Summary
- Jill Dillard's memoir and interviews continue to surprise fans as she reveals family secrets and criticizes her dad, Jim Bob Duggar.
- Jill had issues with her dad controlling her finances and marriage, and he even wanted her husband to attend rehab for drinking alcohol.
- Jim Bob allegedly mismanaged Jill's money and didn't pay her or other siblings, potentially committing tax fraud by pocketing their earnings from reality TV.
One-time fans might think that there is nothing shocking left to come out of the Duggar family's story, but they would be wrong. With each new interview, tell-all memoir, and social media post, many of the Duggars' more outspoken adult children are chipping away at what was left of Jim Bob Duggar's (and his wife Michelle's) reputation.
With her memoir, an interview with Amazon's documentary crew, and countless other interviews that she booked as a result of revealing so many family secrets, Jill Dillard continues to drop information that surprises former fans of the family. It's safe to say that the next generation of Duggars (except for Josh) still has plenty of fans, and they were not thrilled when Jill revealed yet another detail about her dad's poor treatment of not just Jill, but all his children.
Jill Dillard Has Been Locked In A Battle With Her Dad For Years
Even before her memoir came out, Jill Dillard was vocal about the issues she had with her dad Jim Bob trying to not only control her finances but also her marriage. Like any other Duggar, Jill was able to court and marry her husband Derick only with her dad's explicit permission.
Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Are Worth Millions, But Insiders Say They Lived Off Freebies
From their home to the family's household appliances, it's rumored that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar get a ton of stuff for free—and lie about it.
After she got married and began to become more independent, it seemed that Jim Bob was not happy to release his control over Jill.
According to what Jill wrote in her memoir, and has since explained in interviews, her dad wanted Derick to attend a rehab program after he found out that Derick enjoyed an alcoholic beverage. It wasn't just the family's strict rules and morals that Jim Bob wanted to enforce, though. He also seemed to want to maintain control over Jill's finances.
Jill Dillard Revealed How Her Dad Mismanaged Her Money (And Didn't Pay Her)
It's not news at this point that Jim Bob Duggar pocketed most of—if not all—the cash from his family's time on reality TV. That may have made sense when his kids were minors, as there are no specific laws regarding kids getting paid for appealing on reality TV, but as the Duggar children grew up, the financial side stayed the same.
Jill eventually pushed back against her dad, but things didn't go so well. Jill revealed in her memoir that when she asked for her fair share of earnings, her dad sent her an itemized bill for what he apparently paid to care for her while she was growing up.
Not only that, but Jim Bob revealed he hadn't paid the other children either, even the adult ones who had their own separate contracts with TLC. As Jill would later allege through a series of interviews, the contracts were even manipulated in Jim Bob's favor rather than protecting his kids' financial interests.
Jill Dillard Duggar Hinted That Some Of Her Siblings Have Fallen Out With The Family, Too
Jill Dillard has a specific reason she's told all of her family's business, and it's to help her siblings.
Specifically, Jill explained in one interview that her dad pocketed the cash that came in from TLC specifically for Jill, and then reported that income on her taxes. Based on what Jill alleged, it sounds as if Jim Bob took her money, then instead of reporting it on his own taxes, he filed Jill's for her, claiming that she had earned that amount of money.
The only problem was that Jill never received a penny, she alleges, and her dad never gave her the money she was supposed to have been paid.
During one confrontation with her father, Jill also stated that her dad had never paid the other siblings, though she doesn't specify whether those were adult children with their own contracts and—if Jim Bob hadn't interfered—their own earnings.
By that point, Jim Bob was apparently willing to pay the other siblings who were still appearing on the show at the time—to the tune of $10 per hour. Still, Jill had other complaints, namely the fact that one contract she signed (the day before her wedding) was misrepresented to her, leading her father to claim more of not just her money, but her time as well.
Did Jim Bob Duggar Commit Tax Fraud?
If what Jill Dillard is saying is true—that her dad not only pocketed her money but knowingly filed an incorrect tax return—that would constitute tax fraud. Apart from the legal issues surrounding Jim Bob apparently pocketing his kids' pay, if he neglected to claim that money on his own taxes, that would create a legal complication.
Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Might Not Be The Richest In The Family Anymore
The richest Duggar is likely not Jim Bob nor Michelle Duggar; their adult children are exploring their own earning power.
It's not clear whether Jill ever involved the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) in her financial battle against her dad, but that may be part of the process if she ever hopes to recoup the funds. Of course, while Jill does seem to want her money, she also has kind words for her family, even now.
It's possible that Jill hasn't explicitly involved the legal system in her case against her dad, but all the publicity from her post-memoir interviews could very well shine a spotlight on every other contract the Duggar kids signed, whether they understood it or not.
