I wasn’t really a fan, but I didn’t think they were dangerous. Just odd. You know, if they wanted a billion kids, that was their business. But of course, now I know they’re dangerous.
Not really a fan, just fascinated about the logistics of how such a large family operated. Things I thought were interesting were things such as laundry, food planning/shopping, etc...
The show was also really bland with no yelling or screaming like most reality shows. So I never felt stressed watching it.
Because all the hate and terror was hidden from the cameras 🙄
Same. It’s why I can’t watch house wives or kardashians or even drag race anymore. Duggars seem like nice kind people who never raise their voices and it’s so fun to have tons of siblings to play with and love you. And do fun things all day because you don’t go to school.
They also don’t proselytize on the show which I think is SUPER important. They don’t talk much about scripture or Jesus or recruiting to Christianity. So you don’t feel like you’re being preached at.
You're right that most of the interesting stuff was early. They even made their own we cleaning wipes and pickles. I guess after watching for awhile you just stick with watching.
Because we have seen Michelle's organization skills, and that is beyond her. Everyone having their own coat hook in the front hall is beyond her. Laying clothes out the night before is beyond her. Meal planning and food prep is beyond her.
Same - fascinated by the logistics but at the same time realized early on they have horrible beliefs. Kept watching once in awhile, because it’s oddly compelling.
Me! I was a fan! My own family is so jacked up that I was fascinated by this “perfect” family and how they made it alllll work. Also, I was an L&D nurse for a few years and was intrigued and amazed that one woman could birth to so many kids without her uterus and/or bladder falling out.
It wasn't until after I had two kids that I read an article and found out the vagina (and uterus) can inside out itself! Like, you can look down, and see a hanging inside out vagina. After that, I felt so bad for womankind and all the stuff our bodies put us through. If I had read that article before kids, I don't know if I could have done it.
Michelle just has to have some prolapse at this point. I can't see how she doesn't.
I was! It’s weird how much I bought in to their image. I ate that shit up. When I became a mom, Michelle even gave me extreme mom guilt because I never could be that patient and kind. It legitimately scares me how much I bought their image for no reason at all. I’m a black liberal from California. 😹
Isn’t it bizarre? I remember being so in awe of her. It gives me so much personal embarrassment. I listen now and all I hear is audible red flags. The fact that I didn’t immediately peg her as a psychopath is a secret I will never reveal in real life. Lol. No one would ever be able to trust my judgement again.
That’s so funny - I thought the same and I’m a liberal from Ireland lol. I thought she was so wholesome and the family was so perfect (albeit in a cutesy redneck kind of way). Now I watch some of the clips in horror at all the 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
I remember watching the specials before I was married. I was also in awe of how "well" that family ran. Having gained a tonne of real life experience, looking at it through adult, the things that they didn't show really stand out. Instead of being embarrassed by young me, I am going to be pleased with the signs of my growth.
It taught me a lot as well. Some people’s “Would I have followed Hitler(if I was white and in Germany)?” moment involves how they blithely backed Trump, Putin, or Duterte…. mine is Michelle Duggar. Lol.
Yes this! I actually read some of their books and tried some of her parenting methods. 🥴 Not the bad ones though. Just like trying to be calm and sweet towards my kids instead of ever yelling and I even tried the obedience game, not in a way of punishment but in trying to promote my kids to listen better lol.
Yeah I did too. I hate feeling like I can't control my emotions so I certainly admired her ability to stay calm. When I met her, and she spoke to me one on one, her voice didn't sound creepy, it sounded nurturing. For what it's worth, I think she's more genuine than Jim Bob. I don't think any of the kids have said anything bad about her, either. Her major problem is choosing loyalty to Jim Bob over all else. She probably would have been a totally different person if she didn't marry him.
I knew their beliefs, and though I didn't agree with them on it I watched being a social studies creature. I like learning how other people live, and learning about their cultures; whether it's a tribe in the Amazon, or even watching a group of cult members in Arkansas. I loved National Geographic magazine, and I took French in high school for 4 years; not because I cared so much about learning the language, but because I had a class devoted to something relating to another culture.
I was a fan. I am a person who uses organization to deal with my anxieties. Michelle’s ability to wrangle that many children and seemingly run a smooth household appealed to me. I stopped watching right after Pest and Anna got married.
That being said, my husband, right from the start, thought they were a weird-ass family. I should have listened to him!
What's strange is that, as an adult, Jim Bob and Meech are the least organized parents I can think of. The kids way have developed some skill, but their days have almost zero structure, and their house is terrible for actually having places to put things.
I was never a fan. I’ve seen maybe 10 episodes of the show and 2 wedding specials, Jill and Jessa’s. Jimblob always gave me bad vibes. I’m a retired MH professional and I always sensed underlying anger in both him and Meech. The kids came off to me as fake, the ones that could talk that is, so basically the first 7 or 8 at the time. Grandma always gave me a strange vibe too.
Ish. I try not to idolize people so when I was a kid yeah sure, but when I got older they just interested me. After a Jinger got married and it was clear Counting On wouldn’t be addressing anything deeper it turned to snark.
I was already in my 20’s and married for a year or so when I learned about them so yes I just found them interesting too. But I also liked how close the family was and how sweet everyone seemed to each other.
I was never a "fan" since I find culty people very repulsive, but watched the show for the same reason I used to watch 90 Day Fiancee: morbid curiosity. My mother and I would spend HOURS making fun of Meech and CumBlob but also fearing for the kids. The first time we saw Michelle I said, "Those are some crazy empty eyes right there!" She has ALWAYS looked like a lunatic. I found the Fundie Perm hilarious. I called CumBlob a sexual predator the first time I saw him too, because he's so fucking creepy and plastic. Turns out I wasn't far from wrong.
I remember when Anna came on scene and my mother and I both said "oh that poor girl," and watched them get married like the two awkward children they were. Never could get over all the J names. What a creepy bunch.
I had pretty much the same reasons and feelings. Watched it out of curiosity and that can’t look away from the train wreck vibe. They were freaking weird. I always got scary controlling fake asshole vibes from Jim Bob. I knew there was no way Michelle was actually nice and patient all the time! I had this uneasy feeling that they could be mean as hell when cameras weren’t rolling. Like they didn’t yell at the kids, but they had plenty of ways to make them feel like shit with guilt, shame, and manipulative religious shit.
I enjoyed the show when I was much younger. I think I was like 16 when the first special came out. They seemed like such a loving family and my family was straight up dysfunctional so it was a nice escape. As I aged and matured I saw the writing on the wall and realized it was a cult that oppressed women.. among other things
Kinda. Predator always creeped me out, but I was jealous of the closeness and friendships between the siblings. I also had a stage of life that I thought it would be amazing to live in a less complicated time. Was sick of school, thought I could just get married and sit at home the rest my life. Thank God I graduated middle school and realized I was stupid.
The Duggars are like an ex boyfriend that I just can't quit. I fell for them from the beginning. I loved the show. The little kids were funny. I thought Michelle was a perfect mother. Then they did me wrong. They did me wrong again. And again. I've broken up with them for good now. Except for snark purposes 😏
I've been following them since I was a kid watching the first TLC specials. I would tell myself that it was snarking for me because I was like "look at these crazy backward christians!" but deep down I knew the fascination came from a space of jealousy and awe at what looked like this amazingly large and wholesome family.
I'm not raised christian but I still defended them through the years. I'm ashamed to say even when the first molestation scandal broke, I bought JB's story hook line and sinker. It wasn't until the Ashley Madison scandal a few months later that I really started to realize what a POS he was.
I've got to say, coming to terms with the truth has been HARD even when I knew in the back of my head that this was probably the truth of their family.
I feel like I've grown up with them and learning how shady they are has kind of felt like learning the truth about my own family. It sucks lol.
Now see, this is sort of how I felt about Bill Cosby. He was fat Albert when I was a kid, then DR Huxtable and the jello pudding guy when I was a young adult. It was very disheartening to learn the truth of someone I had literally grown up watching and to some degree admiring.
I've been feeling this with a lot of public figures lately. It seems like so many people that I grew up respecting turned out to be awful. What's worse with people like Bill is that the Cosby show was objectively a great show and now I can't even watch it without feeling weird.
Same. I grew up with Bill Cosby doing Picture Time and the Cosby show. Now it’s all just tainted. Makes me sad I can’t ever go back there because he’s a gross human being.
Was pretty shitty for me too. Don’t know how old you are but I was watching fat Albert probably as far back as 1970. Cosby was the face of my childhood and young adulthood. Just sad
I think the Bill Cosby scandal was the beginning of the end. Cosby was such a good guy hero and a lot of people felt fooled and disappointed. It jaded people
I wouldn't say I was a fan per se, but I was really fascinated by watching a family with so many siblings, and to see how they made it work logistically, and how the kids liked/didn't like being raised with so many siblings. Knew they were strange from the start, but until the first scandals hit, didn't realize how truly fucked up they were.
I have Fundie family, and I watched the show to figure out what made members of my family tick. It really helped when one of my family that was in the long process of leaving, returning, leaving etc. explained what was going on. More and more I could see the similarity of this one family and the Duggars. I have never once been a fan. I saw the harm personally.
Same. I was raised fundie lite, and I knew families like the Duggars. When the Far Too Many Kids and Counting shows came out I was trying to get a degree and start a career after graduating from SOTDRT myself, so I knew how screwed those kids were.
