Earlier this month, Anna Duggar welcomed her fifth child with her husband, disgraced former reality star Josh Duggar.
The news received a mixed reaction, as the appalling revelation that Josh molested five young girls and evaded punishment remains fresh in the minds of many former fans.
On social media, Josh has been slammed by fans for continuing to have children despite his history of abusive behavior.
As a result, the embattled 29-year-old has continued to keep a low profile in the weeks since his fifth child entered the world.
But that doesn’t mean his entire family is laying low.
To the surprise of many, Anna Duggar issued a statement to Us Weekly today.
In her brief missive to the tabloid, Anna says that despite an unexpectedly long labor, the birth went smoothly, and mother and son are currently resting comfortably at home.
“It was a long labor, but complication free and I feel really great,” Anna says.
“It’s a blessing to have so much help from our moms and family members. Our other little ones adore Mason and want to hold him all the time!”
It’s the first public statement from the Duggars since reps announced the birth back on September 12:
“We are so thankful and happy to announce the arrival of our new son, Mason Garrett Duggar. Both he and Anna are doing well,” read their statement at the time.
“He arrived today without complication and we already adore him. The entire family is ecstatic over the arrival of another beautiful blessing.”
The social media announcement continued:
“We want to thank everyone for your prayers, kind words and well wishes. We appreciate it much more than we could ever express. We pray God blesses each of you with an abundance of the kindness you’ve shown us.”
There’s been talk of Josh Duggar returning to television in the wake of his son’s birth, but considering the way the news was received by fans, that seems unlikely.
It’s clear that the Duggars would like to rehabilitate Josh’s battered public image, but they’re smart enough to no do so at the expense of their massively lucrative media empire.
For now, they’ll have to be content to let Anna do the talking for him.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
