Jill Duggar Recalls ‘Awkward’ Last Encounter With Father Jim Bob: ‘Not Like It Used to Be’

Jill Dillard (née Duggar) has opened up about the “awkward” last time she saw father Jim Bob Duggar in person amid the release of Amazon Prime Video’s Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets docuseries and her memoir, Counting the Cost.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Tuesday, September 26, Jill, 32, explained that she last saw Jim Bob, 58, while she was having a “girls’ brunch” with sister Jinger Duggar and he “showed up.” Though the Counting On alum said her father was pleasant during the encounter, she could tell he was keeping her at a distance emotionally. 

“He won’t bring anything up when we’re all together,” she said, noting that this can make the situation “awkward” but not confrontational. Jill also revealed that this is “not like it used to be.”

“It used to you would get pulled to the side into a room and [told off], you know, behind closed doors,” Jill continued.

However, now, there is a “respect” of her and husband Derick Dillard’s “boundary” because they would “pick up and leave” if a confrontation happened. 

Derick, 34, claimed that he has seen a “pattern” where Jim Bob would “cut somebody off” if he can’t “control [them].” Still, Jill added that they “can hang out sometimes” with Jim Bob and “have surface-level conversations.”

“Which is what I am actually wanting right now,” she concluded. 

Jill has often been vocal about her strained relationship with her father, which she said came about when she began speaking out about the Duggar family in the years since their TLC shows, 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, came to an end. Jill and Derick appeared in Shiny Happy People in June, where they pulled back the curtain on Jim Bob’s alleged control over the family, the Duggars’ involvement with the controversial ministry known as the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) and eldest son Josh Duggar’s scandals. 

Jill further shared her perspective on these topics in Counting the Cost, which hit shelves on September 12. In one chapter, she detailed an alleged near-physical altercation she had with Jim Bob during a conversation about their relationship.

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In an interview with Vanity Fair following the book’s release, Jill said she and her father have had “limited contact” since then. “We’ve had to draw some pretty strict boundaries just for our own health and well-being,” she said.

Later, in a September 18 interview with Today, Jill said her and Jim Bob’s relationship “got pretty toxic.” 

“It got to the point where Derick was there to step in and kind of say, ‘Hey, don’t reach out to my wife individually or else I’ll have to file a protective order,’ just because it was so hard for me to handle,” she added.