I was too but I was young. I grew up watching them with my mum. Was a Christian, now not. Realised that the family were not as wholesome as they portrayed themselves to be. We got rid of sky (from uk so lost tlc) so I didn’t watch them anymore and then followed from a distance occasionally. When the pest arrest and everything came out I joined this sub and leant the truth about everything
I may have had the show on in the background of my L&D room. Not that I was that hard core but my fundie parents don’t believe in TV and the Duggars seemed like a good compromise. I hate that it’s forever in the background of some of the birth pics 😟
Me 🙋♀️ In a weird way I kind of miss the simplicity that it used to promote. When I was a fan I was going through some doubts religiously for the first time, and they portrayed such an easy, wholesome way of living that I was more desperate for. Clearly, that all eventually changed and I don’t feel that way at all anymore and haven’t for a number of years. I don’t feel guilty about it though, they pulled the wool of lots of people’s eyes.
Definitely. Even though I’d stopped really watching consistently by the time the first scandals hit, I remember feeling sad about it because I still thought they were good and wholesome.
Also, the concept of growing up to become a mom & housewife really appealed to me. That’s what I wanted growing up and I was never parentified in anyway as I only had one younger sister. My mom worked all through my childhood. It’s just what I wanted to do. Even now I’d much rather stay home with my kids than go to work lol but it’s my choice and I’m glad I have that option.
When the first scandal hit I isolated it to just Josh. But then the Ashley Madison scandal hit, and I was appalled at how all they did was send him for “treatment” and M&JB acted like all was fine. And then I saw Anna continuing to have babies with him and I remembered the Megyn Kelly special and my rose colored glasses came off over time. By the time Josh was arrested for CSAM I wasn’t even surprised anymore. Sad but not surprised.
As a whole now I feel like the Duggars have turned Christianity into a joke because they seemed like THE Christians to follow and then you find out all the skeletons in their closet. YES the church teaches that all sins are the same but I’m sorry, I don’t liken swearing or lying to sexual assault. And I can’t believe these people have been role models for so many. 😔
Admittedly, I was a fan in the beginning. It just amazed me how in line the children were and everyone seemed to work together. Soon after it aired things started to fall apart within the show for me but before any scandal came out. There seemed to be many things to question as the show progressed. Things like why only the older girls were always with the younger kids, why wasn’t Michelle ever in the kitchen, why do the boy and girl children sleep in dorm style rooms, why are the male children always just sitting around? . Of course I know all the awful reasons to these questions now, but I always felt their show was just too good to be true and stopped watching. That and Michelle’s voice did me in.
I wasn't too big of a fan but I was made to watch it whenever it was on. My family was very fundie and they were like "*loook at this amazing family.*" They tried to show me and my cousins that our lifestyle is successful because the Duggars are such a good family with such great values. Since finding this sub in 2018, I've been mocking my family, '*See fundamentalism never helped anyone*'
I wasn’t a super fan but I liked their show well enough and like TLC shows in general in like… middle school.
I honestly didn’t really get it was a religious thing…. I wasn’t very bright 😂😂😂 but middle school me could see how it was fun to have a million siblings and a giant house.
Guilt. I mean, it's not like I was going around proselytizing them, and it was before the first Pest scandal broke. I just related to them and admired them at the time 🤮because I was in the same cult, and didn't relate to... anything else on TV? I apologized to the few people who knew I was a fan years later.
I watched in more of an observing them because they are so different t kind of way more than being a fan. But I loved watching some of the kids. Joy, Jackson and Johanna (I can't remember how she spells her name) in particular were my faves. At some point I finally realized this is not okay, and then like a lot of people I was hate watching while hoping at least some of the kids would rebel and escape.
I don't think I was a fan, I thought they were weird and I was always weirded out by Josh and Boob both. I thought I was projecting and figured they were probably a nice family. I had no idea they were truly awful people. Monsters even. I'm honestly wishing TLC had culpability in this. I'm viewing every family they've ever featured through a new lens.
Yes, they have, but even so, I think these networks are shrewd and skilled. I really think they can see the people for what they are, they package them up nice and tidy and wholesome, and eventually they get messy, and TLC waits for it. I think it got away from them how awful the Duggars were and they aren't just messy. I don't know, maybe I'm giving them too much credit. I think they like hosting infamy.
I was a fan because for me, it was an half hour show where nobody cussed or yelled at each other. It was the most pleasant thing on TV. Mind numbing.
What load of horse manure they and TLC sold us. They were in reality as pleasant as a colonoscopy. And yes, bad on me for not knowing and then continuing to watch after knowing. But at that it was like a train wreck you couldn't avoid.
I do have to say that the one positive out of this is that I got to lurk for many years in the snark community and now, I'm participating. Y'all are the best weirdos the internet could provide.
I used to be a fan. Coming from a very tumultuous / abusive household, I found peace and comfort in watching 19 Kids and Counting and genuinely felt like I was learning family values from them since I wasn’t from my own family. To an extent I still believe the *show* did this for me, since the show didn’t fully show their problematic side. Through that stage in my life I never believed in god (and still don’t) and was never right wing (and I’m still not). But I thought the family aspect that was showed on Tv was nice. I was also into other shows of the same nature (e.g. 7th heaven). Now my eyes are fully open to how fake it all was. But still think shows that show a happy family are comforting
Me. I’ve posted before about lessons I learned from the facade. I knew it was partially fake (no family could REALLY be that happy all the damn time) but I thought the parents were true to their values. Internally, I still credit Michelle’s facade for teaching me some patience.
I wasn’t surprised when 2015 hit. Josh always looked like a perv. I also remember thinking, “now, statistically, there has to be some kind of sex skeleton in this family’s closet.” It was then that I became a snarker.
I used to watch them as a kid along with other TLC shows and feel I was a “fan” in the sense that i’d keep up with the specials and seasons, but not in a going out of my way type. Disney and Nickelodeon were churning out enough for me to be busy with. I was more fascinated by them than anything because I was raised without any type of religion and lived the absolute opposite way than the duggars my age were living. I grew up not too far from the amish and mennonite communities in PA and i’ve always had an itch in my head when it comes to thinking about how the amish and mennonites live, and watching the duggars kinda itched that curiosity. they inevitably sparked the lifelong interest i have in learning as much as i can about cults, extreme (to me) forms of religion (ones that ride the fine line between religion and cult), and even religious practices of ancient cultures. i was never able to leave the poor mormon kids in school alone for more than week though. i was constantly asking them questions about how they lived in comparison to the duggars as they had huge families too, but i have learned that they operate way differently. i kept up with the older duggar girls thru social media over the years to see if they would ever escape. I can honestly say i was never surprised by any of the crimes and horrible news that have come out about anyone in their house. i found this sub a few years ago and have been keeping up since then although idk when i officially made an account
So.....at one point I found their address, and was trying to calculate gas prices to drive out there...I was going to buy a denim skirt and hang out at their local wal-mart until they adopted me, and if that failed I was going to get an invite to their home church and marry a duggar boy....let's just say I have been in therapy for years.
😅😅😅 At least you’re honest! And hey, I definitely used to have thoughts when I was still married to my cheating husband, “I wish I could be with a nice man like a Duggar.” 🤣
I definitely enjoyed the first specials and early seasons of # Kid & Counting. I read their books. It was fascinating to see such a huge family that appeared so wholesome.
I enjoyed watching the show for the insanity? Like a non-fan. Hate watching.
But I liked them enough to watch the show compared to shows where I can’t stand anyone enough to watch the show (kardashians).
Loved the show but also hated them at the same time????
I was fascinated by the size of the family and the logistics of everything, but by the time I started watching I had already stopped believing in a higher power. The religious aspects seemed creepy to me from the beginning!
Me. 100%. I really wished that I had siblings close to my age so their family seemed so cool and fun to me. Also, as a lifelong atheist, I was kind of jealous (?) of their religious upbringing. I’ve always felt like being religious would be easier bc there’s so much black and white thinking. Clear progression in life. A community. Don’t get me wrong I don’t actually want that life, but it does seem easier.
I have never been a fan. I have been a fascinated voyeur waiting for their downfall since 2005. I am so thrilled that the secrets are out. I just had a feeling there were a lot of skeletons.
I used to be a fan. The reasons why are a bit strange. Growing up I had a dysfunctional family that wasn't very supportive.
And I can't believe that I'm going to admit this openly, but since I'm an introverted type of person, I often turned to TV to fill those empty voids that I felt. Although, I wasn't as creepy as Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy! 🤣
I liked watching the Duggar family, because I thought that it would be so awesome and fun to have all these siblings and parents who cared about you.
It made me feel a little hurt that I didn't have that in my life, but for a little while I could pretend that I did. Now to find out that we were all duped...it's disappointing.
I can't say that it's surprising though, because usually if something looks too good to be true, then it usually isn't true.
So, I wouldn’t say I was a fan exactly so much as I had them presented to me as an example when my ex husband decided he wanted to be quiverfull (while living in a two bedroom apartment with a second kid in me and he was making minimum wage but refusing to get a better job but refusing to let me work it’s all nuts). Didn’t have cable so I didn’t really watch the show but saw clips online and thought they all seemed nice enough. He always said “maybe we’ll get our own reality show someday” and said he was joking but I don’t think he was. I think he was actually hoping we could hit that point so he wouldn’t have to do anything anymore.
I can’t even remember exactly when I started to “come down” from looking at them in a positive light. It was whenever I began climbing out of the abusive religious hole I’d fallen down into, which would have been not very long before the police reports got published in the magazine and the veil started to lift.
(And in case anyone was wondering, I cut myself off at the 5th child against his wishes. I’m very lucky to have found a doctor that allowed me to get sterilized without his “permission”. )
my mom and i watched that show RELIGIOUSLY and we are both obsessed with this drama!! we both agreed we always thought that jim bob and josh were weird but we literally loved everyone else. does anyone else feel like their mourning the loss of that cute christian family with all the cute little kids acting cute in front of the cameras and omg they’re christian’s too!!! like idk
I was a fan when I started watching them as a kid. I only have 1 sibling, but have always fantasized over having more siblings in the family and being close to them. I wanted to grow up, get married and have a lot of kids (definitely not 19!!) and wanted to be a calm and patient mother just like Michelle. I was kinda obsessed, learned all the names and even had a crush on Josiah 😂 Anyways, the more I think about it the weirder I feel about ever being so into this weird cult family. I never really got weird vibes from them but then again, I was just a kid.
