John David Duggar keeps a fairly low profile compared to his more famous siblings.
Unlike so many of his brothers and sisters – including his twin, Jana Duggar – John David seems relatively uninterested in the reality TV spotlight.
The presumption amongst fans has always been that the 28-year-old simply has other ventures to pursue.
John David is a pilot; he does construction and maintenance work on properties owned by his father, and he volunteers with his local police and fire departments.
Without question, the man has a very busy schedule.
But it seems that’s not the only reason that he takes a dim view of his parents’ unquenchable thirst for fame.
According to a former employee of the Duggars’ who spoke to The Hollywood Gossip exclusively, John David has emerged as his family’s moral compass in recent years.
Which means that when John David is distancing himself from his parents, fans who are drawn to the Duggars by their wholesome values should pay close attention.
“When John David doesn’t want to be a part of it, then you know that it ain’t right,” says the insider.
“John David is a good guy, and he’s in a good spot. He gets to do what he wants to do.”
And apparently, he wants to do these days is keep a safe distance between himself and some of his father’s worldly impulses.
“There’s things that Jim Bob does that John doesn’t think are right,” our source tells us.
“Some of his real estate transactions, some of the equipment that he buys – a lot of this stuff, Jim Bob doesn’t really need, but he thinks he does.”
In the past, we’ve reported on allegations that Jim Bob is a “high-class hoarder” who’s reckless with his finances.
Now, it seems John David has taken issue with his father’s profligate ways, not only because they conflict with the Duggars’ Christian values, but also because Jim Bob’s constant consumption is threatening to bury the family in debt.
“He’ll go to an auction and he’ll come home with a bucket truck that he got for $ 4,000, then he’ll realize that it needs $ 8,000 worth of stuff to fix it,” says our source.
“And John, he gets kind of tired of that. There’s a lot of stuff that Jim Bob does that John doesn’t agree with, but now that John’s up and in the world, that’s his right.
And it seems the conflict between father and son goes beyond financial matters and into the Freudian realm, as Jim Bob sees John David as a threat to his familial dominance.
“[John David] is old enough now that he can pick and choose what he wants to do, and that just kills Jim Bob, because he doesn’t have that ultimate control,” the source tells us.
“He’s losing his control factor. He’s got control over the little ones while they’re there, but he realizes that soon they’ll be big and gone, and he’ll lose that.”
Concluding on a note of levity, our source jokes:
“And then he’ll have to deal with Michelle on a full-time basis!”
