If you watched this week’s episode of Counting On, you got to witness the giddy joy of the Duggars as they learned that their already massive family is about to expand by one.
Yes, the entire clan learned that Joy-Anna Duggar was pregnant, but not everyone was able to receive the news in person.
Two of Joy’s sisters were informed of her big news via text message – Jinger because she’s relocated to Texas, and Jill because … well, no one knows exactly where Jill is these days.
The 26-year-old’s absence from last night’s episode had many fans wondering what could possibly compel Jill to miss something as monumental as her sister’s pregnancy announcement.
Many fans speculated that Jill is no longer living in Tontitown and may have once again left the country to perform missionary work.
Others theorized that her family has distanced themselves from Jill due to the fact that her husband, Derick Dillard, has been fired by TLC.
As is so often the case with this sort of thing, neither explanation is completely accurate … but neither is entirely without basis, either.
Currently, Jill is in Mexico with her husband and youngest son.
The family has reportedly embarked on a weeklong missionary excursion in Guadalajara.
The whereabouts of Jill and Derick’s eldest son, 2-year-old Samuel, are unknown, but it’s believed that he’s staying at the Duggar compound and being cared for by Michelle and the ever-attentive Jana.
But that’s a development of the last few days.
What fans want to know now is – where was Jill ten months ago when last night’s episode was filmed?
The answer to that question is a bit more complex.
Those who know the Dillards best say they have relocated to a smaller home in the interest of saving money.
(After all, the show was their sole source of income.)
The insiders insist that Jill wasn’t present for Joy’s announcement simply because she’s no longer appearing on Counting On.
They claim that Jill and Derick’s decision to move away from Tontitown was not the result of rocky relations with Jill’s family.
But they won’t go so far as to say all is well between the Dillards and the Duggars.
A common topic of discussion in Duggar-centric Reddit pages these days is the fact that several of Jill and Derick’s family members and former friends have recently unfollowed the couple on social media.
“The shunning begins… the Bates family have unfollowed Jill and Derick. Individual accounts unfollowing just Derick, meanwhile Ben unfollowed him, who’s next?” wrote one user.
“I predict that someone at Cross Church is going to have a ‘counseling session’ with Derick and then his account will abruptly disappear,” commented another.
“For as much as they probably agree with what he’s saying, at some point, they don’t want to be responsible for negative attention that this will invariably draw.”
“What he is doing is incredibly tacky. Twitter is not the place for personal, family or business grievances,” remarked a third.
Needless to say, all is not well between Jill and her family.
And as more Jill-free episodes of the Duggars’ reality show hit the air, you can expect fans to continue digging in hopes of unearthing the truth about just how bad the situation has gotten.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
