We’re less than a week away from the release of Jinger Duggar’s memoir.
And insiders say it’s a tense time for the members of the author’s famous family.
Jinger’s parents are reportedly on the verge of disowning her (again), while her brothers and sisters are said to be split on the subject of her scandalous tell-all.
Presumably, some of Jinger’s siblings are in favor of the book, while some see it as a betrayal.
And then there’s Jessa Duggar who’s apparently caught in the middle, divided by her pride for her sister, and her feeling that she’s been dragged into the middle of a messy conflict.
In interviews and leaked excerpts, Jinger has indicated that Jessa’s husband, Ben Seewald, served as a spiritual mentor during one of the darkest times in her life.
In the book, she recalls attending Seewald’s church and deciding on the spot to abandon her parents’ faith in favor of her brother-in-laws’ more compassionate and inclusive brand of Christianity.
Now, fans are speculating that by sharing that story, Jinger may have unintentionally outed her sister as a convert.
“I’m starting to genuinely wonder if there is a possibility that after Jinger started coming out with her story, Jessa is having a similar crisis of faith, and that’s why we’ve barely heard from her,” one person wrote on Reddit, according to UK tabloid The Sun.
“It also could explain why she hasn’t come out and supported Jinger with her book yet.
“Maybe she feels confused by what Jinger is doing, but a part of it also feels like the right thing to do,” this person continued.
“We already know that Ben was the BIL who encouraged Jinger to look past the IBLP before her new headship, so that kind of idea could already be existing in Jessa’s head. What do you guys think?”
“I’m definitely thinking she’s having some type of life crisis right now. But I’m more thinking some type of marriage/family crisis,” another person wrote.
“I don’t believe Ben and her are happy together, they seem more like friends/roommates that have kids together than an actual romantic couple,” this person continued.
This person went on to theorize that Jessa’s recent silence may have more to do with her marriage than with her sister’s recent controversies:
“I think it’s also possible that motherhood wasn’t what she expected and that she might feel like she has lost her identity and spark,” they wrote.
“If you look back at old videos of her when she was just married or when Spurgeon was young she seems so much happier than now.”
“I think she has feelings she’s just repressed them so deeply,”another person claimed.
“This is very common in conservative/strict families, emotions are not to be expressed and the only acceptable emotion in many homes is anger, at least by the parents, children aren’t allowed that one either,” they continued.
Others speculated that Jinger and Jessa might have encountered similar conflicts, but that they went about handling them quite differently.
“Jinger’s feeling manifested in anxiety, Jessa’s manifested in control,” one redditor suggested.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a falling out (of sorts) right now,” another added.
“Not like a ‘will never talk to them again’, but more of a, ‘I will only speak to them out of obligation.’”
Obviously, we don’t know for sure what’s going on with Jessa.
But we may soon find out — Jinger’s book comes out on Tuesday, which might make it difficult for Jessa to maintain her silence.
