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Josh Duggar Gets Shunned At A Party, But Fans Shower Him With Love And Prayers

By Treva Bowdoin
Published on: 08:13 PST, May 10, 2016

Josh Duggar is still being treated like Lucifer in the flesh by most members of the general public whenever he dares to leave home, but a Duggar fan recently chatted with the former reality show star at a graduation party. Even though Josh was being shunned by almost everyone there, he was reportedly in good spirits.

Josh Duggar, his wife Anna, and their four children — 6-year-old Mackynzie, 4-year-old Michael, 2-year-old Marcus, and 9-month-old Meredith — headed to Tennessee last week to attend the graduation party of family friends Trace and Carlin Bates. A fan who was also in attendance approached Josh and Anna to ask them how they were doing, and the couple expressed their surprise that someone actually wanted to talk to them.

“I did get a chance to talk to Josh and Anna—Josh looks really good, he has dropped a LOT of weight. Josh introduced me to his family. It was obvious the kids were thrilled to have Dad back,” the fan told the Duggar Family Blog. “He was in good spirits and was surprised I talked to him—they said most people had been avoiding them.”

As People reports, Josh Duggar spent six months in a faith-based treatment facility after he confessed to cheating on his wife and looking at internet pornography. Josh returned home early in March, but he wasn’t seen out in public until recently.

Fans of the Duggar family were thrilled to learn that Josh Duggar is no longer in hiding, and they flooded the Duggar Family Blog update with well wishes and prayers.

“SOOOO Good to hear news on Josh and family!!” one commenter wrote. “We pray for them often and really believe they should be on the show [Jill & Jessa: Counting On] and sharing how they are walking through such a difficult situation. We believe Josh’s story could help so many Christian men who have the same struggle.”

“That is so awesome! I think they should post a picture somewhere of Josh and Anna and the kids,” another fan commented. “Yes, Josh made a mistake but was man enough to seek help for the sake of himself, his marriage to Anna, his kids, and the rest of his family and the world that has been involved in his life more importantly God above.”

It’s important to point out that Josh Duggar did not confess to cheating on his wife because he suddenly started feeling guilty about being unfaithful — the reality show star was forced to fess up. He only revealed his wrongdoing because Gawker discovered that he had paid for an account on Ashley Madison, a website used to arrange sexual encounters for men and women who want to cheat on their spouses. It’s possible that Josh spent half a year holed up in a Christian treatment center because he really did want to save his marriage, but it’s also possible that he simply did so to save face and avoid facing all the difficult questions that his family members were left to address.

Now that some time has passed, Josh Duggar is gradually resuming the lifestyle he enjoyed before his sexual molestation and cheating scandals forced him to step out of the spotlight. He’s already traveling all over the country with his parents and siblings to attend various events, including the aforementioned Bates family home school graduation party. According to the Duggar Family News: Life Is Not All Pickles and Hairspray Facebook page, Josh and his family were also photographed at the Pensacola Christian College graduation ceremony this weekend. They were there to watch another family friend, Jason Hartono, get his diploma.

Last week, In Touch Weekly shared the first photo of Josh Duggar since he returned home from rehab. It was taken on April 29, and it shows Josh and his father, Jim Bob Duggar, posing together at the Old MacDonald’s Farm mini-golf course in Sevierville, Tennessee. The duo were reportedly having a blast, but they ruined a few other customers’ fun family outings.

“Three families with young girls were unhappy Josh was so close to them and left the golf course when they saw him and Jim Bob,” an eyewitness revealed. “The parents were not comfortable.”

Josh Duggar might make some people uncomfortable, but the former reality show star allegedly thinks that there are others out there who would pay to be around him. According to the Hollywood Gossip, Josh believes that speaking about his scandals “could be very lucrative for him,” and a source told Life & Style that Josh Duggar plans on “going on a public speaking circuit” this year. Right now, he might be working up toward this goal by gradually reintroducing himself to the public eye.

As People reports, Josh Duggar did once get paid to speak. However, when he was working for the Family Research Council, he accused others — namely LGBT couples — of being sinners. He didn’t have to talk about his sins, and so far he’s only addressed his scandals through written statements. He hasn’t stood in front of a camera or a massive crowd while talking about molesting his younger sisters or cheating on his wife. However, judging from the overwhelmingly positive response to the Duggar Family Blog post, there are at least a few hardcore Duggar fans who would likely pay to listen to Josh spin a redemption story.

Do you think Josh Duggar will ever speak out about his scandals, or will he shun the spotlight like the public is shunning him?

[Image via Josh and Anna Duggar Facebook]

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