Jill Duggar DillardandDerick Dillardhave been open about Duggar Dillard’s estranged relationship with her parents,Jim Bob DuggarandMichelle Duggar. The couple became estranged from Duggar Dillard’s parents after she and Dillardalleged that they never received money from theirreality series.Recently though, the Dillards suffered the unfortunateloss of their daughter,Isla Dillard, in utero. The couple celebrated their daughter and a memorial that the family attended, and included Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.
Dillard posted a picture from the event and in it, you can seeJessa Duggar Seewald,Jackson Duggar, Joseph Duggar, Johana JosephDuggar, Johanna Duggar,and more all showed up for Duggar Dillard and Dillard, including her parents.A somber reunion but still seeing them back together after the back and forth between the family was bittersweet.Duggar Dillard and Dillard claimed previously that Jim Bob was in control of all the money that came in from19 Kids and Countingand never shared the earnings with his family.
The Dillard’s shared the loss on Instagram, writing. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful baby girl, Isla Marie Dillard," they wrote. “Jill was 4 months pregnant (due in August) when we found out that our baby died in utero.From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby. Isla was much loved from the start, and her 3 big brothers were so excited to introduce her to their world.”
Is The Reunion a Step Forward For the Duggar Family?
During thebook tour for Duggar Dillard’s memoir,Counting the Cost, she talked a lot about how she distanced herself from the show and her family because of the strain that it put on her marriage. “It caused a lot of frustration in our marriage,” she saidin an interview withPeople. “Especially early on, where he would feel a certain way about filming something.I’d be like, ‘I hear you, I feel you, I also don’t want to do whatever it is they’re asking us to do either. But we have to.'”
‘19 Kids and Counting’ Star Jill Duggar Dillard’s Stillborn Daughter Has Been Laid to Rest
The former TLC stars held an emotional ceremony for their daughter.
One of their issues at the time stemmed from Jim Bob trying to drive a wedge in between the couple if they would fight about the show. “Whenever we were at odds with what her dad thought we should be doing with filming, he would say things that would be very damaging,“Dillard said. “He would weaponize the relationship and say, ‘Is this you Jill, or is this you, Derek? Are you leading your wife astray and doing things that are not supportive of marriage?’ And I think that was a red flag.” Does this mean that Michelle and Jim Bob showing up for Isla is a step in the right direction for the family?
After her memoir was released in last Fall, the Duggar daughter recalled a conversation with her dad, Jim Bob, aboutwhether she wanted a large family as she’d been taught she was supposed to desire. Their religion has also been an area of contention.
“In the book, I talk about the shift of going from feeling that pressure, being OK with having a lot of children, in that belief system that I grew up in,” she explained on theVulnerablepodcast,as reported by Yahoo News. “To then having the shift of being like, ‘Do I trust in God with the number of children that I’m supposed to have?’ could also mean trusting Him if he doesn’t give us 20 kids.”
