In Touch: Anna Duggar visited Josh in rehab & she believes everything he tells her

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This week, there’s a surprising amount of news about Anna Duggar, Josh Duggar’s long-suffering and possibly estranged wife. Months ago, we heard that Anna had sold the family home in Arkansas and possible taken the kids and moved back to Florida, which is where her parents are. Then earlier this week, we learned that Anna did some kind of sit-down interview with Jessa and Jill’s spinoff show, Counting On, on TLC. Us Weekly had the first clip of Anna talking on-camera – go here to see. All she says, at this point, is: “I was just like, ‘I’m gonna wake up and this is going to be okay. And this really. This can’t be true.’” Referring to her thoughts just after the second wave of Josh’s scandals broke, I’m assuming. Now there’s this little tidbit from In Touch Weekly:

Nearly three months after Josh Duggar checked into a faith-based treatment center and confessed to having a porn addiction and cheating on his wife Anna, In Touch magazine has learned the two came face-to-face for the first time at the Reformers Unanimous facility in Rockford, Ill.

“Anna went right before Thanksgiving,” a source close to the Duggars exclusively tells In Touch. “She had a lot to discuss with Josh. She thought it best that she go alone so she decided not to bring the kids, except Meredith because she is still breast-feeding.”

“Seeing Josh was really hard for Anna,” says the source. “She cried about how much she misses him and teared up while they prayed.”

Anna’s visit came just days after porn star Danica Dillon, 28, sued Josh, 27, for $500,000, alleging that the disgraced reality star had twice committed battery against her when they had ‘violent sex’ in March and April, as In Touch exclusively reported.

“Anna knew she needed to talk to Josh about that,” explains the source, “and about the lawsuit. [Anna] believes Josh cheated on her — because he admitted he did — but she does not believe Danica’s story. She doesn’t think Josh could be so aggressive,” explains the source. “Josh is still denying it happened and told Anna that since he was living a life of sin, he isn’t surprised that people are making things up about him. But Josh doesn’t confess anything until he is absolutely caught in a lie.”

Anna plans to return before Christmas for her second of three allowed visits — and to bring the kids. “She believes everything Josh says. She actually thinks he’s getting better.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

Even though I had such high hopes that Anna would use this time (Josh’s “rehab”) to plot and execute her escape from the Duggar clan, it would not surprise me in the least if this In Touch story was 100% true. I think she’s just one of those women: submissive to the point of disbelief. Of course she only believes what Josh will admit, and of course she plans to stay with him and of course she believes that he could never, ever act like a violent creep in the bedroom. Ugh. I mean… we have to feel bad for her, right? There’s no point in yelling. She really doesn’t get it, and I suspect that she willingly surrounds herself with people who never, ever tell her that “getting a divorce” is one of her many options.

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Photos courtesy of the Duggars’ social media.

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64 Responses to “In Touch: Anna Duggar visited Josh in rehab & she believes everything he tells her”

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  1. Tate says:

    That makes me sad. When she went to Florida I thought she was escaping. Poor Anna. 🙁

    • MoxyLady007 says:

      I’m sure josh was only scary violent because he was so upset with himself for betraying his principles. Right? Not because he’s a violent sexual predator and pedophile. I mean…. At what point do you stop and go, when you are asking the pedophile to lead you in prayer, maybe you got off track a bir

  2. Catwoman says:

    What is so sad about this is there appears to be not one person in her life who cares enough about her to get her away from this total d-bag and his sick, twisted family.

    • Loulou says:

      I know. That’s the saddest part. She doesn’t have one person to turn to that isn’t going to tell her to stick it out, it’s your duty. I feel bad for her.

      • Ankhel says:

        Oh, I don’t know. In my experience, every girl I’ve known with a seriously bad and unsuitable man has one or more friends who hates him. After hours of them listening to her cry and complain, she dumps him. Friends rejoice! She crawls back. Awkwardness ensues. “You’re all just jealous of how happy I am!”

        Anna KNOWS this piece of shit lies, cheats and gets turned on by his own sisters, who she “happens” to resemble btw. This is the best chance she’ll ever get to leave him. Sadly, I doubt a woman who would marry Butterface McSmarmy in the first place has what it takes to divorce him. I really, really hope I’m wrong though.

