Sometimes, silence really can be deafening.
On the Duggar family’s official website Friday, Josh and Anna Duggar announced that they are expecting a fifth child together this year.
His younger siblings, who are typically quick to gush over each other’s life milestones, aren’t exactly rushing to congratulate him.
The news that Josh and Anna Duggar are having a fifth child was shared via a simple blog post Friday, in which the couple said this:
“For nearly the last two years, we have quietly worked to save our marriage, focus on our children, and rebuild our lives as a family.”
“Doing so is never easy after a breach of trust.”
“We have learned that a life of faith and rebuilding a life together is simply done one day at a time,” Josh, 29, and Anna, 28, continued.
“As we continue our journey as a family and rebuild our lives, we are delighted to share that we are expecting a new baby boy later this year.”
“Beauty comes from ashes and we cannot wait to see and kiss the face of this sweet new boy! [Signed] Josh & Anna.”
Members of Duggar Nation need no reminders of the fact that the road by which Josh got Anna pregnant again was a long and bumpy one.
So bumpy, the wounds have not yet healed for some members of his family, even if Anna has moved past Josh’s infamous sex scandals.
Sisters Jill and Jessa Duggar were among the five child molestation victims Josh violated when he was a teenager in the early 2000s.
While they put on a good front after that scandal was exposed in 2015, they’ve kept a distance from him ever since – including now.
The duo, typically active on social media – and especially so in the wake of big family news – has been radio silent for two-plus days.
The echo chamber pretty much says it all.
Jill’s last Instagram update came one week ago, featuring her husband Derick Dillard in Central America on the couple’s mission trip.
Jessa was active as recently as Sunday evening, sharing with fans new pictures of her adorable sons Spurgeon and Henry Wilberforce.
Not a word about Josh and Anna’s news.
While you may not think the absence of public comment is a huge deal, consider that it rarely if ever happens with the married sisters.
Jessa and husband Ben Seewald immediately shared a video following the announcement of Joseph Duggar courting Kendra Caldwell.
And after Joy-Anna Duggar got engaged to Austin Forsyth this winter … and Jinger Duggar got engaged to Jeremy Vuolo last year.
Lest you think that pregnancies don’t necessarily warrant congratulations, Jessa made mention of Jill’s second just a few months ago.
Like Josh and Anna, Jill and Derick Dillard (already parents to son Israel) recently announced they are expecting a baby boy this summer.
Unlike with Josh and Anna, Jessa is thrilled.
For their part, both Ben Seewald and Jeremy Vuolo have voiced … opposition to The Shack, a controversial movie currently in theaters.
The degree of bad blood between the Duggars and Josh has been the subject of debate for two years, and isn’t definitively known.
Clearly, we won’t know everything that goes on behind closed doors, and they’re never going to throw any shade (at Anna especially).
Still, considering their silence on social media and the way TLC went out of its way to scrub Josh out of Jinger’s wedding footage (above)?
It feels safe to say his past behavior, anathema to pretty much all that they stand for, makes everyone at least a little uneasy to this day.