Amy Duggar Says She Was Assaulted By Family Member, Explains ‘Marriage Boot Camp’ Clip That Worried Fans

Amy Duggar has shared more details about the violent encounter that she describes in the Season 7 teaser for WE tv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars.

The footage in question previously sparked speculation that Amy was the victim of spousal abuse. In the promo for the reality show, the former 19 Kids and Counting star tells her Marriage Boot Camp costars about being grabbed by the throat and lifted high up into the air by an unnamed male aggressor. During a recent interview with People, Amy Duggar revealed that the person who attacked her was someone she cares about.

“I can’t say who it is, but I can say, on the show I did forgive them. It was a very heartfelt moment where I actually forgave that person who hurt me when I was younger,” Amy said.

The 30-year-old niece of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar revealed that the man who physically assaulted her was a family member. The only other hint Amy dropped about her attacker’s identity is that he is someone she loves who is still a part of her life.

“I love the person very much and we’re better now. But I did need to heal from that.”

Because Amy Duggar never reveals who she is talking about in the Marriage Boot Camp teaser clip, many fans initially assumed that she was describing a violent encounter with her husband, Dillon King. King said that he began receiving hate mail in response to of the out-of-context clip, and Amy’s fans flooded her social media pages with pleas for her to divorce him. Amy eventually responded to the concerned commenters by tweeting that she was not referencing Dillon in the footage that caused such a furor.

This isn’t the first time Amy Duggar has had to deny that she was attacked by someone close to her. After Josh Duggar confessed to sexually molesting four of his younger sisters and another girl, there was some speculation that his fifth victim was possibly Amy. However, as People reports, Amy assured her fans that she was not molested by her cousin. In fact, she didn’t find out about Josh’s dark secret until the rest of the world did in the summer of 2015.

“I didn’t know about it,” Amy said. “It took me by surprise.”

As RadarOnline reports, Josh Duggar’s sexual molestation scandal wasn’t the only “shocking secret” that Amy Duggar’s family was hiding. According to court documents, Amy’s mother, Deanna Duggar, filed a restraining order against Amy’s father, Terry Jordan, in 1992. Deanna, who is Jim Bob Duggar’s sister, accused Terry of threatening to kill her and Amy.

“He said he was going to kick my a** if I didn’t allow him to see [redacted],” Deanna wrote.

Three days later, Deanna Duggar requested that the restraining order be removed.

Amy Duggar was born out of wedlock, and Deanna and Terry didn’t get married until 2006. However, the union didn’t last. Amy told Entertainment Tonight that her parents divorced late last year, and her father informed her about the split via text message on Christmas Day.

“They have had an on/off relationship for a long time. It’s sad they can’t be a team,” Amy said.

Amy Duggar is hoping that she and Dillon King will make a better team, and it’s possible that starring on Marriage Boot Camp helped improve their relationship. The couple has only been married for a little over a year, and Amy and Dillon have confessed that they weren’t experiencing any serious marital issues when they decided to sign on for the show. According to the couple, they just needed to learn how to communicate better.

“For us, it was nothing more than we need to learn to communicate,” Amy revealed. “Dillon has a tone that drives me up the wall sometimes and when we bicker, we have to learn how to talk to each other.”

Fans can watch Amy Duggar and Dillon King work on their communication skills when Season 7 of Marriage Boot Camp premieres Friday, January 6 at 9 p.m. ET on WE tv.

[Featured Image by Dillon & Amy King/Facebook]