What to Know
Weeks after Joseph Duggar was arrested on charges related to alleged child molestation, his wife, Kendra Duggar‘s, parents shared a statement on Instagram. Kendra’s parents, Christina and Paul Caldwell, had not publicly shared their thoughts on the charges, or Kendra’s own charges involving child endangerment.
Now, the line has truly been drawn, as Paul, and Christina made it clear how they feel about Joseph. While they, too, follow conservative Christian beliefs like the Duggars, Christina and Paul are not on solid terms with the Duggars, and that includes both Joseph and Kendra. The statement proves that too.
The statement came weeks after Joseph Duggar was arrested.
The statement from Kendra’s parents notes that they are “devastated” for the young unnamed girl who came forward with her allegations against Joseph. They also wrote that they “stand by her, both in support and prayer, and forever will.” Again, the girl, who is still a minor child, was not named by anyone in the Caldwell family.
“Our family is both troubled and heartbroken over the alleged actions committed by our son-in-law,” the statement said.” We are devastated for the young girl, a child who was courageous in every way to share her truth. We stand by her, both in support and prayer, and forever will. Our love for this child remains at the forefront of our family’s priorities and minds. We are proud of her for being strong enough to share her story while also retaining her own identity and joy.”
The statement also says that Kendra’s parents “recognize how traumatic this incident has been for [their] grandchildren.” They added, “Our love for them, and our daughter Kendra, remains.”
They closed out the statement with, “At this time, we have no further comment and request privacy.”
Kendra Duggar’s parents said they still love and support her and her children.
Although Jendra’s parents still have love for their daughter, and the grandchildren that Kendra welcomed with Joseph, there has been no word or confirmation that Christina or Paul are seeing Kendra or her children at this time. After the statement went live on Instagram, it was shared to a group on Facebook, where users began to react with lots of questions and comments about the Caldwells and Duggars alike.
“This is all good that they’re standing up for what’s right but what gets me is that they are the people who raised Kendra,” someone commented on the Facebook group’s post. “And after listening to the phone calls of Kendra and Joe, she’s very intellectually diminished as well as seems indoctrinated to speaking like Michelle her mother-in-law.”
Another speculated, “It appears the Caldwells and the Duggars had a major falling out. Exactly why and the timeline remain to be seen.”
It was also confusing as to why Kendra’s parents took so long to release an official statement about Joseph’s charges and allegations. Although they mentioned loving their daughter and grandchildren, if Joseph is not included in that unconditional love, it can’t be good for Kendra’s relationship with her family.
Kendra Duggar isn’t talking to her parents.
During one of Kendra’s calls to Joe while he was in jail, she noted that her parents and siblings would be moved out of the house they were living in that was owned by Joseph and Kendra. Now, Kendra reportedly does not have contact with them. According to People, Kendra told Joseph not to trust anyone during one of those calls.
And, in the midst of the controversy and charges, someone on Reddit pointed out that Kendra’s parents changed their Facebook cover photo to a picture of their kids. Except Kendra is noticeably absent from the photo they chose. Intentional? It’s possible.
“This is ice cold,” someone commented on the Reddit thread. “It could, of course, be completely coincidental and Kendra wasn’t around. But…they haven’t updated their profile pic since 2021, if I’m not mistaken.”
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