Are Jill Duggar and her new husband, Derick Dillard, gunning for their own reality show?

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Jill Duggar, 23, married 25 year-old missionary Derick Dillard just two weeks ago. The couple were wed in a huge ceremony and reception attended by over 1,000 people. Jill is of course a member of the prolific Duggar family, currently seen in the TLC reality show 18 Kids and Counting. Jill’s wedding will air on her family’s show sometime this year.

Following her much-publicized wedding, Jill has been posting like crazy to social media. She shared photos from her North Carolina honeymoon and gave People Magazine exclusive details, including the fact that they rented a house on the beach and enjoyed listening to the waves break in the morning. Jill and Derick also wrote essays for The Knot ahead of their wedding in which they detailed their semi-arranged formal courtship and eventual engagement.

Now that they’re back home, Jill has Instagrammed photos with Derick in which they’re kissing, doing couples stuff like making dinner and going to breakfast, and one where she’s cutting Derick’s hair. They’re somewhat personal photos, is what I’m saying. A lot of people share things like that on their Facebook, but this is on an open Instagram page. These people are somewhat famous and Jill knows that everything she posts will be picked up by the media.

Of course I’m wondering if Jill and Derick are hoping to get their own reality show on TLC. (I didn’t come up with that, I read that somewhere but can’t find that source again.) I think Jill is currently staying home (she told People Derick comes home from work for lunch with her), and while Derick works he surely doesn’t make as much as he could by going into the Duggar reality show business.

Derick is on LinkedIn, where he lists his current job as a Tax Accountant at an Arkansas Walmart. So a reality show would definitely boost Jill and Derick’s finances. I can see them starring in one considering that Jill doesn’t seem to have reservations with sharing her life with the public and Derick looks fine with it.

I’m somewhat ambivalent about a potential reality show for Derick and Jill. They seem harmless, and they look so sweet and cute together. I’ve heard awful things about the Quivering movement that the Duggars practice (although they deny being a part of) and how oppressive it is to women and children. Part of me wonders whether Jill and Derick’s media presence is part of a Duggar master plan to recruit young people. Or maybe Jill is just thrilled and excited to share her new life. She’s never been away from home before and she finally has a taste of freedom and first love. It must be intoxicating.

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Photo credit: Instagram

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48 Responses to “Are Jill Duggar and her new husband, Derick Dillard, gunning for their own reality show?”

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  1. Jules says:

    I would rather watch paint dry.

    • Decloo says:

      At first glance I thought that picture showed her holding up a vibrator. Go for it Jill!

    • Rhiley says:

      Yep. North Carolina honeyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    • Belle Epoch says:

      JULES – EXACTLY!!! I was going to say I’d rather watch carrots growing!

  2. feebee says:

    I hope she’s out there living life to the full. I’m also hoping that’s why she looks so tired for a 23 yr old.

    • Ag says:

      she’d had to take care of dozens of children by her young age – i’m sure that her parents have worked her hard, and she is happy to be out of there.

  3. Ag says:

    does she work? are the women in the duggar cult allowed to have jobs outside the home? (i’ve never seen the show, the only info i have on them is from here and dlisted.)

    • SpookySpooks says:

      She is some kind of midwife, I think.

      • Bridget says:

        But she’s not a nurse midwife, so I would imagine that her options are pretty limited when it comes to jobs. And it appears they live in a community where it’s greatly frowned upon for a woman to work outside the home.

  4. Talie says:

    Well the only thing she knows is what she observes. Her family makes money from displaying their lifestyle on TV. She wasn’t taught to aspire to higher education.

  5. JudyK says:

    Enough Duggars already.

  6. Eleonor says:

    But what about all the families out there who share the same “cult/religion” as the Duggar who don’t have the tv cash support? How do they live?

    • Altariel says:

      The Duggars earn money from a real estate program, from what i vaguely recall. I’d think others in that Quiverfull faith also do that. The Duggars have the added bonus of tv. Buying rentals helped my folks retire without pensions and lived very comfortably. But it’s still work…annoying work. My brothers and I have to deal with so many tenant problems and property upkeep, now that my folks can’t do it themselves 😉

  7. Altariel says:

    Could very well be. These two have been reported on constantly, so a tv show in the works could explain all that.

    I wish her the best. It’s her time to finally not be one of 19 and spread her wings.

  8. Merritt says:

    Of course they are. She doesn’t have the education or skills to do anything that would earn money other than have a reality show. She spent her life, along with the other older girls, parenting her younger siblings.

  9. PoliteTeaSipper says:

    So sick of the Duggars.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      They make me ill.