      • Sabrine says:

        It’s different in her world. She’s being encouraged to go back to this fat faced cheating liar, of course she is, never any doubt there and he will figure out a way to indulge in his sick obsessions where he may not get found out, not for a while at least.

    • MonicaQ says:

      Her brother and sister tried but for her parents, they’re in too deep. All they see is dollar signs and Jesus riding a lazer raptor to punish people for getting a divorce and gay people.

      • Jess says:

        If they read the bible they would know divorce is allowed when one partner commits adultery. So this is her ticket out and to not feel like she’s sinning. I know it has to be tough when you have 4 small children and no job experience but I read that her brother is willing to help her and the kids if she leaves josh.

    • BendyWindy says:

      No. She has a brother who reached out to her and spoke out plainly against Josh. I believe she is estranged from him by her own choice, as much as she has choices.

    • Senaber says:

      Yeah I kinda thought that her children might be the push she needed to get out, but I forgot that fundie children are really just God soldiers who need to learn that abuse=love.

      • Xmasbb says:

        I would be terrified that Daddy Josh would molest his daughter’s as they get older. For that reason alone he should be barred from their lives. If Anna is stupid enough to go back to him the authorities should take action to protect the kids. But, as we have seen Arkansas just does not seem to care. The entire situation is just sick.

      • Lucky Charm says:

        @ Xmasbb – not just when they’re older. His oldest daughter is now older than one of his sisters was when he molested her!

    • LAK says:

      Actually, one of her brothers made a public declaration via Twitter that he had offered to help get Anna away from Josh. That he was willing to take her and her kids to live with him. The brother was definitely NOT a fan of Josh or the Duggars.

    • vauvert says:

      Actually I am fed up with the pity party for Anna.
      She DOES have someone who publicly declared he would help her get out, did you forget her brother?
      Also, in this day and age, having been on television, surrounded by non-cult people, if she chooses to ignore the rest of the universe and her creepy husband’s douchebaggery… We cannot excuse it on the basis of “innocence”, or being sheltered. Please.
      The reason she sticks, takes part in interviews etc. Is because she is, like all the rest of them, on the TLC gravy train. Watch for future teary interviews, a special with ?Josh once he completes his so called treatment and can proclaim Jesus healed him and so on.

      • Erinn says:

        I agree to the point- but she has kids with the guy. There’s no 100% clean break at this point. If it was easy to do a clean break, you wouldn’t see so many people stuck in abusive relationships.

      • outhousecat says:

        I agree 100%. I’m was initially “Team Anna” too, but now I’m just fed up with her stand by your man crap. If she wants a cheating whore-dog who barebacks hookers while she sits at home and prays to be a better wife, that’s on her. I just wish somebody would come and get those kids before Daddy comes home and shows them the same “love” he showed his sisters.

      • sauvage says:

        Guys, this is not about “poor Anna”. The sad, disgusting reality is that none of the “choices” Anna Duggar has made are actually her own. She is being controlled by a sick cult. This is not Anna, who we are seeing. This is cult indoctrination. What we see is Quiverfull ideology, personified by a young woman who was born into this mess and was never allowed to think critically, or to even admit to emotional upset growing up. Did you ever notice how fake the kids’ smiles are in pictures? Or Anna’s? Or Jessa’s? Or [insert name here]?

        I repeat: What we see is not the real Anna Duggar. The authentic Anna Duggar is pushed aside, cowering somewhere inside her soul, trying to make herself heard. And I hope with all my heart that one day, she will find her way to personal freedom, where she is actually in charge of her own choices, and can therefore be held accountable. For now, she gets nothing but empathy from me.

    • polonoscopy says:

      There was a facebook post by her brother saying that Anna needed to come home and save her kids from Josh. It was kind of sweet I guess but I feel like all the men in her life are pretty controlling. I mean, she grew up in the same cult the Duggers did.

