Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Respond To Divorce Rumors: ‘Counting On’ Stars Make Surprising Purchase
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have issued a response to the rumors that they’re getting a divorce after 32 years of marriage, 19 children, and six grandchildren.
The former 19 Kids and Counting stars already made it pretty clear that their marriage is still going strong when they attended Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo’s wedding together earlier this month. However, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar wanted to make sure that their fans know that they’ll see no divorce drama on the inevitable third season of Counting On.
On November 12, the couple responded to the recent divorce rumors swirling around by sharing a Twitter photo of themselves kissing and holding up a copy of the latest issue of In Touch Weekly. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar made the tabloid’s cover, and its headline reads, “Divorce Papers!” The magazine claims that it will reveal “what finally tore them apart,” and it also claims that the Duggars are dealing with “a secret court battle.”
“Don’t believe everything you read in the tabloids! Michelle and I have been married for over 32 years and are more in love than ever!” Jim Bob Duggar wrote on his family’s Twitter page.
Don’t believe everything you read in the tabloids! Michelle and I have been married for over 32 years and are more in love than ever! pic.twitter.com/v0AloL4Fej
— The Duggar Family (@duggarfam) November 12, 2016
According to the Hollywood Gossip, the In Touch Weekly story claims that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s marriage is falling apart because of their current financial situation. Michelle allegedly believes that they’re on the verge of becoming destitute and losing their home, and Jim Bob is refusing to acknowledge their money troubles. He reportedly wants to rely on their family’s TLC reality show, Counting On, as the family’s main source of income. However, the Duggars allegedly took a drastic pay cut when 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled and rebooted as Counting On.
The rumor that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are getting a divorce is obviously not true, but it’s entirely possible that TLC isn’t paying them as much as it used to. As E! News reports, numerous companies have asked the network not to air their ads during the show, and the Inquisitr previously reported that the series’ ratings are nowhere near as high as those of 19 Kids and Counting— Counting On averages around 1 million viewers per episode, whereas each episode of 19 Kids and Counting attracted around 3.5 million eyeballs. Perhaps, the Duggars were forced to take a pay cut to stay on TV.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar offer marriage advice amid divorce rumors: https://t.co/9eARMxgOzT
???????????????????????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/Zo2G19H4GC— Starcasm (@starcasm) March 29, 2016
Speaking of the demise of 19 Kids and Counting, it may surprise some Duggar fans that Jim Bob and Michelle purchased a copy of In Touch Weekly to pose with. After all, the magazine did play a part in the cancellation of their popular TLC series. In May 2015, In Touch used a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain police reports that would permanently damage the Duggar brand. According to the documents, Josh Duggar sexually molested four of his younger sisters, and he told his parents about what he was doing on multiple occasions. However, Jim Bob and Michelle repeatedly neglected to take appropriate measures to protect their daughters.
In response to the publication of the police reports, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar appeared on The Kelly File to downplay Josh’s actions and explain their inaction. As Entertainment Weekly reports, the parents also tried to shift the interview’s focus away from their wrongdoing by accusing In Touch Weekly of having “an agenda.”
“Every one of us has done things wrong. That’s why Jesus came. This is more about there’s an agenda, and there’s people that are purposing to try to bring things out and twisting them to hurt and slander,” Michelle said.
The In Touch Weekly story about Josh’s sexual molestation scandal obviously had a negative effect on the Duggar family’s popularity, so this may be why Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar decided to issue a response to its erroneous divorce report — perhaps the couple hoped to hurt the magazine’s sales by debunking the divorce rumor before curious Duggar fans purchased copies of it.
[Featured Image by Duggar Family Official Facebook]
