things that we don’t see eye to eye on.”

But as we already know, that hasn’t stopped her from spending time with her parents over the holidays – something she said she was “so thankful” for.

At the end of the day, there's a lot of love there.

“It was such a sweet visit – peaceful, so amazing, and I was very thankful for that, too,” she said in the interview. “I love my family more than anything, even though I think almost any family will have places where they disagree on things, but at the end of the day, I have nothing but love for them.”