    • Wren says:

      Actually I think that she DOES have people around her who care about her, but that they genuinely believe that staying with Josh IS the best thing for her. The way we see Josh and his actions is NOT how that group sees him, and to them divorce absolutely is not an option. These people have a completely different mentality about the whole situation, and she was raised in the cult. The few dissenting (read: logical, real world) opinions she’s getting, like from her brother, must seem alien to her and not actually in her best interests but coming from the devil. Deeply wrong, of course, but when you’re conditioned to think a certain way all your life you don’t just step away from it, especially if your group urges you to stay.

      • Mel says:

        I think she could EASILY remove him from her children’s lives forever, with him being a predator and all. That said, I do feel like she’s a victim of abuse (mostly mental), and breaking that cycle is WAY more difficult than hiring a few lawyers and taking his butt to court.

  3. NewWester says:

    Aren’t Anna’s parents just like the Duggars in that they share the same beliefs? Just have to wonder if they are pushing for a reconciliation between Josh and Anna?

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      Yes, Anna’s parents share the same beliefs as the Duggars. Her father sent her off to marry Josh knowing he had molested multiple little girls, so I doubt a little cheating would be cause for divorce in his eyes. I feel so, so sorry for Anna. No one is looking out for her best interests and she’s been trained to put God and the wants of menfolk before her own well-being. Sad all around.

      • AmyB says:

        I never saw that horrible show on TLC and only heard of the Duggars b/c of the scandals associated with Josh. Did Anna’s parents really have awareness of Josh’s past history of child/sexual molestation before they were married?????

      • sauvage says:

        Yes, they did, AmyB. And Anna was presented with a highly watered-down version of it. The full extent was not known until this summer, when someone got the files via Freedom of Information Act.

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      Anna has said that Josh disclosed the molestation to her and her father before pursuing a relationship. I can’t swear she was telling the truth. She may have been covering for the bastard.

      • AmyB says:

        That makes me sick on so many levels. I get that people make mistakes (we all do) but it’s not like he ever received intense treatment for sexually molesting young girls (some even his own sisters). For me, sexual abuse towards children (pedophilia and incest in this case b/c it involved his own sisters) is one of the most disturbing psychological disorders. Not that it cannot be treated, but Jesus…..if I found out my fiancée had done something like that, there is nothing that would stop me from running in the other direction! That girl has been brainwashed and it is a tragedy. I blame her parents and Josh’s parents. Despicable people only concerned with money. Too bad she cannot find the strength to see the truth.

      • LAK says:

        Considering how the parents phrased their words in the TV interview, and downplayed the entire thing, not to mention that Jim Bob said it was a common occurance amongst the families he talked to, and let’s not forget the incest programme taught by one of the movement elders where the daughters (by extension all women), even if they are babies, are always blamed for any incest/sexual abuse that may occur, i’d say that whatever the parents and Anna were told prior to the wedding, a full picture was NOT given.

        Let’s also not forget that allegedly Anna received the birds and bees chat about sex 2wks before her own wedding, so perhaps never quite appreciated what she was being told.

  4. OSTONE says:

    I feel sorry for her because she does not have a support system a la Katie Holmes to get out of this cult and leave her douchebag husband and this ridiculous cult. However, as brainwashed as she is, she is an adult caring for little children, she has to want to get out of that situation and sometimes it seems like she doesn’t want to.

    • Goats on the Roof says:

      I wasn’t raised in this cult, but I saw it up close and personal growing up in the south. Anna has been taught that these kinds of troubles are Satan attacking her marriage because she is faithful to God. To leave her husband would be giving in and letting Satan win. Anna thinks that by doubling down and staying (as she was taught to do) that she is proving her love and loyalty for Jesus. All these people saying ‘Leave him!’ are just Satan’s influences trying to corrupt her relationship with God. It’s sad, but it’s the way she’s been conditioned since birth to think.

      • Zip says:

        If this all would not be about a socially accepted religion incl God, Jesus, Satan and whatnot but the flying unicorn and Papa Smurf, she and all those other people would be called mentally ill.

      • Naya says:

        Truth. She is probably on a daily regiment of scripture from the book of Job (to teach her about Gods tricky tests) and Ruth (to teach her the degree of loyalty expected of a woman). Its all just society approved brainwashing.

