Jinger Duggar and her husband Jeremy Vuolo have been photographed out and about for the first time since TLC announced that it had canceled the family reality TV show, Counting On.
The network said on Tuesday that it will not be producing new episodes of the series, an anticipated decision in the wake of Josh Duggar’s arrest on child pornography charges.
Jinger, 28, and Jeremy, 33, were the only stars of the show to release a statement on the matter, saying that they ‘wholeheartedly agree’ with the cancellation, and now new photos show the couple arriving at Los Angeles International airport for a trip with their two young daughters.
Say cheese: Jinger Duggar and her husband Jeremy Vuolo have been photographed out and about for the first time since TLC announced that it had canceled the family reality TV show
Get out of town! Photos show Jinger, 28, and Jeremy, 33, arriving at Los Angeles International airport for a trip with their two young daughters
Modesty standards: Jinger dressed casually in light-wash jeans, white sneakers, a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, and a white T-shirt
Kids: Evangeline was pushed in a stroller, while Jinger and Jeremy took turns holding Felicity, who was dressed as a mini-me version of her mom
The family of four headed out of LAX on Wednesday, June 30, the day after the cancellation was announced.
Jinger dressed casually in light-wash jeans, white sneakers, a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, and a white T-shirt featuring four figures walking in tandem and the words, ‘The birds work for the bourgeoisie.’
The bizarre $27 tee is from the Birds Aren’t Real, a mostly-satirical conspiracy theory movement that purports that all birds were replaced with drones by the US government. Jeremy is also a fan.
Jinger and Jeremy both wore disposable black masks to the airport, and brought along their two daughters, two-year-old Felicity and seven-month old Evangeline.
Evangeline was pushed in a stroller, while Jinger and Jeremy took turns holding Felicity, who was dressed as a mini-me version of her mom.
The pair worked as a team to get their bags and children inside, and while checking in, Jinger clung to Jeremy’s arm as they deposited their luggage.
They’re currently in Oklahoma City, where they’ve been eating out and visiting with friends.
Huh… Jinger’s shirt is from the Birds Aren’t Real, a mostly- satirical conspiracy theory movement that purports that all birds were replaced with drones by the US government
Going, going, gone! The family of four headed out of LAX on Wednesday, June 30, the day after the cancellation was announced
They live in LA now! Jinger and Jeremy wore matching Dodgers caps
Parents on duty: The pair worked as a team to get their bags and children inside
Vacation: Jeremy carries two-year-old Felicity into the airport
Touchy-feely: While checking in, Jinger clung to Jeremy’s arm as they deposited their luggage
Jinger, who briefly appeared to notice the paparazzi taking her picture, spoke out this week about the downsides of fame.
Speaking on the new podcast Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall, Jinger said that being in the public eye isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
‘I think a lot of people do look into fame, and they think it’s all beautiful, it’s all wonderful,’ she said, ‘and yes, as I’m saying, there are tons of perks, but then, you also have to wrestle through a lot.’
Jinger said fans often don’t understand that her life isn’t as easy as it appears on television.
‘They can think, “Oh, you don’t wrestle with anything, you don’t struggle with being depressed one day,” you know? Or, like, your day hasn’t gone as you want, and how do you get through that?’ she explained. ‘I think it’s been more challenging for me personally to figure out how to move past that, and how to truly open up to people.’
She credits her faith with helping her through the hard times in her life, including the price of fame.
‘We do all feel these things, we have times where we’re walking through very challenging deep, dark times and other people may not know about it or they may not understand that that’s something that’s common to all of us as humans,’ she said.
Candid: Jinger reflected on her unusual upbringing in Arkansas and her life in Los Angeles while appearing on the new podcast Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall this week
Looking back: Jinger told the host that she and her family have had to walk through ‘very challenging deep, dark times’ that people didn’t know about or understand
‘We all walk through difficulties and challenges and that is definitely something I think about for us. We are people of faith and we have faith in God and so I think for me in those times when I wrestle the most, I just run to God.’
Jinger was just 10 years old when her family filmed the Discovery Health Channel documentary that later led to their TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, which premiered in 2008.
The popular show ran for 10 seasons but was canceled in 2015 after news broke that Josh — the eldest child of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar’s 19 children — molested five girls, four of whom were his sisters, when he was 14 and 15 years old.
Josh did not appear in Counting On, the family’s follow-up series that debuted in late 2015 and starred Jinger and her older siblings.
Jinger was not asked about her brother’s scandals, but she did open up about how tabloid headlines and paparazzi harassment have taken a toll on her mental health over the years.
She also recalled the unwanted attention she and her sisters received from men who watched them grow up on television and felt they knew them.
Looking back: The Duggars first found fame on their TLC series 19 Kids in Counting, which premiered in 2008. She’s pictured with some of her siblings before they became famous
One of 19: Jinger (pictured as a child) is Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s sixth child
Hard to handle: Jinger (pictured on 19 Kids and Counting with her sister Jessa) admitted to struggling with tabloid headlines about her family over the years
‘Guys would write from prison for my sisters. It was crazy,’ she shared. ‘We constantly had letters coming in the mail and it was like, “Oh, who is it for this time? Oh, it’s for Jana, oh, it’s for Jessa” … it was mind-blowing just to think that somebody thought they would walk right into your life and marry you, like, they were already basically proposing in their letters.’
