Jinger Duggar's Honest Quotes About Her 'Cult-Like' Upbringing. - ORSOLTECH - One The Best

Everything Ginger said about her upbringing — Jinger Duggar Courtesy of Jinger Duggar/Instagram

Jinger Duggar He was honest about the challenges of growing up in the TLC spotlight — and breaking free from Conservative teachings From her childhood.

Ginger is one of Jim Bob and Michelle DuggarThe 19 children grew up as followers of the Fundamental Life Principles Institute, a fundamentalist organization founded by the controversial leader Bill Gothard. Fans watched as Jinger and her siblings navigated their daily lives 19 kids and countingwhich ran from 2008 to 2015, and the spin-off series Count onwhich aired from 2015 to 2021.

After stepping away from the world of reality TV, Ginger began to formulate her own ideas about faith with the help of her husband. Jeremy Vuolowhom she married in 2016. “I am grateful for my childhood. “It wasn't perfect… but at the end of the day, I'm grateful for my parents,” Jinger said on Unplanned in June 2024. “I love them. We have our differences. Everything is not perfect between us, but I think at the end of the day, I love them and I know they know it.”

Formerly Ginger She opened up about her upbringing In her books The hope we carry and Become free indeeddetailing the quirks of her religious background and the different viewpoints she now has. Her most recent memoir, People pleasing, Which will debut in January 2025, will delve deeper into the “unhealthy path” she was on.

“I realized I've been a people-pleaser since I was a teenager. There's a people-pleaser that shows up in everyone's life, every day, and I thought it was the right time to write this book,” she said on the Ginger and Jeremy radio show in September 2024. “It is a problem and will always be a problem.”

Scroll down for Jinger's candid comment about her unconventional upbringing:

Love letters from prison

To be part of a A recognizable family It came with some surprises. “Guys were writing from prison to my sisters. It was crazy,” Jinger said on the “Dinner Party With Jeremy Fall” radio show in July 2021. “We were constantly getting letters in the mail and it was like, ‘Oh, who is this time?’” Oh, it's Jana's, oh, it's Jessa's… It was amazing just thinking that someone would think they would walk right into your life and marry you, as if they were already proposing to you in their letters.

Ginger added that some prisoners may have thought the proposals were “legitimate”, saying: “I can understand how someone might think, 'Oh, I know you well because I've watched you since I was a kid growing up', so they're thinking.” That there is a relationship there when there isn't. “It's a one-sided thing.”

“Cult-like” faith.

Ginger He said exclusively we In January 2023, she “definitely” realized that her religious upbringing “was cult-like in many ways,” adding: “It was based on fear and manipulation and control and superstition, so all of those things combined in how difficult it was for the kids.” To leave or for adults to leave – anyone, really. …Once you hear the teachings, you are not supposed to turn away from them.

In an interview with the people That same month, Ginger said she was often “paralyzed with anxiety” while growing up due to the “fear and superstition” encouraged by Gothard's “harmful” teachings. “I was afraid of the outside world,” she admitted. “The teachings I was raised under were harmful, they were harmful, and they had lasting effects.”

Bonds with her sisters

In her 2023 book, Become free indeedGinger revealed that out of all her nine sisters, she feels the most connected to Jessa. “She is my closest sibling in age, only 13 months older than me. She is the fifth and I am the sixth of the 19 Duggar children,” Jinger wrote. “Growing up, Jessa and I were together all the time. Even though all the Duggar girls shared the same room, I often felt like I was roommates with just Jessa. Our beds were next to each other throughout my entire childhood.

Being on TV

Jinger and her siblings first appeared on television in 2004 before 19 kids and counting It premiered in 2008. “I look back on those years and I'm really grateful for the opportunities I was able to have,” she exclusively said. we In January 2023 while reflecting on growing up in the spotlight. “For example, we traveled around the world, things that we weren't able to do as a big family. At the same time, I can say that I also saw those challenges (that came with it).”

At the time, Jinger explained that she and Volo “talked” about whether they wanted to raise their children in the public eye. (The couple welcomed daughters Felicity and Evangeline in 2018 and 2020, and revealed in 2024 that baby No. 3 is on the way.)

“I spent most of my life on television. That was my childhood,” she said. we. “Like, that was all I knew. I played with Boom mics and all that, but (my kids) weren't used to that. So it's interesting to see.”

Family rules

Fans have always been fascinated by the Duggar family Strict expectations for their children under the teachings of IBLP. “I thought I had to wear skirts and dresses just to please God. Music with drums, places I went or wrong friendships, all of them can cause damage,” Ginger said. the people In January 2023.

During an appearance on “Unplanned” the following year, Jinger admitted that many of the “man-made” rules “don’t make sense,” such as not being allowed to wear T-shirts. “If you have a regular shirt, you're allowed to roll up your sleeves,” she explained. “But you can't actually buy a tank top.”

Courtship guidelines have also been established, with dates requiring a chaperone. “You know, you can't kiss before you're married, and you can't hold hands… (but) I don't see that in the Word of God,” Ginger He said we In January 2023, to reveal how she plans to deal with the issue with her children. “I don't think flirting is a word we would ever use with them because I don't think that's the only way to find a spouse — or the best way — ever.”

Living with 18 brothers

Jinger admitted as much on “Unplanned” in June 2024 she was “scared” From the pressure to have “as many children as possible” before becoming a mother. She recalled having to take care of two of her siblings when she was younger.

“I think parents should take care of their children. If you have them, you should take care of them. Children can help and learn responsibility in other ways, but maybe not in the maternal aspects of what mothers and fathers are supposed to do,” she said. “You have all these imbalances in parenting.” children. I think I've seen that a lot in the system and I think that's unhealthy.

Ginger also recalled the teachings of IBLP impacting her family's lives in unexpected ways. “We would never play organized sports because we were afraid of the influences around us,” she said. “So we're going to do a family sport in the community… and we're all going to play it together.” …Looking back, I said, Oh, I wish I had more opportunities to explore what I was really interested in in this way.

Not enough food

During an August 2024 episode of the “Jinger & Jeremy” podcast, Jinger Speak frankly About growing up with 18 siblings. “I remember a few times when we were very young, some of my siblings would take their food, take their plate of food — get ready for this, it's disgusting — into the bathroom,” she recalls. “They would pick it up and put it on the bathroom counter, and my mom would say, ‘Don’t do that.’ They would say, ‘They will eat it.’”

“That's literally what they thought, 'I'm not going to be able to eat my food because someone is going to take it, and we might not have enough food for seconds today,'” Ginger added.