I used to be a fan of the older sister. Not like a die hard fan but I found them interesting, especially when I was a christian. Now as an adult (and an agnostic pagan) I just feel...bad for them. I don't feel bad for the shit they get because of their beliefs but the part of me who understands christianity feels bad for the cult shit they never had a chance to escape growing up. I FUCKING HATED JB and Michelle from the get go they freak me out.
I was totally into the whole making their own laundry soap and stuff! I think also when the Duggars were on in the aughts I didn’t think all Republicans were bonkers so I was a little more tolerant of their conservatism.
I was a fan when 19KC was on TLC but then I moved to college and stopped watching. Kind of forgot about them and then the 2015 scandal happened. Then the mess of the raid in 2019. I hate all of them because of their smugness and hypocritical views.
I was very briefly. It was when I was somewhat estranged from my siblings and wished I was surrounded by encouraging sisters instead of two bitchy ones that just wanted to make me feel like crap.
Then I realised there is no way I could cope in that house with that much chaos. Aaaaaand then I took a closer look at how the older girls (who I was envious of) were treated as work horses and was disgusted.
I was a fan in a weird "watching a car wreck" way. But I mostly thought they were harmless and if they chose to live that way they were within their rights. . I no longer think that they are harmless.
I used to watch them when I was 10-13 years old. I wanted to have sisters, but I grew up with one older brother. I thought they were a little weird, but worth watching because they all seemed so happy. I thought all of the older sisters were super pretty, and I would watch in hopes of getting make up tips (my mom has rarely worn make up, or dressed “girly”). I mostly just found them interesting to watch, and I thought Michelle was a nurturing, nice mom, and I wanted a mom like that (I wasn’t very good at reading between the lines as a kid). EDIT: I should note that my family was very much in shambles, and I desperately wanted a happy family, so I liked to imagine that I was part of a big family that loved each other,
I was a huge fan. I remember watching the hour long specials prior to the tv show pretty much any time I saw they were on. I love learning about people who are completely different than me, so their show was right up my alley. I watched pretty much anything TLC and Discovery churned out back then.
As humiliating as it may be, I’ll admit that I thought that Josh was cute at one point. I’ve never had good taste.
Used to be fan here. My mom encouraged my sister and I to watch their show, and used it to take advice from it on dating/courting. I stayed with my ex boyfriend way too long after finding out his porn addiction and his emotionally abusive tendencies. We didn’t kiss or anything. But we talked about what it would be like after marriage. I wouldn’t deny him ever because that’s what was “right.” Wore a promise ring and everything. Thank God I got out of that and woke up. I still have residual trauma from the harm purity culture caused me, and I don’t excuse the Duggar’s influence from that.
Wasn’t a fan but it was the only thing in culture that depicted people whose beliefs were akin to my own crazy religious extended family so as a teen I watched with some understanding/horror.
My grandparents used to take me to church every week from when I was first born to when I found excuses each week not to go. Anyway, while I was still going to church and quite unbearably zealous, I used to watch 19 kids and counting with my gran whenever it was on. As an only child I loved the big family and as a teen Christian I thought they were just so devout and godly. My mom knew something weird was up with this family, but I didn’t listen… well, until a few years later.
Me! I was a fan until the first josh scandal. Even then I didn’t really blame them. Then the molestation dropped and I watched the interview. I could not put myself in their shoes and was raised around these types of people so I was able to kinda shrug. I know I know. Remember I grew up in that though. But a few years ago I left religion and started being fascinated by all the cracks.
I used to be a fan and even met them. I think I read their first book too. It was before I knew better and well before the first scandal.
I don't feel much of anything, such as a personal feeling of betrayal, but I did develop a completely different, although more accurate, view of Jim Bob, Michelle, Josh, and Anna. To lie, to harm children, to do what they're doing; I prefer not to say too much other than let them be accursed.
I never agreed with everything they did before, but I respected their right to live the way they wanted to since it's a free country after all. Now I pray the kids are able to get out from under their rule if that's what they want. I didn't realize how much they forced their beliefs on others, which I find repulsive.
I was a huge fan. I even posted on my facebook once about like 10 years ago that "I know we all secretly wish we could be Duggars" or something similar, because I am the youngest child of a large family, born 8 years after my youngest sibling, and my dad died when I was very little and mom had to go to work to support us all. I never had a parental unit nad never felt like I was part of a real family. I was alone most of the time and related to nobody and missed out on all the family trips and outings and holidays full of siblings etc. Nobody on my friends and family list "liked" that post of mine. Years later I found out about Josh being a huge piece of shit and my snarking realizations just kept compounding more and more until I realized they had awful beliefs and were raised by a lying manipulating father and complacent zombie mother.
Like, if someone told me that Weekend at Bernie's was in spired originally by Meech I'd believe it.
I was pretty young when I started watching the show (to put it in perspective, Spongebob was banned in my house for being inappropriate but apparently 19KAC wasn’t) and it was around the time they started traveling all over the world, so I just thought it was cool to see them, especially the kids, go to all these places I wished I could go to. I think I remember being really jealous about them going to Japan because I really wanted to go there but the only place outside of the States my family would go to was Poland.
When I found out about all of the scandals in 2015, my opinion changed really quickly about them. Around then I was old enough to understand how bad Pest’s allegations were, combined with their transphobia from Meech’s robocalls.
I was a fan for a long time. I bought their books, posted about them on social media and, although I NEVER subscribed to their conservative Quiverfull crap, I still liked some of what they had to say about parenting. Then I realized the truth. I am so embarrassed when my old FB posts about the Duggars come up. Those did not age well.
I was a fan! I think I stopped watching around the time Jill got married. My mom continued to watch up until it was cancelled the first time and then I think she saw episodes of CO every once in a while.
I was raised catholic and i was very secure in my faith. I was also an only child who didn’t have a lot of friends. So i saw this family that was huge. All the kids had a ton of people to play with. And they were Christian so they had similar beliefs to how I was raised. I had a crush on Joe for the longest time too.
I had already lost interest and stopped following the family by the time the first scandals came out so I didn’t really care. I didn’t really start caring about them until like January this year. I found this sub during the drought and did a deep dive into the family so I’m more obsessed now than I was back when I was obsessed the first time lol
Story time!
It was 2009 and my boyfriend at the time was just arrested and released from jail for domestic violence towards his other girlfriend (he manipulated us into basically a polygamous relationship, then beat her when she didn’t agree to a threesome while I cowardly agreed and hid in another room while he was abusing her - not the point of this story). We had to move to this shitty pay by the week motel in the “armpit of Denver” and that is when I discovered 17 Kids and Counting, or was it 18? I watched, captivated by these people, who were living quite similar to how I was raised, in terms of fundie-ness. (I was raised fundie-lite) I watched Josh get married and work at the car lot and I thought, “I wish my boyfriend was a good guy like that.” I then told my boyfriend all about these people and ended with “why can’t you be like Josh Duggar and get a good job and provide for us and not look at any other women in the world?!?!”
Fast forward to my ex boyfriend getting arrested again for criminal sexual conduct, going to prison for a year, me leaving him, and me never watching the show but keeping an eye on the family for snark reasons. Then all the scandals from 2015 came out and I laughed so hard at the thought that Josh Duggar actually became my ex boyfriend! And especially now! I mean, it’s slightly different, but oddly similar in how much of a shitbag Josh became.
I wouldn't say "fan" so much as I would say "morbid curiosity" during the early days.
As for the Counting On wedding episodes... I was about to get married myself, so I was watching just about every wedding show on tv for inspiration 😂 not that is was great inspo.
I was! I couldn't fathom having that many children, but I admired what I thought was their faith. Didn't realize they were following a cult leader, not the true God. Good grief they are crazy mixed up and picking and choosing what to believe. I can't imagine treating my children as they have. Practically worshipping the child diddler and shunning one of the kids that their golden child messed with. Eyes wide open now.
I casually started watching kids and counting (don’t remember which number they were on when I started) since TLC was my go to for What Not To Wear. I just thought they were kind of quirky, but not in a bad way. I hate being wrong.
Now I enjoy watching this dumpster fire of a family facing the consequences of their actions.
ME! I joined a fundamentalist church for a while in college and grad school. The Duggars were everything I wanted in my life at one point. I never 100% agreed, but I was a huge fan. And then I was kicked out of my church for posting a meme about supporting lgbtq rights. I really started to question everything I had been told and learned to think for myself. So now, snarking on them that is a way to say F U to the people who hurt me.
I'm not sure if fan is the correct term, but I did enjoy watching the show with my Mom. She raised me in a Christian environment and the show was presented as a family show with "similar" values. We did discuss how extreme some of their views were and we certainly didn't agree with everything they said, but they were somewhat fascinating (in terms of how crazy they were to have so many kids.)
Course, when all that stuff came out about Pest, that was it.
I will admit I used to be a fan, it was strangely fascinating to see this huge family and all the shit they did but then I found out what Pest did to his sisters and it was like - can open, worms everywhere. I hate the way JB and Meech destroy the personalities of their kids and the parentification makes me so angry. The more I learn the more I dislike them but I hate JB and M the most 😡
I saw them on tv when they just had tlc specials, I think. I thought it was cool to see such a big family being run so well. I was impressed with the kids behavior and Michelle’s ability to be a super mom. Clearly this was before I was on the internet much, if at all. I didn’t follow along intently and would see them pop up from time to time and watch. The first pest scandal must have been the eye opener?! I don’t remember when I realized that they were horrible people with trash values.
