Jill Duggar Dillard and her estranged father, Jim Bob Duggar, seem to be spending some rare time together during the Christmas season.
In an Instagram carousel shared by brother James Duggar on Christmas Day, Jill, 33, and husband Derick, 35, are seen chatting with the Duggar patriarch, 59, on a brown couch as family members open presents.
“The best time of the year!!!” James captioned the festive post, which also included photos of Jesse Duggar and husband Ben Seewald, John Duggar and wife Abbie’s son Charlie, Jason Duggar and Jeremiah Duggar.
Above left: Jim Bob Duggar talks with Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband Derick.
James Duggar/Instagram
Jill Duggar Dillard posts brother Jason’s BTS wedding, from the cake cutting to the dancing and bouquet tossing
Over the years, Jill — one of Jim Bob and Michelle’s 19 children — has been open about her disdain for her upbringing and her parents’ involvement in the religious organization Institute in Basic Life Principles.
The reality TV student told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview timed for her book’s September 2023 release. Cost calculation that he considers the organization, founded by minister Bill Gothard, to be a “cult”.
“My dad even said recently in a family group message, he said, ‘You owe Mr. Gothard your life,'” she told PEOPLE. “I say, ‘No.’
A guide to everything in the Duggar family
Jill also shared that filming the family’s reality shows — 19 Children and counting and its spinoff counting on — it took a toll on her relationship with Derick as she struggled to say no to her father and the demands of filming.
“It definitely came between us,” she said of how she and Derick started fighting over the show. “Regardless of your age, you have to obey your parents’ wishes and you even have to ask them for their blessing for any important moment in your life. It can be buying a house, moving to another country, where to go to school. We have dealt with a lot team as we were trying to make decisions for our family, and we really struggled with that back and forth.”
Derick added that Jim Bob “would weaponize the relationship and say, ‘Is this you, Jill, or is this you, Derick? Are you leading your wife astray and doing things that don’t support the marriage?’ ”
Jill and Derick married in 2014 and have three children: Israel David, Samuel Scott and Frederick Michael.
Jill Duggar Dillard makes an unusual first stop on a family trip to Tennessee
In January 2024, Jill said at An unscheduled podcast that she cannot remember the last time she saw her parents, although they have spoken since her book was published in 2023.
When asked if they had read it, she said, “I heard they did… They listened to it like an audiobook or something.”
“They are my parents. I will tread lightly. I also don’t want to create more controversy,” she added. “It’s like when you get together for the holidays and there are certain things you don’t want to just bring up. It’s probably a touchy subject.”
Jill and Derick tried to remember the last time they had seen Jim Bob and Michelle in person.
The daughter insisted that it was sometime after the birth of their youngest son in July 2022.
“We saw them at a birthday party…Joy and Austin are kind of like their kid’s birthday party or something. Or a baby announcement or something, I don’t know, some family party.”
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Source: HIS Education