      • wonderwoman21 says:

        I especially feel nauseated by the expected role of the female Duggars. I know they are all portrayed as “happy” but I can’t imagine they are all happy to be nannies with no choices or autonomy. They’re basically warehoused until a man shows interest and then sold off before any damage is done to their value (virginity). I can’t imagine that none of the Duggar girls want to go to concerts, dates, parties, or travel. I can’t imagine subjecting my daughter to popping out babies until her body gives out.
        End rant.
        *strokes feminazi manifesto* my precious

  10. Dame Snarkweek says:

    If she were articulate and had a modicum of writing talent and business acumen she could start a lifestyle brand. It could be moderate enough to attract the minivan majority and wholesome enough to prevent her from looking like a sell-out. She could take on Jennifer Garner eventually, lol. All natural baby products, organic cooking, family time activities etc.

  11. HH says:

    When first reading this I thought “gunning” was a pun and assumed another Duggar posed with a rifle. But alas, it’s just boring loved up pictures. I don’t get why people pose in mundane places. For example, at the restaurant. It’s as if every moment in life hasn’t happened unless it’s recorded.

  12. ughinsomnia says:

    I don’t usually like to snark on looks alone, but she looks older than I do and I’ve got a decade on her. Bless her heart. I hope all the Duggar kids are able to shake the horribly misogynistic upbringing they’ve had. Being subjugated takes a toll.

    • INeedANap says:

      Like someone said up top — she’s been taking care of dozens of siblings basically her whole life. She’s effectively been a mother, but without the advantage of having them grow up and not having to take care of little ones anymore. Her mother keeps popping them out, so she has had to go through that cycle way more than most mothers.

  13. Lucky Charm says:

    I hope she has a couple of years to enjoy taking care of just the two of them before she starts having babies. After all the years she spent raising her younger siblings, and doing all the packing for the entire family every time they went on a trip, she deserves a break. I don’t get why everyone over 6 couldn’t pack their own clothes.

    • Sabrine says:

      Well I wouldn’t count on that. They’re probably not using any birth control so like Anna and Josh who have had three babies in four years, Jill will probably have her first baby within a year. From then on it will be one about every 18 months. Ideally, a couple of years child free would have been great for them but doubtful that’s going to happen.

    • Green Girl says:

      Agreed. I always tell couples to wait a few years before having kids. You want that time to get used to each other before bringing babies into the picture.

  14. Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

    Dude looks hiiiiigghhh as a kite. And Jill has middle aged eyes from raising so many kids from such a young age.

  15. INeedANap says:

    Oh man I just realized that he is the spitting image of Aaron Rodgers.

    Since they didn’t really date, it might be interesting to see how their marriage develops. Hmmm…

    • Green Girl says:

      I’m curious, too. Do they live close to her parents? Because that can make a difference, too, if you’re always going to their house or they stop by your place, especially if the house is just a short drive away.

      • P.J. says:

        Yup @Greengirl. Jill’s father Jim Bob gave them a house to keep what is admittedly his and Michelle’s most “helpful” and “obedient” daughter close by and under foot. I knew that something was up when immediately post-honeymoon Jill starred posting pics to IG of her carting around her younger siblings in her car and at her parents house. Without a doubt she’ll be announcing her own pregnancy within weeks and the cycle of insanity will start all over. What a sad life.

  16. lucy2 says:

    Ugh, no more Duggars, and no more reality shows!
    I hope now that she’s grown up and moved out, and can see a little of the world outside their family bubble.

  17. Liberty says:

    So, let me get this straight.

    If you get uh, intimately rained upon, or remain a virgin, or raise kabillion kids, you can get a reality show? This is the New Economics, yes?

    Other than that, they seem cute and happy, so wishing them the best. She’s probably dazzled by freedom.

  18. kellyinseattle says:

    Will they even show them conceiving? Enough is enough!

  19. Zimmer says:

    I can’t judge Jill. She has never known anything else despite being an adult. She never even learned to think for herself. I hope it takes her awhile to concieve just so she has some freedom. I can’t imagine an accountant who has only 1 sibling would be willing to take on a dozen or more kids though. I think he might reign Jill’s beliefs in a bit. Since she is taught (i.e., forced) to be under him in every choice and decision, she will have to listen, unless she breaks free, but I don’t see Jill being the one to do it.

    I am kind of interested in seeing what path they go down.

  20. Ag says:

    also, this guy looks like aaron rodgers. or is it aaron rodgers? haha

  21. holly hobby says:

    I hope they don’t go for the 19 kids route -tv show or no tv show. Why can’t one of them just go, “I’ve been a mom to my siblings. I don’t want any children!” I think Sandra Lee took that stance. She raised her siblings and she’s been there, done that, don’t need to do it anymore.

