It seems the Duggar family is finding it hard to form a united front following Josh Duggar's recent child pornography scandal.
While the reality star family has faced their fair share of hurdles ever since coming into fame, an insider alleged Josh's most recent controversy may be the final straw for the family. "They aren't as close as they once were because of all of Josh's legal drama," a source told PEOPLE, adding: "It's creating a lot of stress on them — although the majority of the family is acting like nothing has happened."
"Jim Bob [Duggar] always wants to sweep things under the rug," the source pointed out of Josh's famous father. "He's never going to talk about the scandal because it's bad for business."
However, it seems not everyone in the family is taking Jim Bob's dismissive approach when it comes to the disturbing allegations lodged against Josh.
After the TLC alum was arrested in April on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, TLC pulled the plug once and for all on any new Duggar related content and canceled Counting On after a 96 episode run.
This wasn't the first time Josh's actions took a toll on the family. In 2015, the network canceled the family's first reality show, 19 Kids and Counting, after a 2006 police investigation surfaced revealing Josh had been accused of molesting five underage girls, at least two of whom were his sisters. The alleged horrifying crimes took place in 2002 and 2003, when Josh — now 33 — was 14 years old.
The once-popular shows centered around Josh's extremely conservative Christian family, which consists of dad Jim Bob, 56, mom Michelle Duggar, 54, and Josh's 18 siblings.
Three months after the molestation accusations were brought to light, a data hack reportedly revealed Josh — who shares six underage children with pregnant wife Anna Duggar — had been using a cheating website. He confessed to being unfaithful to Anna and having an addiction to porn. Josh sought treatment at a faith-based rehabilitation center in Illinois and later returned to his family.
By October 2016, Josh's sister Jinger Vuolo — who was one of the sisters Josh allegedly inappropriately touched — and her then-new husband, Jeremy Vuolo, had enough of the family turmoil and moved away to Laredo, TX, then to Los Angeles.
One year later, older sister Jill Dillard quit Counting On. Jill — the wife of recent law school grad Derick Dillard — said she decided to walk away after learning that her dad earned $25,000 to $45,000 an episode while she reportedly never received any form of compensation. The mother-of-two, 30, hasn't seen her family in two years.
Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse for the family after Josh was arrested in connection to a 2019 Homeland Security raid on his car dealership in Arkansas. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner described one specific file found on Duggar's computer as being "in the top five worst I have ever had to examine."
The family's splintering relationship was quite visible when addressing the 19 Kids and Counting alum'sdrama. Jinger, 27, and Jeremy, 33, said they were "disturbed' by the child porn allegations and demanded "justice."
On the other hand, Jim Bob and Michelle "are very much standing by their son," said a source, and previously shared a statement, which read: "It is our prayer that the truth, no matter what it is, will come to light ... We love Josh and Anna and continue to pray for their family."
The father-of-six has pleaded not guilty to both charges and is currently out on bond. Upon his release, the judge insisted she could not "in good conscience" send him back to his family home, where his young children and wife reside.
Josh has been staying with third party custodians and is confined to the home via GPS tracking as we awaits his November 30 criminal trial. His trial was postponed from July 6 after Duggar's defense team insisted they needed "more time to review the evidence."
With his trial three months away, the source said Josh "really thinks he's going to get out of it."