She added: ‘And they thought it was legit but looking at it, you know, I can understand how somebody would think, “Oh, I know you so well because I watched you from a child grow up,” so they think that there’s a relationship there when there’s not. It’s like, a one-sided thing.’
Jinger, who has been married to her husband Jeremy Vuolo since 2016, said they also had to deal with ‘fanboys’ who would try to court them because they wanted to be on TV.
‘There were a lot of guys who came around, sometimes they would come visit the family or visit our church — that was a good in for some guys. They thought, “Oh, if I come to your church, that’s my in,”‘ she said. ‘It just felt so bizarre because it’s like, “Who are you? I don’t know you.”
‘The relationship side of things wasn’t even there, it wasn’t like, “Oh look, I’ve been hanging out for a while and get to know your family and then we’ll see if anything happens.” They would say to my family, my parents or something, “Oh yeah, I’m so interested in your daughter.”‘
Creepy: Jinger recalled how she and her sisters used to receive love letters from men in prison who thought they knew them. Jessa, Jinger, Jill, and Jana Duggar (L to R) are pictured in 2014
Done: TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting in 2015 following Josh Duggar’s molestation scandal, but the network launched a spin-off titled Counting On months later
Jinger knew early on that she didn’t want to end up with one of those guys, and she became wary of her potential suitor’s intentions.
‘I remember that being something that, as a young person, that’s just like, “Nope, nope, nope, that’s not gonna work for me,'”‘ she said. ‘And I think going back to that whole trust thing, it’s something that you want to make sure that this person has good intentions. It’s not just like, “Oh, this guy wants to be on TV and here’s his big break. I’m gonna go marry one of the Duggar daughters and that’s my in.” That’s the last thing you wanted.’
Jinger met Jeremy through her brother-in-law Ben Seewald, who is married to her sister Jessa, and she liked that he wasn’t overly familiar with her famous family.
‘I heard so many awesome things about Jeremy, and it was from my sister and brother-in-law, and so, it was a perfect, perfect scenario,’ she said.
Jinger added that she questions whether she wants them to grow up in the spotlight the way she did.
‘I’ve told Jer a couple times, “I just don’t want to be in the public eye! I just don’t want to be there, I just don’t want to be here, I don’t want my kids to have people looking in on their lives and picking it apart,”‘ she admitted.
‘If I post a photo on Instagram, it’s like, immediately you’ll have people who will say, “Oh, what a cute family photo!” And then you’ll have those who will say really mean things, even about your kids. And it’s like, “She’s two! Don’t say anything about her, she can’t even defend herself,”‘ explained Jinger, who has more than 1.4 million Instagram followers.
Big city: Jinger and her husband Jeremy Vuolo are raising their daughters — Felicity, who turns three this month, and seven-month-old Evangeline Jo — in Los Angeles
Struggle: She admitted she questions whether she wants her girls growing up in the spotlight, saying: ‘I don’t want my kids to have people looking in on their lives and picking it apart’
‘There are days where I just wish [I] could say, “Oh, no one knows who I am, ever again,'” she said. ‘But that’s never gonna be true for me because people already know who I am. People can always look me up.’
Jinger said she often struggles with the media coverage of her family, explaining that things she has said or innocent eye rolls she has made have been misconstrued to make it seem like she hates her family.
There are days when she hits her breaking point and has to remind herself that she isn’t defined by other people’s opinions of her.
‘I’m like, “Okay, I cannot put up with what the tabloids are saying today, I can’t put up with other people’s opinions of even family relationships, what they say about my family,”‘ she said.
‘That’s painful to hear and so in those times I just have to go back to, “Okay, wait I’m not defined by what everyone’s saying today, I’m not defined by these things, my identity is only found in Jesus Christ and because of who I am in Christ now, it doesn’t matter.” I don’t have to worry about other people’s opinions of me and I think that’s something that I wrestle with and I think my family wrestles with.’
Jinger and Jeremy relocated to Los Angeles from her native Arkansas in the summer of 2019. While the move allowed her to meet people who know what it’s like to be in the spotlight, she admitted that they didn’t realize the effect that the paparazzi would have on their lives.
It’s OK: Jinger and Jeremy said that they ‘wholeheartedly agree’ with TLC’s decision to cancel the family TV show, Counting On, in the wake of her brother Josh’s child pornography arrest
‘We are grateful for TLC giving us the opportunity to be on their network over the years and their kindness towards the Vuolo family. It’s been a remarkable journey,’ they said
Over: TLC announced that it ‘will not be producing additional seasons of Counting On’ and said it’s ‘important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately’
She recalled one paparazzo trying to take pictures of her family while they were out in public. When he was asked to stop, he replied: ‘You put your kids on TV, come on, it’s my right!’
‘In that moment I was thinking, ‘Wow,”‘ she said. ‘It just feels so strange.’
