‘Counting On’ was cancelled by TLC earlier this week and one of its stars, Jinger Duggar-Vuolo was the first of the Duggar children to back TLC, saying it was the right decision. Now the 27 year old mom of two is opening up on the Dinner Party with Jeremy Fall podcast about the darker side of growing up in the spotlight.
Jinger was only 10 years old when TLC introduced the world to the Duggars who had, at that time “17 kids and counting”. Now Jinger has 18 siblings and two TLC shows under her belt.
‘Counting On’: Jinger Duggar Reflects on the Dark Side of Growing Up Famous
On the podcast, Jinger, who has bucked tradition and (get ready to clutch your pearls) wears pants instead of skirts, talked about the pressures of being on television but also the strange things that have happened because of the family’s fame.
“Guys would write from prison for my sisters!” she revealed, saying there were constant love letters arriving for the oldest Duggar girls, many with proposals from inmates. “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,” she exclaimed.
Probably not the sanctioned courtship family patriarch, Jim Bob had in mind.
“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,” Jinger added.
Actually, that’s even grosser, Jinger.
Jinger also spoke about the “fanboys” that would suddenly turn up at their church or even home, hoping to date a Duggar and get their 5 minutes of fame
“They thought, ‘Oh, if I come to your church, that’s my in,'” she said.
Married now for four years to ex soccer player and current church pastor, Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger no longer has to worry about ‘fanboys’, but there is the paparazzi and internet trolls to worry about.
“A lot of people do look into fame, and they think it’s all beautiful, it’s all wonderful, and yes, as I’m saying, there are tons of perks, but then, you also have to wrestle through a lot,” she explained, recalling how a member of the paparazzi was trying to take photos of her two daughters, 3 year old felicity and 7 month old Evangeline Jo.
“[He] said, ‘You put your kids on TV, come on, it’s my right!’ In that moment I was thinking, ‘Wow!’ It just feels so strange.”
Unsurprisingly, Jinger turns to her faith in times of struggle, especially when tabloid headlines and online troll opinions of her family become particularly difficult for her to handle.
“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.” She also admits to being a little resentful that she is such a public figure, noting she had no say in the matter when her parents allowed cameras in to film their decidedly different lifestyle.
“I’ve told Jer a couple times, ‘I just don’t want to be in the public eye!’ 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 2! Don’t say anything about her, she can’t even defend herself,'” Jinger continues.
“There are days where I just wish [I] could say, ‘Oh, no one knows who I am, ever again,'” she says. “But that’s never gonna be true for me because people already know who I am. People can always look me up.”
For any other soap opera and entertainment news, please visit again Daily Soap Dish. Don’t forget to visit TVRocker for all of the latest exciting news on all of your favorite daytime television soaps.
