Making her exit. Amy Duggar reveals it was her “choice” to leave Counting On during an exclusive video interview with In Touch, adding that her cousins weren’t “protected” on the show.

While Amy, 35, captured the attention of fans during her frequent appearances on 19 Kids & Counting, she says it was her decision to step back and ultimately stop appearing on the spinoff, Counting On. “That was definitely my doing, that was definitely my choice,” she tells In Touch. “They probably would’ve had me on a lot more.”

Amy says her cousin Josh Duggar’s molestation scandal – in which he was accused of inappropriately touching numerous underaged girls including some of his sisters – made her want to distance herself from the show. “After I found out about my sweet cousin girls, the girls, I don’t feel like they were protected,” she recalls. “I don’t feel like anyone was fighting for them. And I feel like a lot of it was swept under the rug.”

“I like truth. I wanna know the honesty no matter how bad it is. I was completely not told the correct information,” the mother of one, who shares son Daxton with husband Dillon King, adds. “So when I found that out, I wanted to definitely distance myself, just cause I didn’t want anything to do with it.”

Amy Duggar Says It Was Her ‘Choice’ to Leave ‘Counting On’: My Cousins Weren’t ‘Protected’
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Amy goes on to add that she “would’ve never been” on Counting On if she had known the full story behind the scandal. “But I do think that God allowed me to be on the show. I do think that it has turned into something positive,” she says. “No one could have imagined it would be like it is right now.”

Despite not agreeing with the way her cousins were treated on the show, Amy realizes being on TLC gave her a platform to help others. “I just think of my Instagram or my TikTok or Twitter, whatever. And I think like, ‘I wonder if I’m helping someone out there, you know, someone that needs that voice, that is afraid to speak up, is afraid to make a change, is afraid to do something,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Do it. Just do it. You can be that strong person that you need, even if no one else is agreeing with you.’”

Amy appeared in 109 episodes of 19 Kids & Counting, which aired from 2008 until 2015. She only appeared on five episodes of Counting On, which was canceled in June 2021 after Josh, 34, was arrested. He was convicted of two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography on December 9, 2021 and is in solitary confinement at the Washington County Correctional Facility until his sentencing on May 25.

If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.

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