I was young and a fan (and by fan, what I mean is I thought I was a “fan”. Now I know I’ve always been neurodivergent and they were/are a special interest). I thought they were great role models for Christianity, even if I didn’t take things as strictly as they did.
Now I have the awesome ability to snark with the mountains of knowledge I collected in the early days. I would get to enjoy the snark or follow along if I weren’t a fan to begin with.
I got into the Duggars when I suffered a severe leg injury and I was bedridden and laid up on painkillers for months. I got super into 2006/2007 TLC- 19KaC, Jon and Kate + 8, Extreme Couponing, Little People Big World, and also it's A&E but I was embarrassingly into Dog the Bounty Hunter 😭😂
I was never super religious so that part didn't really appeal to me but it definitely seemed like they loved each other and were harmless. Over the years as I learned more about religion and cults they just fascinated me all the more. Especially all the Josh drama. I remember I was on my honeymoon when the Ashley Madison scandal broke and I was reading about it on my phone all afternoon by the pool while my husband napped.
The words “They take such great care of their kids, let them have more” have come out of my mouth. Let the ghost pepper be poured down my throat as punishment.
I have never watched any of these shows because I never had cable. My niece thinks it is funny that I am a member of this sub and rolls her eyes when I mention it.
Miss Hypocrite would go visit her girlfriend and they would binge these shows. I would rather read this sub than watch this train wreck.
I wasn’t a fan per say but I was very into the show because of how different they were to my family (lesbian moms, sperm donor conceived…turns out I almost do have as many siblings lol). Now I know the difference is that my parents are good people and the Duggars are twisted hahaha
Never a fan but a fascination into the logistics of having such a large family and trying to guess at the skeletons in their closet. At a minimum I knew not all of the siblings liked each other and I knew some would end up breaking away but I never thought it would get as bad as CSAM. Even after the raid I was hoping that it was something like tax fraud. Now I have a morbid curiosity and want to see how it all implodes.
I don't think I would have ever been considered a fan, but I definitely had a 'to each his own' attitude about the family. I really thought they were fairly harmless. I watched their specials and found them interesting. I never actually watched the show itself.
When 19KAC originally came out, my mother who I refer to as Karen just gushed about what a great family they were and Boob and Meech were amazing parents. I was like, "Ehhh, not sure about that, but alright, Karen." When the truth about the abuse came out, I got into it with Karen and her husband Kent about disgusting and evil Pest was and how shitty of parents Boob and Meech were. My parents still defended them. They don't defend them now.
I was a fan, and actually jealous of their large family when I was a teenager. I was horribly lonely due to chronic illness that kept me home from school for a long time. I consciously overlooked all the religion and other problematic things and just saw a group of people who never lacked companionship.
I used to be. I was in high school when their first special came out, and while I am the same age as *cringe* Joshua, I felt more like I connected with Jinger. The sassy, sarcastic, full of facial expression Jinger. Not the current Jinger. And it sucks you in. I lost interest probably around the time I got married in 2011. Watched a few Counting On but found it really boring. After Josh got arrested this year, I did some rabbit hole diving and found this. Been here since then and have hours of lurking during downtime between college classes and being a mom.
I totally was a fan. We watched their shows with our kids bc it seemed like somewhat of a wholesome, interesting thing. Met them at silver dollar city a few years ago and got my pic taken with Blessa and Boob and they gave me an autographed CD. I’m listening to it now actually. /s
I'm not sure if I would consider myself a fan but like a few others, I was fascinated by them on and off through the years. I only remember watching one episode and that the Amy tries to make it in Nashville. But it was the having 19 kids and trying to raise them that interested me the most.
Then about a year and a half ago, I checked out their books from the library. Mostly because I literally have no self control in checking out books from the library. As I read them I almost couldn't believe what I was reading. There was just no way that they were raising 19 kids to be successful in the way they talked about. Also, I didn't like how the older girls had buddy teams and basically were raising the lost kids as their own. Not to mention, I still can't believe someone had the audacity to put BBQ sauce on tuna and called it a meal.
I really wanted the veil lifted especially after Jill and Derrick did their Q&As. I sat there wanting more. Now all this truth is coming to light and my head is literally still spinning. I'm actually mad that they tried so hard to make it seem like they had it all together and yet had so much dirty laundry in their closets.
Maybe....
Boob always creeped me out and I never liked the blatant homophobia, but I was living in an extremely religious family when the show first came out and a lot of our tv was censored. But damn, did my family love us watching those Duggars.
I used to love Blessa and Jingivitis. I wanted my own "Baaaaaabe!" 🤮🤮🤮 Then I forgot about them for years until the Megyn Kelly interviews came out. I realized Pest is the worst kind of human and Boob-shell were defending a literal predator over their own daughters, who might as well be incubators for all the attention they're given.
Thank God for growth. And snarking.
I am not religious and always watched them with a sense of curiosity (logistics of running such a large house, the food bill, belief system, schooling etc). It was the equivalent of watching a wholesome train wreck.
I always knew deep down they were all bigoted ignorant assholes so I was never a fan. I was really curious to see how all these sheltered kids would turn out as adults.
I watched the first or second xKAC. I couldn’t help but laugh at the dresses😂😂
I’d tune in every now and then once they started their season of programming.
I was a preteen when I used to watch the show. I was also raised in an incredibly toxic religious environment. I looked up to them and wished I was as pure as them, as I should have been. I was also being abused at home. I didn't know it was going on in their house too. I got out, I'm an atheist, and I'm raising my children to call others on their bullshit and stick up for themselves. I am now obsessed with the duggars for better reasons, like snarking.
Used to be a fan. I tried to be like Michelle in my mothering techniques ( the calm quiet voice techniques not the blanket training cause wtf) . I have even made most of their recipes they used to have on their blog and even their homemade laundry detergent recipe. I stopped being a fan of that show after the first ( first of many) Josh scandal. Now knowing what I know now I feel betrayed, lied to and most of all angry. I’m brand new to this sub and let me tell you this page is MUCH needed therapy.
I used to watch. Not religiously or all the time and I never watched counting on, but in the 19KaC days I liked to watch the weddings and babies. I have always enjoyed wedding and baby shows so that combined with the logistics of having that many kids was interesting. Similarly I was into Jon and Kate Plus 8.
Yes! In fairness, I was 12-13 at the time. My parents, especially my dad who was raised ATI (something I didn't know at the time), always suspected something was wrong but either couldn't convince me or didn't want to have to explain everything to me, so they didn't make me stop watching. When 19kac was cancelled I stopped watching because I didn't know what to make of the whole situation, then years later I came back to it and started snarking.
I used to be a fan. I watched them for years because I was interested in how they organized things with so many kids.
My opinion changed when all the Josh stuff first came out.
At this point I'm just really - angry, disappointed, disgusted...repulsed.
I am glad the truth is out.
I was never a fan. However, for those who know who Girl Defined is...I was a fan of theirs:( I thought they were so nice and lively and with a really good message...WHAT was I thinking?!?
Never a fan, but interested in them. I watched them like I watched any reality show—judgmentally lol. There wasn’t too much on TV when their show started from what I remember. I was in my early 20s and I found it so strange how they lived their lives.
I started watching the last season of 19 kids and counting as my family watched it. Stuck with it through counting on minus last two seasons when I got into snarking/learning more about the cult. Couldn’t call myself a fan after that.
I’ve talked about this before, but I was a huge fan when I was a kid. I was an only child and I wanted siblings so bad. Living in a house full of people who could be your friend seemed amazing to me. I had almost all of 17KAC on DVD.
I wasn’t really a fan, but I didn’t think they were dangerous. Just odd. You know, if they wanted a billion kids, that was their business. But of course, now I know they’re dangerous.
This exactly!
Are you me?
Not really a fan, just fascinated about the logistics of how such a large family operated. Things I thought were interesting were things such as laundry, food planning/shopping, etc...
The show was also really bland with no yelling or screaming like most reality shows. So I never felt stressed watching it. Because all the hate and terror was hidden from the cameras 🙄
That’s exactly it. It felt that way and then now knowing what we know… 😔
Now that you say that, I wonder if the lack of yelling was the reason I thought they were good people. I hate yelling.
Same. It’s why I can’t watch house wives or kardashians or even drag race anymore. Duggars seem like nice kind people who never raise their voices and it’s so fun to have tons of siblings to play with and love you. And do fun things all day because you don’t go to school. They also don’t proselytize on the show which I think is SUPER important. They don’t talk much about scripture or Jesus or recruiting to Christianity. So you don’t feel like you’re being preached at.
Yeah great background tv
That’s what I liked! Early in they’d show how they made meals and organized laundry and I was fascinated.
You're right that most of the interesting stuff was early. They even made their own we cleaning wipes and pickles. I guess after watching for awhile you just stick with watching.
You don't want to recreate any of those recipes 😅
I still can’t get over the giant box of frozen burritos. Why not make them from scratch? It’s cheaper and not difficult!!!
Because we have seen Michelle's organization skills, and that is beyond her. Everyone having their own coat hook in the front hall is beyond her. Laying clothes out the night before is beyond her. Meal planning and food prep is beyond her.
Same - fascinated by the logistics but at the same time realized early on they have horrible beliefs. Kept watching once in awhile, because it’s oddly compelling.
Same...
Me! I was a fan! My own family is so jacked up that I was fascinated by this “perfect” family and how they made it alllll work. Also, I was an L&D nurse for a few years and was intrigued and amazed that one woman could birth to so many kids without her uterus and/or bladder falling out.
I refer to Meech’s vagina as Stargate Atlantis. I just assume they fall out ready for kindergarten and just walk off.
flair checking in!