The day before the podcast episode was released, Jinger and Jeremy spoke out about the cancellation of Counting On in the wake of Josh’s child pornography arrest.
Josh, 33, forced the family into an unfavorable spotlight on April 29 when he was arrested for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material on his computer.
Though he has not appeared on the family’s TLC’s show since it was rebranded in 2015 — following his previous sexual abuse scandal — critics called for the network to pull Counting On from the air and stop contributing to patriarch Jim Bob’s bank account.
This week, TLC announced that they were, in fact, canceling the show, a decision that Jinger and Jeremy said they ‘wholeheartedly agree’ with.
The decision to end the show is a long time coming for vocal critics who have even launched petitions on the matter.
It has previously been asserted — by Jill Duggar’s husband Derick Dillard — that only Jim Bob got paid for 19 Kids and Counting and its sequel, Counting On. Since Josh’s arrest, critics have pointed out Jim Bob is likely paying for Josh’s defense with TLC’s paychecks — which thousands of people said should come to an end.
Mugshot: Josh, 33, forced the family into an unfavorable spotlight on April 29 when he was arrested for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material on his computer
The children: Out on bail, he is allowed to see his six children with pregnant wife Anna under supervision
And on Tuesday, the network told Us Weekly that it will no longer produce the show.
‘TLC will not be producing additional seasons of Counting On,’ they said. ‘TLC feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.’
Jinger and Jeremy responded to the news with a joint statement on Instagram, making them the first people who appear on the show to comment on its cancellation.
‘We are grateful for TLC giving us the opportunity to be on their network over the years and their kindness towards the Vuolo family. It’s been a remarkable journey that has opened doors to traveling and experiencing the world in a way that we wouldn’t have imagined possible,’ they wrote.
‘We wholeheartedly agree with TLC’s decision not to renew “Counting On” and are excited for the next chapter in our lives. We’d like to thank our fans, friends and the amazing film crew who have shown us love and support.
‘We look forward to continuing our creative journey in Los Angeles and seeing what the future holds.’
Neither TLC nor the Vuolos have indicated whether or not this is the absolute end of the Duggars on TLC.
In 2015, when InTouch unearthed old police reports documenting how Josh had sexually abused four of his younger siblings, TLC canceled 19 Kids and Counting — but replaced it months later with Counting On.
Out: Josh was released on bail while he awaits trial for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material
Taking him in: LaCount and Maria Reber agreed to take him in while he is on house arrest
Though Counting On was advertised as a new show about the married children and their growing families, it has included every member of the Duggar family except for Josh, with many scenes filmed at Jim Bob and Michelle’s house.
It’s as yet unknown whether TLC will consider a future rebranding, or even a spinoff featuring a single Duggar couple.
TLC’s cancelation news comes as Josh’s trial was pushed back five months, from July 6 to November 30.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks granted Josh’s request to delay his trial, though not quite as much as he’d hoped.
Josh’s lawyers had asked that the trial be pushed to a date ‘in or after February 2022,’ calling the case ‘complex’ with a ‘several-year federal investigation’ and saying they expect the trial to involve ‘computer forensic evidence and anticipated expert opinion testimony.’
They said they have ‘retained an independent computer forensic expert who must conduct a computer forensic examination of each of the devices at issue — a time-consuming process that requires review at a government facility for the one device the Government alleges contained child pornography.’
They said the computer forensic expert must ‘conduct a time-intensive process of reviewing the remaining devices that the Government does not allege contained child pornography,’ which they say could take several months.
Gross: Duggar is alleged to have downloaded the child sexual abuse material online back in 2019 on May 14, 15, and 16
His wife, Anna, reportedly thinks he is innocent — and blames his parents for his arrest
But prosecutors in Arkansas objected, telling the court they would agree to a ‘reasonable continuance’ of three months but said postponing the trial to next year ‘would result in unnecessary delay.’
They suggested that a three month delay would allow Josh’s lead attorney Justin Gelfand to prepare for his other criminal trials scheduled for September, October, and November, but ‘there exists no legally or factually valid reason supporting a continuance until February of 2022.’
The judge appears to have met them in the middle with a five-month delay until November 30.
Josh is facing charges stemming from a raid on his now-closed car dealership, Wholesale Motorcars, in 2019.
Investigators seized Duggar’s computer and cellphone, and an agent testified that they found 65 child sexual abuse images showing a young girl. Agents also allegedly found a two-minute video that showed a man sexually abusing two young girls, aged between five and 10 years old.
Two hundred child sexual abuse images found on the computer were located in ‘unallocated space,’ which means someone tried to delete them, the agent said.
He said that the images found on Josh’s computer were ‘in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine.’
Josh is alleged to have downloaded the child sexual abuse material online back in 2019 on May 14, 15, and 16.
But Josh was released on bail to the home of LaCount and Maria Reber, where he has an ankle monitor, until his trial.
He is allowed supervised visits with his six children, and his pregnant wife Anna has reportedly taken them to see him — and is convinced that he is innocent. In fact, she reportedly blames his parents for the arrest.