What to Know
No matter what you think of the Duggar family and its former glory as reality TV stars with shoes like 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, it’s hard to deny the pull that they have when a new scandal comes out. So when Joseph Duggar was arrested and charged with molestation, and then his wife, Kendra Duggar, was arrested for child endangerment and false imprisonment, everyone had questions about what the heck is going on with this particular adult Duggar kid and his family.
Now, we have a bit more Intel on the ins and outs of Kendra and Joseph, especially after RadarOnline leaked recordings from Joseph and Kendra’s phone calls while Joseph was in jail awaiting his chance to enter his plea and learn his bail amount. According to the calls, Kendra is not doing well. In fact, she has to rely on “Mama” (Michelle Duggar, apparently) to make her eat. Oh, and she was legally unable to see her kids at the time of some of the calls.
The phone calls paint a picture of how serious Kendra and Joseph Duggar are taking the scandal.
@radar__online Disturbing call details! 🚨 Kendra Duggar is heard breaking down in tears while talking about her four children during a jail call with Joseph Duggar. Link in bio for details.
♬ original sound – Radar Online
In the recordings from the phone calls, Kendra admits to not being able to eat and says she has had to even get an IV for nutrients. Joseph actually jokes about losing weight himself while in jail, even though he spent a short time in jail before he was released on bond. Do the two of them not realize how serious the charges are or that Joseph is not untouchable just because Daddy Jim Bob can pay his bail money?
When Joseph says he might “trim up some” because he is trying to avoid the food in jail, Kendra jokes, “I haven’t gotten on the scale, but I feel a lot trimmer now! I’m definitely not bloated either! I’m gonna be a Skinny Minnie!”
Elsewhere in the recorded calls, though, Kendra admits to keeping to herself and being in a safe home where she can’t be bothered. However, she admits, she can’t really be by herself.
“You know how I am with anxiety,” she tells Joseph “And this is a whole other level that I’ve experienced in my entire life. It’s a moment-to-moment battle. One moment I could be fine, and then the next moment, absolutely beside myself.” It’s a far cry from the smiley, giggly wife that viewers once saw on Counting On. In fact, anti-fans of the Duggars have referred to her as “Giggles” on the DuggarSnark Reddit page.
She also tells Joseph on one of the calls that the kids are her priority and that she isn’t sure how to be there for Joseph and for God.
“I’m gonna try to keep you close, but I just have to do anything and everything for the kids right now, and for myself,” she tells him. “Because I’m not well. I did actually get six hours of sleep the night before, and I got a little food in at the end of the day. I went on an ATV drive with — you know who, and it was wonderful. We just blasted worship music and sang our hearts out, and then I was able to eat when I got home.”
Kendra said that Michelle Duggar is taking care of her.
Kendra also tells Joseph that Michelle is taking care of her, and she refers to her as “Mama.” There’s no word from Kendra on how her own parents are or aren’t helping her, but it seems like she is leaning heavily into whatever resources the Duggars offer, not unlike Josh’s wife, Anna Duggar. But, Joseph tells Kendra on the phone, “Listen to Mama.” Yeah, that’s a hard one to stomach.
Kendra slyly asks Joseph if he knows where she’s staying, but she doesn’t reveal where it is. It sounds like everyone in the family is trying to keep that on the down-low, especially as Kendra deals with her own legal issues that stem from her own charges that are not related to Joseph’s more serious ones.
Kendra didn’t have contact with her kids when she spoke to Joseph.
When she first spoke with Joseph on the phone, Kendra was not in contact with their four children. She tells Joseph during a phone call that she hears the kids are doing well, but she doesn’t seem to have firsthand knowledge of them. According to People, Kendra and her four kids are now back together. Us Weekly reported that when Joseph was released from jail in Florida on bond, he was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children. That includes his own.
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