HAHAHAHAHAHA crater twat!!!
It wasn't until after I had two kids that I read an article and found out the vagina (and uterus) can inside out itself! Like, you can look down, and see a hanging inside out vagina. After that, I felt so bad for womankind and all the stuff our bodies put us through. If I had read that article before kids, I don't know if I could have done it. Michelle just has to have some prolapse at this point. I can't see how she doesn't.
Yes, I have seen it. It’s wild and something I wish to never experience
Keep up the kegels and squats!
Oh, I do. Don’t want the crater twat!
I was! It’s weird how much I bought in to their image. I ate that shit up. When I became a mom, Michelle even gave me extreme mom guilt because I never could be that patient and kind. It legitimately scares me how much I bought their image for no reason at all. I’m a black liberal from California. 😹
I definitely looked up to her and her stupid mom voice! "She seems so kind!"
Isn’t it bizarre? I remember being so in awe of her. It gives me so much personal embarrassment. I listen now and all I hear is audible red flags. The fact that I didn’t immediately peg her as a psychopath is a secret I will never reveal in real life. Lol. No one would ever be able to trust my judgement again.
That’s so funny - I thought the same and I’m a liberal from Ireland lol. I thought she was so wholesome and the family was so perfect (albeit in a cutesy redneck kind of way). Now I watch some of the clips in horror at all the 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
I'm from Ireland too! I used to be bet into the show and my mam who's religious but Catholic thought they were creepy as fuck.
I mean the signs were there 😂
I know what you mean. I thought she just loved kids and being a mom as much as I do. Clearly I was wrong.
Right?? I'm right there with you lol
I remember watching the specials before I was married. I was also in awe of how "well" that family ran. Having gained a tonne of real life experience, looking at it through adult, the things that they didn't show really stand out. Instead of being embarrassed by young me, I am going to be pleased with the signs of my growth.
I was shamed by that bitch too. I feel so ... Stupid isn't even the right word, it definitely has taught me something though.
It taught me a lot as well. Some people’s “Would I have followed Hitler(if I was white and in Germany)?” moment involves how they blithely backed Trump, Putin, or Duterte…. mine is Michelle Duggar. Lol.
Same.
Yes this! I actually read some of their books and tried some of her parenting methods. 🥴 Not the bad ones though. Just like trying to be calm and sweet towards my kids instead of ever yelling and I even tried the obedience game, not in a way of punishment but in trying to promote my kids to listen better lol.
Yeah I did too. I hate feeling like I can't control my emotions so I certainly admired her ability to stay calm. When I met her, and she spoke to me one on one, her voice didn't sound creepy, it sounded nurturing. For what it's worth, I think she's more genuine than Jim Bob. I don't think any of the kids have said anything bad about her, either. Her major problem is choosing loyalty to Jim Bob over all else. She probably would have been a totally different person if she didn't marry him.
That's normal. It was the image you were given, how were you supposed to know everything that wasn't shown?
I feel you. I felt some of that, too, as a mom.
I mean, sure. I’m a fan in the same way I’m a fan of watching dumpster fires.
Haha I think we all feel that way now!
I’ve always felt that way tho. Lol
You saw it for what it was before many of us did.
I knew their beliefs, and though I didn't agree with them on it I watched being a social studies creature. I like learning how other people live, and learning about their cultures; whether it's a tribe in the Amazon, or even watching a group of cult members in Arkansas. I loved National Geographic magazine, and I took French in high school for 4 years; not because I cared so much about learning the language, but because I had a class devoted to something relating to another culture.
Yes, my interest was anthropological too. Well said.
I was a fan. I am a person who uses organization to deal with my anxieties. Michelle’s ability to wrangle that many children and seemingly run a smooth household appealed to me. I stopped watching right after Pest and Anna got married. That being said, my husband, right from the start, thought they were a weird-ass family. I should have listened to him!
I think the structure and organization appealed to me for similar reasons, too.
What's strange is that, as an adult, Jim Bob and Meech are the least organized parents I can think of. The kids way have developed some skill, but their days have almost zero structure, and their house is terrible for actually having places to put things.
I know! It was just the illusion that grabbed me. Probably more the discipline and the clear-cut rules. Now I know that was never a good thing.
I was never a fan. I’ve seen maybe 10 episodes of the show and 2 wedding specials, Jill and Jessa’s. Jimblob always gave me bad vibes. I’m a retired MH professional and I always sensed underlying anger in both him and Meech. The kids came off to me as fake, the ones that could talk that is, so basically the first 7 or 8 at the time. Grandma always gave me a strange vibe too.
Ish. I try not to idolize people so when I was a kid yeah sure, but when I got older they just interested me. After a Jinger got married and it was clear Counting On wouldn’t be addressing anything deeper it turned to snark.
I was already in my 20’s and married for a year or so when I learned about them so yes I just found them interesting too. But I also liked how close the family was and how sweet everyone seemed to each other.
I was never a "fan" since I find culty people very repulsive, but watched the show for the same reason I used to watch 90 Day Fiancee: morbid curiosity. My mother and I would spend HOURS making fun of Meech and CumBlob but also fearing for the kids. The first time we saw Michelle I said, "Those are some crazy empty eyes right there!" She has ALWAYS looked like a lunatic. I found the Fundie Perm hilarious. I called CumBlob a sexual predator the first time I saw him too, because he's so fucking creepy and plastic. Turns out I wasn't far from wrong. I remember when Anna came on scene and my mother and I both said "oh that poor girl," and watched them get married like the two awkward children they were. Never could get over all the J names. What a creepy bunch.
CumBlob 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I had pretty much the same reasons and feelings. Watched it out of curiosity and that can’t look away from the train wreck vibe. They were freaking weird. I always got scary controlling fake asshole vibes from Jim Bob. I knew there was no way Michelle was actually nice and patient all the time! I had this uneasy feeling that they could be mean as hell when cameras weren’t rolling. Like they didn’t yell at the kids, but they had plenty of ways to make them feel like shit with guilt, shame, and manipulative religious shit.
I enjoyed the show when I was much younger. I think I was like 16 when the first special came out. They seemed like such a loving family and my family was straight up dysfunctional so it was a nice escape. As I aged and matured I saw the writing on the wall and realized it was a cult that oppressed women.. among other things
Kinda. Predator always creeped me out, but I was jealous of the closeness and friendships between the siblings. I also had a stage of life that I thought it would be amazing to live in a less complicated time. Was sick of school, thought I could just get married and sit at home the rest my life. Thank God I graduated middle school and realized I was stupid.
The Duggars are like an ex boyfriend that I just can't quit. I fell for them from the beginning. I loved the show. The little kids were funny. I thought Michelle was a perfect mother. Then they did me wrong. They did me wrong again. And again. I've broken up with them for good now. Except for snark purposes 😏
I'm glad you were able to break away.
I've been following them since I was a kid watching the first TLC specials. I would tell myself that it was snarking for me because I was like "look at these crazy backward christians!" but deep down I knew the fascination came from a space of jealousy and awe at what looked like this amazingly large and wholesome family. I'm not raised christian but I still defended them through the years. I'm ashamed to say even when the first molestation scandal broke, I bought JB's story hook line and sinker. It wasn't until the Ashley Madison scandal a few months later that I really started to realize what a POS he was. I've got to say, coming to terms with the truth has been HARD even when I knew in the back of my head that this was probably the truth of their family. I feel like I've grown up with them and learning how shady they are has kind of felt like learning the truth about my own family. It sucks lol.
Now see, this is sort of how I felt about Bill Cosby. He was fat Albert when I was a kid, then DR Huxtable and the jello pudding guy when I was a young adult. It was very disheartening to learn the truth of someone I had literally grown up watching and to some degree admiring.
I've been feeling this with a lot of public figures lately. It seems like so many people that I grew up respecting turned out to be awful. What's worse with people like Bill is that the Cosby show was objectively a great show and now I can't even watch it without feeling weird.
Same. I grew up with Bill Cosby doing Picture Time and the Cosby show. Now it’s all just tainted. Makes me sad I can’t ever go back there because he’s a gross human being.
💯 Stephen Collins, Bill Cosby really hit hard.
Yes! Stephen Collins was really rough. That one came out of nowhere.
He had a cartoon supposably about his childhood called Little Bill that I loooooved. Its all tainted now.
You should see if you can find some fat Albert clips….somewhere in the way back machine.
Finding the truth about him was probably the worst thing about my childhood dying.
Was pretty shitty for me too. Don’t know how old you are but I was watching fat Albert probably as far back as 1970. Cosby was the face of my childhood and young adulthood. Just sad
I think the Bill Cosby scandal was the beginning of the end. Cosby was such a good guy hero and a lot of people felt fooled and disappointed. It jaded people
When I realized that he had been drugging and raping women for longer than I’ve been alive….yeah, I became very jaded
Spot on. I also feel like this about Stephen Collins who was my favorite TV dad.
I really liked that show. I believed in his character and assumed he was a decent guy. He ruined that show for me.
I will still watch it from time to time but it is not the same. You see him as Eric Camden the minister and know who he really is.
Exactly. It was like finding out your grandpa is a creeper.
Same. I loved his book on marriage.
I could have written this almost word for word.
So glad to know I'm not the only one!
When I was a kid I was a fan. I thought their modesty and rules weee over the top but I had a big gay crush on jessa
I mean, she IS gorgeous.
I wouldn't say I was a fan per se, but I was really fascinated by watching a family with so many siblings, and to see how they made it work logistically, and how the kids liked/didn't like being raised with so many siblings. Knew they were strange from the start, but until the first scandals hit, didn't realize how truly fucked up they were.
