Summary
- Jinger shares that despite struggles, she had a happy childhood with "sweet memories" of family bike rides and parents who poured into their kids.
- Jinger challenges her parents' harmful model, pointing out how restrictions on debt and women's work can be damaging. Broadcasted lifestyle gave an unrealistic picture.
- Jinger hints at having religious OCD and explains how her thinking began to change with her husband's help and deeper Bible study. Upbringing had cult-like elements.
Ever since the Duggar family began appearing on reality TV, viewers have had a lot of questions about their lifestyle choices and the kids' upbringing. But eventually, those kids grew into adults, and now, some of those kids are openly telling their stories.
From Jinger and Jill writing books to some of the kids deciding to move away from home (states away, in some cases), there's a lot to unpack about the Duggar family. One interview between Jinger Vuolo and Mayim Bialik revealed some new insight into how the kids were raised, and why many of the Duggar children have broken from their parents' religious beliefs.
Jinger Shared That Despite Her Struggles, She Had A Happy Childhood
Given the amount of publicity the Duggar family's struggles have received, it would be understandable if former viewers of the reality TV shows assumed all the Duggar kids were miserable.
It's true that the kids, especially Jill Dillard, who apparently earned the ire of her family for a tell-all interview, have complaints about their experiences. Yet there were good memories, as Jinger shared openly with Mayim.
Jinger explained that she had many "sweet memories" of childhood, specifically of times spent together as a family going on bike rides, with Jim Bob leading the kids and Michelle driving the family's passenger van behind in case the little ones got worn out.
In Jinger's words, her parents said that their children were their "hobby," so they "sought to pour into [their kids]." That also extended to their parents taking the kids along to their activities, like Jim Bob bringing the kids along to his real estate properties. Viewers of the family's reality series will remember many of those moments, all the kids helping Jim Bob clean up a rental, were recorded for the show.
Jinger did admit that she had struggles and difficult times, as well as internal fears and anxiety, but that the majority of her childhood was happy. She also noted that her parents were good parents and always tried to ensure their kids were not only taken care of but also happy.
Jinger Admitted That Her Parents' Model Was Harmful To Other Families
The Duggars were always well-known for living frugally, from clipping coupons to doing haircuts at home to avoid additional expenses. As Jinger explained, and many may already know, the religious teachings her family subscribed to technically restricted things like going into debt (even for a mortgage) as well as young women working outside the home.
Those limitations, Jinger noted, appeared "damaging" to her. While her own family did well within that framework (although it has been alleged that they received many freebies, plus they earned reality TV income after getting on TV), Jinger pointed out that such rules were often harmful to women.
The fact that family planning of any kind (even natural) was also frowned upon within that religious framework added further burden to families, Jinger said, because families were then stuck in small homes with little income and lots of children.
Broadcasting their lifestyle to others may not have been the most positive thing, especially as Jim Bob and Michelle wound up being worth about $3.6 million, creating an unrealistic picture of what the lifestyle achieved.
Jinger Hinted She Might Have Had Religious Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Mayim brought up an interesting idea about Jinger's experiences as a kid, and while Jinger didn't explicitly say that she dealt with religious obsessive-compulsive disorder, she agreed that it sounded a lot like her experience.
Per Mayim, religious OCD is like typical OCD, but centered on religious practices and ideas, like restarting a prayer if she didn't get it right the first time, and second-guessing actions or decisions based on religious teachings and 'God's involvement.'
Jinger agreed that her personal challenges edged into religious OCD territory and that her mindset didn't begin to change until her brother-in-law (Ben Seewald) began discussing religion with the siblings.
Jinger explained that Ben challenged her thinking, but her husband also helped her dive deeper into the Bible and stop 'picking and choosing' but rather trying to understand and think critically.
Jinger explained that Jeremy had no idea who Bill Gothard was, nor did he have any idea what Jinger's religious upbringing was like until the two attended a conference together.
Jinger Admitted Her Upbringing Was "Cult-Like For Sure"
While Jinger wouldn't label her upbringing a cult, because she would leave that determination to the experts, she acquiesced that "there were elements of it that were cult-like for sure." However, one distinction is that when she "left" those teachings, her parents did not disown her.
Jinger acknowledged that many kids who leave cults are often cut off from their families, and she said that had not happened to her. At the same time, Jinger's 'big reveal' with her book was an academic approach and not a personal dig toward her parents or anyone else in her family.
But one of the indicators of that cult-like behavior was reflected in Jinger's journals, she said. Her book included snippets from her journal when she was younger, and many fans may recall that at one point, one of her journals was stolen.
After that, Jinger said she didn't necessarily keep "writing everything so personal" after that scenario, most of her journals were true. She related her experience to looking through multiple lenses, lenses that later went away when she learned more about the world and explored her faith.
