Fans Were Curious, So Jessa Duggar Set The Record Straight On Whether She And Sister Jinger Still Get Along

BEN SEEWALD, JESSA SEEWALD, JINGER DUGGAR, JOY DUGGAR, JANA DUGGAR; (REAR) JOHN DAVID DUGGAR, JOSIAH DUGGAR, JOSEPH DUGGAR in interview.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The last few months have been filled with interviews from Jinger Duggar Vuolo and her sister Jill Duggar Dillard speaking openly about issues with their growing up experience. While a lot of this has had to do with the IBLP and their parents, it hasn’t stopped the fans from wondering whether or not Jinger has issues with the rest of the Duggar family. Now, however, her sister Jessa has spoken on the matter.

In a series of candid Q&A answers On Instagram about her post reality TV life, Jessa Duggar Seewald talked about loving having babies at home, potty training her five children and more. When a fan asked her on Instagram whether she and Jinger were “still super close” or “have drifted apart” Jessa spoke warmly about her older sister. She wrote:

We’re still super close! We don’t get to see each other in person as often as we’d like, but when we get together it’s just like old times!

Jessa still lives in Arkansas while Jinger lives in Southern California, so even if she hadn’t written a tell-all book about her experience as a part of her famous family in the past year, it would be harder for the two sisters to connect as often. 

Still, Jessa Seewald also used a photo of the infamous reunion the ladies in the family had earlier this summer as the backdrop to her Q&A post. You may remember the one, as it was a momentous occasion: Michelle Duggar was seen out in pants!

Jessa had originally been the daughter who shared the photo when the ladies all reunited back in April of this year. At the time, Jinger’s book Becoming Free Indeed had already been published, and Jinger had gotten candid about her brother Josh and more family-related subjects, prompting rumors there might be trouble among varying family members. Jinger Duggar had also moved far away from home and even started wearing shorts against Duggar rules, which seemed to stoke the fires further.

But her sister’s comments echo what she said back in February. When asked a similar question, Jinger told E!:

We always had such a tight bond between the sisters and so, I keep in contact with all of them often because it's so easy to just be able to FaceTime even though I'm so far away from them. We still have close relationships.

Rumors of tension only grew after the IBLP docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets released. Then, Jill wrote her own book Counting the Cost and called out some behaviors from her dad and family patriarch Jim Bob Duggar, who allegedly didn’t pay her a regular salary for 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On. There may be some tensions among certain family members, but from what Jessa is saying, she and Jinger, at least, are still pretty cool. (Though to note Jill was not mentioned in this thread.) 

While Jessa mostly kept her responses to her pregnancies, her relationship with Ben Seewald and her kids, there was one other TLC-adjacent question she answered. When a fan asked her if she followed the rules of the IBLP she had a pretty blunt response:

Jessa Duggar Seewald answering fan questions.

(Image credit: Jessa Seewald)

Jill is still currently doing press for her own book, but I’d also be interested to hear what she has to say about her famous siblings, as well. Stay tuned. 

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.