  22. astra says:

    The Duggars are a heck of a lot better than nasty trash like Miley Cyrus, or pretty much anyone else in Hollywood or the media. This girl is 19, if she doesn’t want to live the way she was brought up, then she is old enough to make her own choices. It’s rude and insulting to say that all of these people are brainwashed, uneducated and stupid for living as they choose, in a way that hurts NOBODY. They are not forcing you, or anyone, to live as they do, so why so much hatred? I find it especially disgusting coming from a site that is always about accepting and tolerating people’s lives and choices. But apparently that’s only if you personally agree with them. It’s also really rude and insulting to insinuate that people without formal education are stupid. Some people actually like the way they were brought up, even *gasp* religious people. You wouldn’t want them judging you so why is it OK for you to do it to them?

    • maybeiamcrazy says:

      Miley Cyrus or any other ‘hollywood trash’ are not forcing anyone to live like them too. Do you really believe that Jill could have made her own choices? Before marriage, she was controlled by her father and now she is controlled by her husband. She never got to decide for herself about anything. And I am sure there are religious people on this site who would still find Duggars ridiculous. I still don’t see how anyone can look at Jill and think she is not brainwashed.

      • Mixtape says:

        I think the Duggars are weird, their lifestyle is not for me, but I don’t believe Jill was brainwashed simply because she has not “broken free” of them. The vast majority of people worldwide choose to perpetuate the lifestyle in which they were raised (celebrity spawn Miley Cyrus included)–it may be closed-minded, it may be unadventurous, it may be due to comfort, it may be due to fear of the unknown, but it is not the result of “brainwashing.” Jill’s conformity to this basic aspect of human nature is not any more concerning simply because there is a religious component to it.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      It seems a little odd to call Miley nasty trash and then talk about other people’s hatred and how it is wrong to judge people. I am not a fan of Miley’s by any means, but that is pretty aggressive and hypocritical.

  23. Mixtape says:

    Never watched her parents’ show and wouldn’t watch this one, but I’m sympathetic enough to other viewpoints to understand there is an audience for such things. If that’s the case, I wish her well in her efforts, they seem like sweet enough kids…

  24. LMS says:

    Seriously, who is the audience for these people?

  25. Argirl says:

    Pretty sure he works at the Walmart Home Office and not “a store.”

  26. P.J. says:

    I’m in the middle of a completely fascinating book right now called “I Fired God” and it’s written by a woman who is a former member of-but whose entire family remain members of-the SAME exact church in AK that the Duggar’s used to attend before Jim Bob made his own in his livingroom. (For real.) The abuse that woman and children of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist CULT are subjected to is horrific. If the Duggar and Bates families always appear “happy” as so many frequently suggest it is because from a year old their parents-particularly fathers-are taught to “beat the spirit” out of their toddlers and children on the path to “full submission.” Also NEGATIVE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS AREN’T ALLOWED. They’re considered disrespectful and spiteful to God. (Therefore, if you express any sort of normal non-positive human emotion you are considered to be ungrateful to God and thus dangerous to yourself and others.)

    Anyone who falsely believes that the Duggar’s and those like them are “innocent” and “harmless” should definitely look into the truth. Admittedly, I used to feel the same way until my eyes were opened by the accounts if many women who’ve who lived it. One said that when she could finally bring herself to watch the Duggar’s show years after her escape that she sobbed because it was like seeing her entire life play out on screen in front of her.) If you love women and children, you simply cannot co-sign what they’re about. (Another example? Girls are intentionally not allowed to have hobbies or engage in ANY non-church related interests their entire childhoods because they want to make sure that there will be nothing to take their interests away from babies and motherhood post-marriage! Only Christian music is allowed. Sound familiar if you’ve seen the show?)

  27. Trashaddict says:

    I’m really annoyed because my phone does not talk to this site very well.
    What I wanted to say was, “we say what we think because we have our own opinions on this site.” Also, Jill put herself out in the public eye, so she will be judged. As far as being nice? Being nice is a great character trait, but don’t expect it to protect you from anything in this life. Women get brainwashed about this. Active nice is helping others because you choose to. It’s great. Passive nice is not raising a fuss when your individuality is being smothered, not listening to your gut when it tells you you’re in trouble, and not getting mad because it’s not “ladylike”. If Jill’s happy with her life, so be it. If she’s actively made these choices, so be it. But I haven’t watched her parents’ show and if she gets one, I won’t be watching hers. My choice. And I may bitch about people who I don’t agree with, but you won’t see me calling the wrath of God down on their heads (like the comment I saw on another website regarding the SCOTUS opinion on birth control coverage).