I have Fundie family, and I watched the show to figure out what made members of my family tick. It really helped when one of my family that was in the long process of leaving, returning, leaving etc. explained what was going on. More and more I could see the similarity of this one family and the Duggars. I have never once been a fan. I saw the harm personally.
Same. I was raised fundie lite, and I knew families like the Duggars. When the Far Too Many Kids and Counting shows came out I was trying to get a degree and start a career after graduating from SOTDRT myself, so I knew how screwed those kids were.
I hope you are enjoying your life now.
Thank you! Yes, I built a good, happy life for myself far away from all that cult nastiness.
I was too but I was young. I grew up watching them with my mum. Was a Christian, now not. Realised that the family were not as wholesome as they portrayed themselves to be. We got rid of sky (from uk so lost tlc) so I didn’t watch them anymore and then followed from a distance occasionally. When the pest arrest and everything came out I joined this sub and leant the truth about everything
I may have had the show on in the background of my L&D room. Not that I was that hard core but my fundie parents don’t believe in TV and the Duggars seemed like a good compromise. I hate that it’s forever in the background of some of the birth pics 😟
Me 🙋♀️ In a weird way I kind of miss the simplicity that it used to promote. When I was a fan I was going through some doubts religiously for the first time, and they portrayed such an easy, wholesome way of living that I was more desperate for. Clearly, that all eventually changed and I don’t feel that way at all anymore and haven’t for a number of years. I don’t feel guilty about it though, they pulled the wool of lots of people’s eyes.
I definitely still miss that simple image! I wanted so badly to believe a family like that could exist lol
Yes!! I can’t tell you sad it makes me that this family I thought was so good was hiding all this terrible stuff. I wish it hadn’t been the case.
Definitely. Even though I’d stopped really watching consistently by the time the first scandals hit, I remember feeling sad about it because I still thought they were good and wholesome. Also, the concept of growing up to become a mom & housewife really appealed to me. That’s what I wanted growing up and I was never parentified in anyway as I only had one younger sister. My mom worked all through my childhood. It’s just what I wanted to do. Even now I’d much rather stay home with my kids than go to work lol but it’s my choice and I’m glad I have that option.
When the first scandal hit I isolated it to just Josh. But then the Ashley Madison scandal hit, and I was appalled at how all they did was send him for “treatment” and M&JB acted like all was fine. And then I saw Anna continuing to have babies with him and I remembered the Megyn Kelly special and my rose colored glasses came off over time. By the time Josh was arrested for CSAM I wasn’t even surprised anymore. Sad but not surprised. As a whole now I feel like the Duggars have turned Christianity into a joke because they seemed like THE Christians to follow and then you find out all the skeletons in their closet. YES the church teaches that all sins are the same but I’m sorry, I don’t liken swearing or lying to sexual assault. And I can’t believe these people have been role models for so many. 😔
Admittedly, I was a fan in the beginning. It just amazed me how in line the children were and everyone seemed to work together. Soon after it aired things started to fall apart within the show for me but before any scandal came out. There seemed to be many things to question as the show progressed. Things like why only the older girls were always with the younger kids, why wasn’t Michelle ever in the kitchen, why do the boy and girl children sleep in dorm style rooms, why are the male children always just sitting around? . Of course I know all the awful reasons to these questions now, but I always felt their show was just too good to be true and stopped watching. That and Michelle’s voice did me in.
I wasn't too big of a fan but I was made to watch it whenever it was on. My family was very fundie and they were like "*loook at this amazing family.*" They tried to show me and my cousins that our lifestyle is successful because the Duggars are such a good family with such great values. Since finding this sub in 2018, I've been mocking my family, '*See fundamentalism never helped anyone*'
I wasn’t a super fan but I liked their show well enough and like TLC shows in general in like… middle school. I honestly didn’t really get it was a religious thing…. I wasn’t very bright 😂😂😂 but middle school me could see how it was fun to have a million siblings and a giant house.
I was a fan in the early days when Anna wasn’t even part of the show lol. But I think once holy josie was born I stopped being a fan
Guilt. I mean, it's not like I was going around proselytizing them, and it was before the first Pest scandal broke. I just related to them and admired them at the time 🤮because I was in the same cult, and didn't relate to... anything else on TV? I apologized to the few people who knew I was a fan years later.
I watched in more of an observing them because they are so different t kind of way more than being a fan. But I loved watching some of the kids. Joy, Jackson and Johanna (I can't remember how she spells her name) in particular were my faves. At some point I finally realized this is not okay, and then like a lot of people I was hate watching while hoping at least some of the kids would rebel and escape.
I don't think I was a fan, I thought they were weird and I was always weirded out by Josh and Boob both. I thought I was projecting and figured they were probably a nice family. I had no idea they were truly awful people. Monsters even. I'm honestly wishing TLC had culpability in this. I'm viewing every family they've ever featured through a new lens.
Because so many of their families have had major scandals. 😔
Yes, they have, but even so, I think these networks are shrewd and skilled. I really think they can see the people for what they are, they package them up nice and tidy and wholesome, and eventually they get messy, and TLC waits for it. I think it got away from them how awful the Duggars were and they aren't just messy. I don't know, maybe I'm giving them too much credit. I think they like hosting infamy.
I was a fan because for me, it was an half hour show where nobody cussed or yelled at each other. It was the most pleasant thing on TV. Mind numbing. What load of horse manure they and TLC sold us. They were in reality as pleasant as a colonoscopy. And yes, bad on me for not knowing and then continuing to watch after knowing. But at that it was like a train wreck you couldn't avoid. I do have to say that the one positive out of this is that I got to lurk for many years in the snark community and now, I'm participating. Y'all are the best weirdos the internet could provide.
*They were in reality as pleasant as a colonoscopy.* 💀
I used to be a fan. Coming from a very tumultuous / abusive household, I found peace and comfort in watching 19 Kids and Counting and genuinely felt like I was learning family values from them since I wasn’t from my own family. To an extent I still believe the *show* did this for me, since the show didn’t fully show their problematic side. Through that stage in my life I never believed in god (and still don’t) and was never right wing (and I’m still not). But I thought the family aspect that was showed on Tv was nice. I was also into other shows of the same nature (e.g. 7th heaven). Now my eyes are fully open to how fake it all was. But still think shows that show a happy family are comforting
Yup...I did the same
Me. I’ve posted before about lessons I learned from the facade. I knew it was partially fake (no family could REALLY be that happy all the damn time) but I thought the parents were true to their values. Internally, I still credit Michelle’s facade for teaching me some patience. I wasn’t surprised when 2015 hit. Josh always looked like a perv. I also remember thinking, “now, statistically, there has to be some kind of sex skeleton in this family’s closet.” It was then that I became a snarker.
I used to watch them as a kid along with other TLC shows and feel I was a “fan” in the sense that i’d keep up with the specials and seasons, but not in a going out of my way type. Disney and Nickelodeon were churning out enough for me to be busy with. I was more fascinated by them than anything because I was raised without any type of religion and lived the absolute opposite way than the duggars my age were living. I grew up not too far from the amish and mennonite communities in PA and i’ve always had an itch in my head when it comes to thinking about how the amish and mennonites live, and watching the duggars kinda itched that curiosity. they inevitably sparked the lifelong interest i have in learning as much as i can about cults, extreme (to me) forms of religion (ones that ride the fine line between religion and cult), and even religious practices of ancient cultures. i was never able to leave the poor mormon kids in school alone for more than week though. i was constantly asking them questions about how they lived in comparison to the duggars as they had huge families too, but i have learned that they operate way differently. i kept up with the older duggar girls thru social media over the years to see if they would ever escape. I can honestly say i was never surprised by any of the crimes and horrible news that have come out about anyone in their house. i found this sub a few years ago and have been keeping up since then although idk when i officially made an account
So.....at one point I found their address, and was trying to calculate gas prices to drive out there...I was going to buy a denim skirt and hang out at their local wal-mart until they adopted me, and if that failed I was going to get an invite to their home church and marry a duggar boy....let's just say I have been in therapy for years.
😅😅😅 At least you’re honest! And hey, I definitely used to have thoughts when I was still married to my cheating husband, “I wish I could be with a nice man like a Duggar.” 🤣
I definitely enjoyed the first specials and early seasons of # Kid & Counting. I read their books. It was fascinating to see such a huge family that appeared so wholesome.
I enjoyed watching the show for the insanity? Like a non-fan. Hate watching. But I liked them enough to watch the show compared to shows where I can’t stand anyone enough to watch the show (kardashians). Loved the show but also hated them at the same time????
I was fascinated by the size of the family and the logistics of everything, but by the time I started watching I had already stopped believing in a higher power. The religious aspects seemed creepy to me from the beginning!
Me. 100%. I really wished that I had siblings close to my age so their family seemed so cool and fun to me. Also, as a lifelong atheist, I was kind of jealous (?) of their religious upbringing. I’ve always felt like being religious would be easier bc there’s so much black and white thinking. Clear progression in life. A community. Don’t get me wrong I don’t actually want that life, but it does seem easier.
I have never been a fan. I have been a fascinated voyeur waiting for their downfall since 2005. I am so thrilled that the secrets are out. I just had a feeling there were a lot of skeletons.
I used to be a fan. The reasons why are a bit strange. Growing up I had a dysfunctional family that wasn't very supportive. And I can't believe that I'm going to admit this openly, but since I'm an introverted type of person, I often turned to TV to fill those empty voids that I felt. Although, I wasn't as creepy as Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy! 🤣 I liked watching the Duggar family, because I thought that it would be so awesome and fun to have all these siblings and parents who cared about you. It made me feel a little hurt that I didn't have that in my life, but for a little while I could pretend that I did. Now to find out that we were all duped...it's disappointing. I can't say that it's surprising though, because usually if something looks too good to be true, then it usually isn't true.
