Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are finally speaking out about their son Joseph‘s arrest for child molestation, and confirming that they are standing by Joe’s wife, Kendra, despite Kendra receiving (unrelated) charges of her own.
On Monday— 12 days after Joe was arrested and charged with allegedly sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl in 2020 while on vacation in Florida— Ma and Pa Duggar released a statement via their spokesperson.
“Jim Bob and Michelle are heartbroken over this entire situation,” the spokesperson told Us Weekly, adding that the Duggars are supporting Kendra.
“Right now, they are focused on loving their family and helping Kendra and her children during this difficult time. They are praying for the victim. They ask for privacy and appreciate the kind words and prayers offered by so many.”
As 19 Kids & Counting fans are aware, this is the second of Jim Bob and Michelle’s 10 sons to be charged with child sex crimes. (Their eldest son Josh is currently in prison after being convicted of receiving child sex abuse materials in 2021.)
It is no surprise that Jim Bob and Michelle are standing by Joe’s wife, despite the fact that Kendra received her own charges earlier this month for endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment. (Joe received the same charges as Kendra.)
In fact, Michelle was filmed on March 20 near the Duggar property, as she returned allegedly bailing Kendra out of jail.
(See the absolutely unhinged video of Michelle confronting a paparazzi who was filming Kendra’s return from the clink!)
It also appears that the Duggars may have had a hand in getting Kendra a lawyer. On Monday, People released more audio of a phone call between Joe (who was in jail in Arkansas at the time) and Kendra.
(You can listen to some of that call below!)
@theashleysrealityroundup JAIL CALL AUDIO: Joe Duggar Calls Wife Kendra from Jail; Talks About Where She’s Staying After Her Arrest For all the details, go to: https://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2026/03/27/joseph-duggar-tells-wife-kendra-in-jail-phone-call-hes-spending-23-hours-a-day-in-his-cell-reading-his-bible-not-sleeping-well/ #fypp #fypシ #fypage #RealityTV #theashleysrealityroundup #TheAshley #FYPp #FYP #FYPpage #Duggars #Duggar #duggarfamily #josephduggar #duggartok #DuggarTea #fypシ゚viral #19kidsandcounting #duggarsnark ♬ original sound – The Ashley’s Reality Roundup
Kendra can be heard telling her husband that Travis Story has been hired to represent her “for the case we’ve got going with the kids and stuff.”
Attorney Travis Story is well-known to those who followed Josh Duggar’s trial, as he is one of the attorneys the Dugs hired to represent Josh. Travis was also the attorney that Jim Bob and Michelle used to acquire custody of their great-nephew, Tyler, years ago. He has worked closely on nearly all of the Duggars’ legal issues for years.
“I’ve been talking to Travis,” Kendra tells Joe in the newly released phone call audio. “I’ve got him as my attorney now. I wasn’t sure if you knew that, I’ve asked him to be my attorney.”
Joe seems relieved to hear that Travis will be representing Kendra.
“I wasn’t sure who we settled with but this guy’s good,” he says of Travis.
Kendra then makes sure Joe understands that Travis is only representing her in court.
‘Well it’s not for you, it’s only for me,” she tells him.
(It is currently unknown if the Duggars are paying for Kendra’s lawyer, or if they have hired a lawyer for Joe.)
While Jim Bob and Michelle had remained silent until Monday regarding their son’s arrest, Jim Bob’s sister Deanna Duggar (and Deanna’s daughter Amy) have been anything but quiet. On Monday, Deanna did an interview with Page Six in which she advised Kendra to ditch Joe, despite the fact that the couple shares four children.
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“I think Kendra should divorce him,” Deanna told the site. “She needs a new life. The best thing to do would be to divorce him and go on with her life.
“… My prayers are for the victims. For Kendra, for Joseph, for the whole family, wake up and repent of their pride, their feeling of the world is against them, get things right in their family…” she added.
In the interview, Deanna spoke highly of her nephew Joe, and revealed how surprised she was that he was accused of such crimes.
“I went into shock. I couldn’t believe it was Joseph,” she said. “This is so horrible to hear this again in the family… He was a joy to be around. I loved Joseph so much.”
On Friday, Joe was extradited from Arkansas to Bay County, Florida, where he is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. If convicted of the crimes he’s charged with, Joe could be facing a life sentence.
Stay tuned…
(Photos: Instagram; TLC; TikTok; Washington County Sheriff’s Department)
2 Responses
They’re supporting Kendra because they don’t believe she did anything wrong. They did the same things with their own kids. Instead of learning, growing, or having any kind of independent thought, Kendra is just following her examples and now she has to face the consequences
Of course they’re supporting her and her kids, while not at all condemning their monster of a son. It’s not surprising they have her and the kids holed up where they can keep a close eye,and ear on them at all times. Wouldn’t want Kendra to accidentally tell the truth or anything. They also see nothing at all wrong with locking kids in rooms, or on blankets. They believe children are supposed to be perfectly still, quiet and obedient at all times. They even think locking children in rooms protects them from the heinous monsters in their own home, because children are a temptation for them and monsters can’t control themselves (yes they do believe this and have said it, repeatedly).
I really hope CPS stays in Kendra’s life for YEARS, and she loses custody since she knew about his actions already and did nothing until the law came knocking.