In just a few days, Josh Duggar will stand trial on child pornography charges.
He was arrested in April, and Anna Duggar has remained by her husband’s side.
This isn’t the first time she has weathered a scandal with her husband, so Anna likely knows what to expect in the coming days.
Back in 2015, Anna was hit with back-to-back scandals caused by Josh. The first was regarding Josh Duggar inappropriately touching his sisters a decade prior, and then a few months later, news broke that he was part of the Ashley Madison hack.
Anna was aware of what happened with her husband and his sisters, but she was caught completely off-guard by the cheating. Ashley Madison was a website that promoted extramarital affairs, and Josh not only had one account but two.
Counting On, titled initially Jill & Jessa Counting On, was born out of the scandals. Anna Duggar took part in the first few seasons heavily. She spoke in confessionals about the situation she was facing, and some of the comments she made were cringeworthy, especially with what she and Josh are facing right now.
These are some things Anna Duggar told the cameras just after news about what Josh Duggar did to his sisters and his cheating was made public.
Anna Duggar refers to Josh Duggar inappropriately touching sisters as ‘wrong choices’
While talking in a confessional during Jill & Jessa Counting On, Anna Duggar referred to what Josh Duggar did to his sisters as “wrong choices.” She didn’t talk about him inappropriately touching them while they slept or address how it was handled.
Anna did confirm that she was aware of what happened before she married Josh. He talked to her parents ahead of his proposal and shared his testimony. That included what happened between him and his sisters.
As she continued to talk, it was clear that the revelation of the police report caused strife, but nothing near what the cheating bombshell caused in her marriage.
Anna Duggar didn’t want to ‘turn a mess into a disaster’
When asked about her marriage while filming for Jill & Jessa Counting On, Anna Duggar was vulnerable. She struggled to gather her words, but when she did, it was clear that she wasn’t planning to leave Josh Duggar.
She said, “It’s such a betrayal for a spouse [to go] through what we’re walking through, and it was hard.”
A little while later, Anna mentioned that if she acted on her feelings at the moment, she would “turn a mess into a disaster.” Thinking everything through to process it was the actual test. It was only then that Anna could fully grasp what to do with Josh, which was to try and work together and hope to restore their marriage.
Anna continued, “I pray that through all of this that I would be an extension of God’s love to Joshua, that I would love him and forgive him and wait patiently and allow God to work through our hearts. My prayer and my heart’s desire is for our marriage to be restored.”
Anna Duggar said Josh ‘loves you all’
During Season 2, Anna Duggar visited Josh Duggar in the treatment center where he was getting the help he needed.
She returned home just as Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald were hosting the fall festival dinner at their home. As the family members went around and said they were thankful for, Anna chose Grandma Mary Duggar. After she gushed about her, she then turned to the Josh discussion.
Anna told the family she had just returned from visiting her husband and that he loves them all. Jinger Duggar was already teary over what was said to Grandma Mary, but this statement seemed to affect her even more.
Anna Duggar said ‘it was a blessing to not be alone’ when talking about living at the big house in the girls’ room
When Josh Duggar left to go to a treatment facility, Anna Duggar had recently given birth to Meredith. She was thrown into a single mother position and had three kids, plus a newborn.
Anna revealed that she had moved into the girls’ bedroom in the big Duggar house. She joked that Jim Bob and Michelle had two daughters get married and move out, and now they inherited a daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Anna said, “it was a blessing to not be alone” when she was in a confessional.
Interestingly enough, Anna and Josh remained on the Duggar family property when he returned from treatment. They were living in a warehouse on the property when he was indicted on the child pornography charges. Anna and Josh, along with their six children, stayed there for several years.
It’s been six years since Josh Duggar’s back-to-back scandals blew up the Duggars’ lives. The fallout caused 19 Kids and Counting to be canceled, which paved the way for Jill & Jessa Counting On. That was changed to Counting On when Jill Duggar decided to walk away, and the most recent scandal caused TLC to cancel it as well.
Anna Duggar has remained by Josh’s side as he walks through his struggles right now. She was there when he turned himself into custody in April, and since then, she has been spotted with him outside of court hearings. Since Josh’s first scandals, Anna has welcomed three more children with him. Mason, Maryella, and Madyson were all born after 2015.
The trial for Josh Duggar begins this week. It was initially scheduled for July, but the defense asked for a date in 2022, and it was settled on November 30, 2021. Josh Duggar hired a high-profile attorney for this case. His lawyers have asked to have the molestation and cheating scandals be left out of evidence, but Counting On fans and Duggar critics remember them all too well.
Ahead of Josh’s arrest, Anna Duggar purchased a mobile home with some land around it from Jim Bob Duggar. It is unclear if she is living there now or if she intends to live there following the conclusion of the trial. If convicted, Josh Duggar faces up to 40 years in prison (20 per count) and up to a $500,000 fine ($250,000 per count).
Since the arrest, Anna has remained mostly silent on social media. She only posted to announce the birth of Madyson. The irony of the baby girl’s name was not lost on some followers, especially those who remember Josh Duggar and the Ashley Madison debacle.
What happens next for Anna Duggar remains unknown, but her comment about Josh’s earlier scandals point toward her sticking by his side no matter the outcome.