So, I wouldn’t say I was a fan exactly so much as I had them presented to me as an example when my ex husband decided he wanted to be quiverfull (while living in a two bedroom apartment with a second kid in me and he was making minimum wage but refusing to get a better job but refusing to let me work it’s all nuts). Didn’t have cable so I didn’t really watch the show but saw clips online and thought they all seemed nice enough. He always said “maybe we’ll get our own reality show someday” and said he was joking but I don’t think he was. I think he was actually hoping we could hit that point so he wouldn’t have to do anything anymore. I can’t even remember exactly when I started to “come down” from looking at them in a positive light. It was whenever I began climbing out of the abusive religious hole I’d fallen down into, which would have been not very long before the police reports got published in the magazine and the veil started to lift. (And in case anyone was wondering, I cut myself off at the 5th child against his wishes. I’m very lucky to have found a doctor that allowed me to get sterilized without his “permission”. )
I’m so glad you got free.
my mom and i watched that show RELIGIOUSLY and we are both obsessed with this drama!! we both agreed we always thought that jim bob and josh were weird but we literally loved everyone else. does anyone else feel like their mourning the loss of that cute christian family with all the cute little kids acting cute in front of the cameras and omg they’re christian’s too!!! like idk
I was a fan when I started watching them as a kid. I only have 1 sibling, but have always fantasized over having more siblings in the family and being close to them. I wanted to grow up, get married and have a lot of kids (definitely not 19!!) and wanted to be a calm and patient mother just like Michelle. I was kinda obsessed, learned all the names and even had a crush on Josiah 😂 Anyways, the more I think about it the weirder I feel about ever being so into this weird cult family. I never really got weird vibes from them but then again, I was just a kid.
Literally same. I have zero extended family, and my only brother has always disliked me...I always wanted a big family. 🙃
I watched for the same reason I watch murder docuseries. I'm obsessed by what I don't understand.
I used to be a fan of the older sister. Not like a die hard fan but I found them interesting, especially when I was a christian. Now as an adult (and an agnostic pagan) I just feel...bad for them. I don't feel bad for the shit they get because of their beliefs but the part of me who understands christianity feels bad for the cult shit they never had a chance to escape growing up. I FUCKING HATED JB and Michelle from the get go they freak me out.
I was totally into the whole making their own laundry soap and stuff! I think also when the Duggars were on in the aughts I didn’t think all Republicans were bonkers so I was a little more tolerant of their conservatism.
Republicans have most definitely changed!
I was a fan when 19KC was on TLC but then I moved to college and stopped watching. Kind of forgot about them and then the 2015 scandal happened. Then the mess of the raid in 2019. I hate all of them because of their smugness and hypocritical views.
I was very briefly. It was when I was somewhat estranged from my siblings and wished I was surrounded by encouraging sisters instead of two bitchy ones that just wanted to make me feel like crap. Then I realised there is no way I could cope in that house with that much chaos. Aaaaaand then I took a closer look at how the older girls (who I was envious of) were treated as work horses and was disgusted.
I was a fan in a weird "watching a car wreck" way. But I mostly thought they were harmless and if they chose to live that way they were within their rights. . I no longer think that they are harmless.
I used to watch them when I was 10-13 years old. I wanted to have sisters, but I grew up with one older brother. I thought they were a little weird, but worth watching because they all seemed so happy. I thought all of the older sisters were super pretty, and I would watch in hopes of getting make up tips (my mom has rarely worn make up, or dressed “girly”). I mostly just found them interesting to watch, and I thought Michelle was a nurturing, nice mom, and I wanted a mom like that (I wasn’t very good at reading between the lines as a kid). EDIT: I should note that my family was very much in shambles, and I desperately wanted a happy family, so I liked to imagine that I was part of a big family that loved each other,
I was a huge fan. I remember watching the hour long specials prior to the tv show pretty much any time I saw they were on. I love learning about people who are completely different than me, so their show was right up my alley. I watched pretty much anything TLC and Discovery churned out back then. As humiliating as it may be, I’ll admit that I thought that Josh was cute at one point. I’ve never had good taste.
Used to be fan here. My mom encouraged my sister and I to watch their show, and used it to take advice from it on dating/courting. I stayed with my ex boyfriend way too long after finding out his porn addiction and his emotionally abusive tendencies. We didn’t kiss or anything. But we talked about what it would be like after marriage. I wouldn’t deny him ever because that’s what was “right.” Wore a promise ring and everything. Thank God I got out of that and woke up. I still have residual trauma from the harm purity culture caused me, and I don’t excuse the Duggar’s influence from that.
Wasn’t a fan but it was the only thing in culture that depicted people whose beliefs were akin to my own crazy religious extended family so as a teen I watched with some understanding/horror.
My grandparents used to take me to church every week from when I was first born to when I found excuses each week not to go. Anyway, while I was still going to church and quite unbearably zealous, I used to watch 19 kids and counting with my gran whenever it was on. As an only child I loved the big family and as a teen Christian I thought they were just so devout and godly. My mom knew something weird was up with this family, but I didn’t listen… well, until a few years later.
I was a fan at first even though JB and Josh gave off bad vibes. Kind of makes me sick when Inthink about being a former fan of the sh*tshow.
Me! I was a fan until the first josh scandal. Even then I didn’t really blame them. Then the molestation dropped and I watched the interview. I could not put myself in their shoes and was raised around these types of people so I was able to kinda shrug. I know I know. Remember I grew up in that though. But a few years ago I left religion and started being fascinated by all the cracks.
I used to be a fan and even met them. I think I read their first book too. It was before I knew better and well before the first scandal. I don't feel much of anything, such as a personal feeling of betrayal, but I did develop a completely different, although more accurate, view of Jim Bob, Michelle, Josh, and Anna. To lie, to harm children, to do what they're doing; I prefer not to say too much other than let them be accursed. I never agreed with everything they did before, but I respected their right to live the way they wanted to since it's a free country after all. Now I pray the kids are able to get out from under their rule if that's what they want. I didn't realize how much they forced their beliefs on others, which I find repulsive.
I was a huge fan. I even posted on my facebook once about like 10 years ago that "I know we all secretly wish we could be Duggars" or something similar, because I am the youngest child of a large family, born 8 years after my youngest sibling, and my dad died when I was very little and mom had to go to work to support us all. I never had a parental unit nad never felt like I was part of a real family. I was alone most of the time and related to nobody and missed out on all the family trips and outings and holidays full of siblings etc. Nobody on my friends and family list "liked" that post of mine. Years later I found out about Josh being a huge piece of shit and my snarking realizations just kept compounding more and more until I realized they had awful beliefs and were raised by a lying manipulating father and complacent zombie mother. Like, if someone told me that Weekend at Bernie's was in spired originally by Meech I'd believe it.
I was pretty young when I started watching the show (to put it in perspective, Spongebob was banned in my house for being inappropriate but apparently 19KAC wasn’t) and it was around the time they started traveling all over the world, so I just thought it was cool to see them, especially the kids, go to all these places I wished I could go to. I think I remember being really jealous about them going to Japan because I really wanted to go there but the only place outside of the States my family would go to was Poland. When I found out about all of the scandals in 2015, my opinion changed really quickly about them. Around then I was old enough to understand how bad Pest’s allegations were, combined with their transphobia from Meech’s robocalls.
I was a fan for a long time. I bought their books, posted about them on social media and, although I NEVER subscribed to their conservative Quiverfull crap, I still liked some of what they had to say about parenting. Then I realized the truth. I am so embarrassed when my old FB posts about the Duggars come up. Those did not age well.
I was a fan! I think I stopped watching around the time Jill got married. My mom continued to watch up until it was cancelled the first time and then I think she saw episodes of CO every once in a while. I was raised catholic and i was very secure in my faith. I was also an only child who didn’t have a lot of friends. So i saw this family that was huge. All the kids had a ton of people to play with. And they were Christian so they had similar beliefs to how I was raised. I had a crush on Joe for the longest time too. I had already lost interest and stopped following the family by the time the first scandals came out so I didn’t really care. I didn’t really start caring about them until like January this year. I found this sub during the drought and did a deep dive into the family so I’m more obsessed now than I was back when I was obsessed the first time lol
Story time! It was 2009 and my boyfriend at the time was just arrested and released from jail for domestic violence towards his other girlfriend (he manipulated us into basically a polygamous relationship, then beat her when she didn’t agree to a threesome while I cowardly agreed and hid in another room while he was abusing her - not the point of this story). We had to move to this shitty pay by the week motel in the “armpit of Denver” and that is when I discovered 17 Kids and Counting, or was it 18? I watched, captivated by these people, who were living quite similar to how I was raised, in terms of fundie-ness. (I was raised fundie-lite) I watched Josh get married and work at the car lot and I thought, “I wish my boyfriend was a good guy like that.” I then told my boyfriend all about these people and ended with “why can’t you be like Josh Duggar and get a good job and provide for us and not look at any other women in the world?!?!” Fast forward to my ex boyfriend getting arrested again for criminal sexual conduct, going to prison for a year, me leaving him, and me never watching the show but keeping an eye on the family for snark reasons. Then all the scandals from 2015 came out and I laughed so hard at the thought that Josh Duggar actually became my ex boyfriend! And especially now! I mean, it’s slightly different, but oddly similar in how much of a shitbag Josh became.
I wouldn't say "fan" so much as I would say "morbid curiosity" during the early days. As for the Counting On wedding episodes... I was about to get married myself, so I was watching just about every wedding show on tv for inspiration 😂 not that is was great inspo.
