What happened to Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard on Counting On and why aren’t they on it anymore?
JILL Duggar and Derick Dillard have been banned from TLC’s Counting On for three seasons already.
The couple were featured on 19 Kids and Counting until its cancellation but will not be on its spin-off series Counting On.
Here is more about the pair and where they currently stand.
Who are the Duggars?
reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting followed the lives of parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 kids – nine girls and ten boys.
They are devout Baptists and the show frequently discusses values of purity, modesty, and faith in God.
The Duggars avoid birth control, saying they have decided to allow God to determine the number of children they have.
All of the children are homeschooled, and access to entertainment such as movies and television is limited.
They practice chaperoned courtship, in which a couple becomes acquainted only in a group setting.
What happened to the original show?
On May 22, 2015, TLC suspended the series, 19 Kids and Counting, when the Duggars’ eldest son Josh publicly apologized for having “acted inexcusably” following reports that he molested five girls, including some of his sisters, by fondling them.
These events occurred in 2002 and 2003, when he was 14 to 15, and prior to the beginning of the show.
The show was officially canceled in July 2015 and would not resume production.
Counting On, a spin-off show, premiered in December 2015. The family will return to TLC for an Easter special, Counting Now: A New Life, which will premiere on the network on Tuesday, March 30 at 10pm.
What is Counting On?
The new show follows the lives of the older Duggar children as they get married and start families of their own.
Though the show initially focused on Jill and her sister, Jessa Seewald, when it first premiered in 2015, the TLC series has since expanded to include nine other Duggar siblings.
Derick announced back in December 2017 that the couple and their two sons would not be appearing in future episodes, though TLC cut ties with him first.
Why was Derick fired from the show?
He received backlash in 2017 when he criticized fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings.
“What an oxymoron… a ‘reality’ show which follows a non-reality,” he said of the transgender teen’s series, I Am Jazz.
“Transgender’ is a myth. Gender is not fluid; it’s ordained by God,” he added.
Following the outrage, TLC tweeted, “We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months and the network has no plans to feature him in the future.”
Derick defended himself on Instagram after his tweets went viral saying: “My view is no different than most Americans, but I just mentioned it…”
What is the couple doing now?
After the controversy, Jill defended her husband and began running her Duggar family blog which features photos, videos and articles on Christianity and different recipes.
She is also raising her children, Israel and Samuel.
In a YouTube video, Jill and Derick revealed they have not been to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s home in “a couple of years.”
In October 2020, Jill said on her YouTube channel she was “distancing” herself from her family’s household.