      • Anname says:

        Interesting comment Goats, that’s a pretty succinct way to explain what she is probably thinking. She is doomed with either choice, due to her upbringing. It’s terribly sad.

    • AmyB says:

      I was going to say the same thing: too bad she could not take point from Katie Holmes’ playbook about how to escape from abuse and control 🙁

    • LAK says:

      She has a brother and sister, also raised in the cult who rejected the cult programming, willing to help her.

      She has an alternate support system in the form of those 2 siblings. Her brother has publicly stated he is willing to take her and her kids into his home.

      She’s choosing to remain in the cult.

      • vauvert says:

        Thank you LAK, I said the same above. She is milking this as much as the others because… easy TV money. None of them seems inclined to do a lick of work, they avoid it like the plague. So much easier to get fat TLC paycheques and ask for FB donations from fans, so they can pray uninterrupted.
        She not only has family support available, there would be tremendous public and media support and she could make enough from interviews to start a new life if she wanted. She doesn’t.

    • Kori says:

      True. But Katie was lucky in that a) she wasn’t raised like that and had some self-awareness b) her family was always against Scientology and her Dad is a lawyer–she had a lot of support c) she had money. But it still took guts to up and leave so imagine how it is to be Anna Duggar with none of that. I’m sure she’s seen how her brother (and doesn’t she have an estranged sister too?) have been treated–if she ‘lost’ her husband and his family, and by extension, her own family and community, she must wonder what would become of her. It’s sort of the ‘better the devil you know’. But since she does have children I hope she does pack up and leave eventually–I just don’t see how she can or will.

  5. Jwoolman says:

    The sad thing is that this really isn’t about Anna and whether or not she wants to forgive Josh. Her children are at risk if he lives with them. She doesn’t seem to know what she’s getting into and what is really at stake. She can love and forgive Josh at a distance for the children’s sake.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yes, allowing herself to be in this degrading relationship is one thing, but bringing up another generation of sick ducks is unforgivable.

    • Betsy says:

      She has no education, no support (that she’s aware of – I think this is one of the cases in which the people of the Internet would rise to the occasion) and a lifetime of brainwashing. Never say never, but this is not like Katie Holmes making a break.

      • LAK says:

        Nope. She has a brother and sister willing to help her get out. Brother went as far as making his offer of help public. She’s not completely helpless.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        I get what you’re saying, and you’re right – it’s not a Katie Holmes situation. But as LAK said, her brother and sister got out. I have true empathy for the way she was brought up and how difficult it would be to turn your back on what you were taught and the people who taught it. But people do it every day. She is an adult, and she’s a mother. I would think some part of her would rise up and say my kids deserve better, but if it is, she’s squashing it down. At some point, you are responsible for your own life, regardless of your upbringing. I’m not saying it would be easy, but she is choosing familiarity and approval over what she must know in her heart is the way out. That’s fine if it’s just you, but when you have children, you have to get a spine.

      • sauvage says:

        As I stated earlier above: Anna Duggar does not choose, GNAT. She never learned that she even has choices, as herself, listening to her own true self. All she has ever learned was whatever the cult beat into her, most likely literally. We know how they raise their children.

      • Betsy says:

        Is she allowed contact with her out siblings? Is she allowed to use the full internet? As someone with two little kids and an involved husband, she has four an absent husband (who probably disdained “women’s work” when he was there), so I know she doesn’t have freetime coming out of her butt. She is almost completely uneducated, and again, with four little kids, she can’t just take them and run. No, I’m sorry, but I disagree – I’d like her to surprise us all and break free, but this isn’t some stubborn person with all the facts opting for easy money.

    • swack says:

      I worry for their daughter. If he can molest his sisters, then he is definitely capable of molesting his daughter.

  6. Sayrah says:

    Ugh it doesn’t really make me sad as much as it makes me sick. She’ll be his apologist until she dies. He’s a gross person and she married him and doesn’t believe in divorce so she’ll do whatever she has to to make it ok in her mind. Vomit.

    • It’s stories like this which make me disagree with the “no divorce ever” rhetoric. Too often it’s used as a way of guilting and persuading people (usually women) to stay in unhealthy and even dangerous marriages. Sometimes divorce is the healthiest option.