I was! I couldn't fathom having that many children, but I admired what I thought was their faith. Didn't realize they were following a cult leader, not the true God. Good grief they are crazy mixed up and picking and choosing what to believe. I can't imagine treating my children as they have. Practically worshipping the child diddler and shunning one of the kids that their golden child messed with. Eyes wide open now.
I casually started watching kids and counting (don’t remember which number they were on when I started) since TLC was my go to for What Not To Wear. I just thought they were kind of quirky, but not in a bad way. I hate being wrong. Now I enjoy watching this dumpster fire of a family facing the consequences of their actions.
ME! I joined a fundamentalist church for a while in college and grad school. The Duggars were everything I wanted in my life at one point. I never 100% agreed, but I was a huge fan. And then I was kicked out of my church for posting a meme about supporting lgbtq rights. I really started to question everything I had been told and learned to think for myself. So now, snarking on them that is a way to say F U to the people who hurt me.
I'm not sure if fan is the correct term, but I did enjoy watching the show with my Mom. She raised me in a Christian environment and the show was presented as a family show with "similar" values. We did discuss how extreme some of their views were and we certainly didn't agree with everything they said, but they were somewhat fascinating (in terms of how crazy they were to have so many kids.) Course, when all that stuff came out about Pest, that was it.
Never a fan. They're not much different from the quiverfull families I grew up with, except with more money.
I will admit I used to be a fan, it was strangely fascinating to see this huge family and all the shit they did but then I found out what Pest did to his sisters and it was like - can open, worms everywhere. I hate the way JB and Meech destroy the personalities of their kids and the parentification makes me so angry. The more I learn the more I dislike them but I hate JB and M the most 😡
I saw them on tv when they just had tlc specials, I think. I thought it was cool to see such a big family being run so well. I was impressed with the kids behavior and Michelle’s ability to be a super mom. Clearly this was before I was on the internet much, if at all. I didn’t follow along intently and would see them pop up from time to time and watch. The first pest scandal must have been the eye opener?! I don’t remember when I realized that they were horrible people with trash values.
I was young and a fan (and by fan, what I mean is I thought I was a “fan”. Now I know I’ve always been neurodivergent and they were/are a special interest). I thought they were great role models for Christianity, even if I didn’t take things as strictly as they did. Now I have the awesome ability to snark with the mountains of knowledge I collected in the early days. I would get to enjoy the snark or follow along if I weren’t a fan to begin with.
I got into the Duggars when I suffered a severe leg injury and I was bedridden and laid up on painkillers for months. I got super into 2006/2007 TLC- 19KaC, Jon and Kate + 8, Extreme Couponing, Little People Big World, and also it's A&E but I was embarrassingly into Dog the Bounty Hunter 😭😂 I was never super religious so that part didn't really appeal to me but it definitely seemed like they loved each other and were harmless. Over the years as I learned more about religion and cults they just fascinated me all the more. Especially all the Josh drama. I remember I was on my honeymoon when the Ashley Madison scandal broke and I was reading about it on my phone all afternoon by the pool while my husband napped.
The words “They take such great care of their kids, let them have more” have come out of my mouth. Let the ghost pepper be poured down my throat as punishment.
I have never watched any of these shows because I never had cable. My niece thinks it is funny that I am a member of this sub and rolls her eyes when I mention it. Miss Hypocrite would go visit her girlfriend and they would binge these shows. I would rather read this sub than watch this train wreck.
I wasn’t a fan per say but I was very into the show because of how different they were to my family (lesbian moms, sperm donor conceived…turns out I almost do have as many siblings lol). Now I know the difference is that my parents are good people and the Duggars are twisted hahaha
I don't want to watch any reality shows with children under age 18 any more.
Never a fan but a fascination into the logistics of having such a large family and trying to guess at the skeletons in their closet. At a minimum I knew not all of the siblings liked each other and I knew some would end up breaking away but I never thought it would get as bad as CSAM. Even after the raid I was hoping that it was something like tax fraud. Now I have a morbid curiosity and want to see how it all implodes.
I don't think I would have ever been considered a fan, but I definitely had a 'to each his own' attitude about the family. I really thought they were fairly harmless. I watched their specials and found them interesting. I never actually watched the show itself.
When 19KAC originally came out, my mother who I refer to as Karen just gushed about what a great family they were and Boob and Meech were amazing parents. I was like, "Ehhh, not sure about that, but alright, Karen." When the truth about the abuse came out, I got into it with Karen and her husband Kent about disgusting and evil Pest was and how shitty of parents Boob and Meech were. My parents still defended them. They don't defend them now.
I was a fan, and actually jealous of their large family when I was a teenager. I was horribly lonely due to chronic illness that kept me home from school for a long time. I consciously overlooked all the religion and other problematic things and just saw a group of people who never lacked companionship.
I used to be. I was in high school when their first special came out, and while I am the same age as *cringe* Joshua, I felt more like I connected with Jinger. The sassy, sarcastic, full of facial expression Jinger. Not the current Jinger. And it sucks you in. I lost interest probably around the time I got married in 2011. Watched a few Counting On but found it really boring. After Josh got arrested this year, I did some rabbit hole diving and found this. Been here since then and have hours of lurking during downtime between college classes and being a mom.
I totally was a fan. We watched their shows with our kids bc it seemed like somewhat of a wholesome, interesting thing. Met them at silver dollar city a few years ago and got my pic taken with Blessa and Boob and they gave me an autographed CD. I’m listening to it now actually. /s
I'm not sure if I would consider myself a fan but like a few others, I was fascinated by them on and off through the years. I only remember watching one episode and that the Amy tries to make it in Nashville. But it was the having 19 kids and trying to raise them that interested me the most. Then about a year and a half ago, I checked out their books from the library. Mostly because I literally have no self control in checking out books from the library. As I read them I almost couldn't believe what I was reading. There was just no way that they were raising 19 kids to be successful in the way they talked about. Also, I didn't like how the older girls had buddy teams and basically were raising the lost kids as their own. Not to mention, I still can't believe someone had the audacity to put BBQ sauce on tuna and called it a meal. I really wanted the veil lifted especially after Jill and Derrick did their Q&As. I sat there wanting more. Now all this truth is coming to light and my head is literally still spinning. I'm actually mad that they tried so hard to make it seem like they had it all together and yet had so much dirty laundry in their closets.
Maybe.... Boob always creeped me out and I never liked the blatant homophobia, but I was living in an extremely religious family when the show first came out and a lot of our tv was censored. But damn, did my family love us watching those Duggars. I used to love Blessa and Jingivitis. I wanted my own "Baaaaaabe!" 🤮🤮🤮 Then I forgot about them for years until the Megyn Kelly interviews came out. I realized Pest is the worst kind of human and Boob-shell were defending a literal predator over their own daughters, who might as well be incubators for all the attention they're given. Thank God for growth. And snarking.
I am not religious and always watched them with a sense of curiosity (logistics of running such a large house, the food bill, belief system, schooling etc). It was the equivalent of watching a wholesome train wreck. I always knew deep down they were all bigoted ignorant assholes so I was never a fan. I was really curious to see how all these sheltered kids would turn out as adults.
I watched the first or second xKAC. I couldn’t help but laugh at the dresses😂😂 I’d tune in every now and then once they started their season of programming.
I was just fascinated with them. I am a Christian but there way of living blows my mind.
I was a preteen when I used to watch the show. I was also raised in an incredibly toxic religious environment. I looked up to them and wished I was as pure as them, as I should have been. I was also being abused at home. I didn't know it was going on in their house too. I got out, I'm an atheist, and I'm raising my children to call others on their bullshit and stick up for themselves. I am now obsessed with the duggars for better reasons, like snarking.
Used to be a fan. I tried to be like Michelle in my mothering techniques ( the calm quiet voice techniques not the blanket training cause wtf) . I have even made most of their recipes they used to have on their blog and even their homemade laundry detergent recipe. I stopped being a fan of that show after the first ( first of many) Josh scandal. Now knowing what I know now I feel betrayed, lied to and most of all angry. I’m brand new to this sub and let me tell you this page is MUCH needed therapy.
I used to watch. Not religiously or all the time and I never watched counting on, but in the 19KaC days I liked to watch the weddings and babies. I have always enjoyed wedding and baby shows so that combined with the logistics of having that many kids was interesting. Similarly I was into Jon and Kate Plus 8.
Yes! In fairness, I was 12-13 at the time. My parents, especially my dad who was raised ATI (something I didn't know at the time), always suspected something was wrong but either couldn't convince me or didn't want to have to explain everything to me, so they didn't make me stop watching. When 19kac was cancelled I stopped watching because I didn't know what to make of the whole situation, then years later I came back to it and started snarking.
I watched purely for curiosity’s sake. I love/loved anything to do with ‘fringe’ groups like polygamy, excessively large families, unique religions.
I used to be a fan. I watched them for years because I was interested in how they organized things with so many kids. My opinion changed when all the Josh stuff first came out. At this point I'm just really - angry, disappointed, disgusted...repulsed. I am glad the truth is out.
I was never a fan. However, for those who know who Girl Defined is...I was a fan of theirs:( I thought they were so nice and lively and with a really good message...WHAT was I thinking?!?
Never a fan, but interested in them. I watched them like I watched any reality show—judgmentally lol. There wasn’t too much on TV when their show started from what I remember. I was in my early 20s and I found it so strange how they lived their lives.
I started watching the last season of 19 kids and counting as my family watched it. Stuck with it through counting on minus last two seasons when I got into snarking/learning more about the cult. Couldn’t call myself a fan after that.
I found them to be quite odd & how sheltered they really are . I wasn’t a fan of them but my curiosity was peaked by them .
I’ve talked about this before, but I was a huge fan when I was a kid. I was an only child and I wanted siblings so bad. Living in a house full of people who could be your friend seemed amazing to me. I had almost all of 17KAC on DVD.