Courtesy Jill Duggar/Instagram
Jill Duggar Claims She Didn’t Get Any Money for ‘Counting On’ Until She Quit in 2017: ‘We Got an Attorney’
Zero compensation. Jill Dillard (née Duggar) shockingly claimed she didn’t receive any money for her appearances on 19 Kids and Counting or Counting On until she quit the latter in 2017. The former TLC star shed light on the financial battle she had with her family after confirming there’s been distance between her and the Duggars.
Her father, Jim Bob, 55, reportedly got the checks for their original TV show and spinoff, which earned them an estimated $25,000 to $45,000 per episode. Jill tells People she never saw a penny of it until she walked away from Counting On.
“That’s when we got an attorney involved and finally recovered some of the money,” the mom of two, 29, said in the new interview published on Thursday, October 22. “It was a process.”
Jill and her husband of six years, Derick Dillard, ultimately did get some cash, but “it probably ended up being a little more than minimum wage,” the law student, 31, said in a video on their Dillard Family Official YouTube page. “But we were able to recover at least something,” he added about the ordeal.
In the new issue of People, Jill discussed what it was like growing up in the famous family known for their strict traditional values. “Our control to choose what jobs we were allowed to accept and even where we were allowed to live was taken away from us,” the Arkansas resident said. “The first few years of our marriage, we spent time and money working towards opportunities only to hit a dead end when we’d be told, ‘Well, you’re not allowed to do that,'” her spouse added.
After reflecting on their experience, Jill and Derick decided it was best to live on their own terms, which apparently didn’t go over well with her loved ones. She now takes non-hormonal birth control, wears pants instead of skirts and dresses, drinks alcohol and has a nose piercing, all of which are not condoned by the Duggar brood.
“I never expected this to happen or for it to get to this point,” Jill said about their family rift. “I’m realizing I can’t put a timeline on healing. I love my family and they love me. I really just have to follow God’s lead and take it one day at a time.”
In their own statement to the outlet, Jim Bob and his wife, Michelle Duggar, 54, responded to their daughter’s claims and revealed they were still keen on making amends. “We all love Jill, Derick, and their boys very much,” they said. “It is our prayer that our relationship is healed and fully restored quickly!”
It looks like Jill and Derick won’t be returning to Counting On anytime soon.
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