Jinger Duggar is doing a press tour for her new book People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations.
The Counting On star is opening up about her disordered eating and what prompted her to think about food and worry about “getting fat.”
Her tour included stopping by the Unplanned podcast, where she and Jeremy Vuolo have previously been.
Opening up about parts of her life affected by her people-pleasing tendencies wasn’t easy for Jinger, but breaking free of that personality trait has opened up a more unburdened life for the reality TV star.
This isn’t the first time Jinger talked about her unhealthy relationship with food, but it was the first time she revealed that Michelle Duggar was the one who stood by her and helped her through it.
Interestingly enough, Michelle showed up for her daughter in that moment, which significantly impacted the rest of Jinger’s life.
Jinger Duggar confides in Michelle Duggar about food issues
While speaking with Matt and Abby on the Unplanned podcast, Jinger Duggar revealed that she struggled with her body image and thinking she was “fat.”
She revealed that she limited her food intake and watched what she ate heavily. While struggling with that, she chose to confide in Michelle Duggar.
Jinger said, “When I talked to her, she was really sweet the way she handled it. It was so helpful because she did not go from one extreme to the other, where she was just telling me, ‘Okay, now you need to eat everything in sight.’ She didn’t force me to eat things that were unhealthy.”
Michelle devised a plan for Jinger to text her what she was eating daily, and she would do the same so that they could hold each other accountable.
The Counting On star continued, “I was so embarrassed by how I was struggling. I didn’t want to open up to her, but I knew I could ‘cause she’s the sweetest person in the whole world.”
When did Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo tape the episode?
During the interview with Matt and Abby, Jinger Duggar mentioned it was Austin Forsyth’s birthday.
That would put the taping on December 13 — just over a month ago — and coincided with their travels ahead of the holidays.
The couple likely had to schedule some press ahead of time because they are spending launch week in New York City doing shows like Tamron Hall and CBS Mornings.
Jinger opened up in the book, and it seems more of the story is told each time she puts out something new.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is currently streaming on Prime Video.