Anna Duggar Says It ‘Means a Lot’ When Her Kids Are Included on ‘Counting On’ After Josh’s Scandal
Along with the rest of the family, Anna Duggar and her kids helped celebrate “Christmas in August” when a holiday episode of Counting On aired on Tuesday, August 25. Following the show, the mom of six took to Instagram to share how meaningful it was that her family with husband Josh Duggar was able to participate despite the fact that they’ve never been regularly featured since 19 Kids and Counting was canceled in 2015.
“It means a lot when our family is included (on rare occasions) in the events that air on TV with Joshua’s family,” Anna, 32, wrote as she shared behind-the-scenes photos from the special occasion. “We had a blast celebrating Christmas with an ugly sweater party and a Christmas play!”
The Duggars’ original TLC show was canceled after In Touch broke the news that Josh, 32, had confessed to sexually abusing four of his younger sisters when he was 15. However, not long after the series went off the air, TLC announced that Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and Jessa Seewald (née Duggar) would be featured with their families on a new show called Jill & Jessa: Counting On. Over the years, as more of Josh’s siblings grew up, got married and started families of their own, the cast has grown and the title has been shortened to simply Counting On.
Anna and kids Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith, Mason and Maryella are occasionally included in filming, especially during family celebrations. In season 10, Anna was one of the Duggar girls participating in a maternity photo shoot with her sisters-in-law as she, Abbie Duggar (née Burnett), Joy-Anna Forsyth (née Duggar), Kendra Duggar (née Caldwell) and Lauren Duggar (née Swanson) were all pregnant with girls. Jessa, who had just welcomed daughter Ivy, also appeared in the photos with her newborn.
Josh, on the other hand, is regularly cut out of the footage even when he is present at family weddings and holidays. Anna’s photos from the annual ugly sweater party the family hosted in December 2019 show him rocking a festive red vest with the rest of the Counting On crew, though he didn’t appear in the episode itself. While Josh’s family seems more than welcome to be part of the TLC cast, it’s doubtful the oldest Duggar son will ever return to his family’s TV show.
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