  7. JenB says:

    I am really sad for her and the children. I don’t think she has very much support for anything other than to forgive him. I just think of her doing everything in her life “for him” in this submissive way and he turns out to be such a horrible person. Ugh.

  8. lizzie says:

    the sad truth is that he probably does act like a violent creep in the bedroom with her and she doesn’t know the difference. she has only been with him and the only thing she’s ever learned (at least from her in-laws) is that you do whatever your husband wants and what he wants is normal. she probably thinks all men act that way.

  9. Ellen Smith says:

    It’s a shame Josh’s name isn’t “Saint”. That would really be hysterical. Of course, it would really have to be “J’Saint”. There’s still time for a name change…

  10. UmamiMommy says:

    Also, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to put off having children for the first few years of marriage to make sure you really KNOW someone before combining DNA and putting innocent lives into the mix? Didn’t JimBob and Michelle themselves use birth control (gasp) early in their marriage and devote time into building a financial future before fully drinking the Kool-Aid? They never mention the hypocrisy of their delaying their million babies until they had a firm financial footing while encouraging their children to remain “pure” until five minutes after they marry near-strangers and then reproduce immediately.

    • Kori says:

      They did. She then had a pregnancy and miscarriage despite being on the Pill and I think they blamed that for the miscarriage as well as being ‘punished’ for practicing birth control. That was when they started their beliefs–neither was raised that way.

  11. Crumpet says:

    I can’t bring myself to care anymore about this woman. It is such a train wreck and can’t end well. I only have so much emotional energy these days that I can’t waste it on adults who choose to live in denial.

    • claire says:

      Me neither. All I care about at this point is that TLC stops funding these evil people.

    • Tiffany says:

      Me either. She is staying because of the lifestyle the Dumbasses had and she had while in Washington. If this lawsuit goes the distance, she will be right back where she started with four kids to think about. The empathy ans sympathy is for the kids as they did not have a choice in their paternity.

  12. DenG says:

    Josh wouldn’t be aggressive or violent with his wife in the bedroom because she resembles his sisters. He would be righteously respectful, right?

  13. Lucky Charm says:

    Of course she believes him. She was raised to never question her headship (father, husband, or whichever male is head of the family). Once Jim Bob passes on, then Josh will become the head of the family, so she isn’t allowed to doubt him. It’s just disgusting how they view women as nothing more than broodmares.

    Anna is never going to leave Josh. Jana, I think, has given up and resigned herself to her fate and Joy-Anna is getting there, but I’m hoping that as Jinger seems to be spending more time with cousin Amy, she can step away and start living her own life on her own terms.

  14. Amelie says:

    I feel bad for her but is she so brainwashed she can’t think for herself? He molested his sisters when he was a teen and she stayed. He cheated on her multiple times through Ashley Madison and is lying to her about the women coming forward about having aggressive relations with him. What will it take for her to realize this guy is a monster?? I fear for her two daughters. God forbid Josh turned his attention to them… He will not change. He may get better at hiding it and for a time act like a family man. A few years from now there will be another scandal… You can’t just pray away something like this.

  15. Pandy says:

    I don’t feel sorry for her. Doormat. #thinkforyourself

  16. Joh says:

    As someone who grew up in the Chicago area, I can tell you one does not go to Rockford Illinois for ANY mental health help.
    Just sayin………

  17. Nymeria says:

    Feel sorry for her? No. She is choosing to live in denial. Her daughters aren’t choosing to live in a household with one parent who has her head in the sand, ignoring any abuse that may be going on. They are the real victims here.

  18. teehee says:

    Cos thats how you make a land of rich and powerful men who think they are direct from god and can do no wrong…. thats the point of it all. Thats mostly why this religion exists, — to subdue women and worship men.

  19. Jenny says:

    You can absolutely leave a religious cult – I did even though I grew up in that belief system and didn’t know much of the outside world- but it takes enormous emotional and psychological strength and willpower and the road to freedom is long and very difficult. I sadly do not believe Anna has that strength of character and also doesn’t want to let down her parents or parents-in-law by getting a divorce. She seems like the ultimate “good girl” living her life to please the authority figures in her life.