Two years ago, the public became aware that reality TV personality Josh Duggar has a history of child molestation; when the news first broke, many wondered if it would spell a divorce from his wife, Anna. However, despite learning that Josh had molested his own sisters and a neighbor as a teenager, and despite Josh Duggar later being caught up in the Ashley Madison scandal , his long-suffering wife Anna stood by her man.
Josh and Anna Duggar refuse Divorce Rumors https://t.co/Iuc7NHTbem #JoshAndAnnaDuggar pic.twitter.com/RAotzEkKZ0
— ABDnews (@ABDnews2015) February 4, 2017
Eventually, Josh Duggar ended up in sex rehab (but never fully out of the public’s critical eye). Amid the scrutiny, the 19 Kids and Counting star’s wife endured remaining in the spotlight, constantly defending her decision to stick with her admitted child molester husband, and generally being both pitied and reviled for her choices.
This week, OK Magazine reported that Anna Duggar was seeking a divorce from Josh. The publication cited an article from InTouch, an article that claimed that a “family insider” had spilled the beans on Anna’s plans, plans that the mom-of-four reportedly hadn’t divulged to soon-to-be ex-husband Josh Duggar. Reportedly, Anna had already contacted a lawyer, having finally gotten fed up with Josh and his scandalous behavior.
“Anna hasn’t told Josh she wants a divorce, but a friend of hers put her in touch with a lawyer.”
The reason for Anna allegedly being in the midst of pulling the plug on her marriage with Josh Duggar was reportedly multi-faceted. Josh’s child molestation past, which happened long before he met wife Anna and which involved four of his minor sisters and a young family friend, was cited, as was the Josh Duggar Ashley Madison account.
However, what was reported as being the final nail in the divorce coffin was a lawsuit filed against Josh in Los Angeles. The lawsuit was brought against Duggar by DJ Matthew McCarthy, reports People. The reason? Josh Duggar used the DJ’s photos, passing them off as photos of himself, in creating his Ashley Madison profile. Allegedly, the photos were also used on Duggar’s OkCupid and Twitter accounts. According to McCarthy, the actions of Josh Duggar have caused him “loss of work as well as harassment.”
McCarthy is suing Josh Duggar for undisclosed damages. According to the Josh and Anna Duggar divorce rumors, the lawsuit could force her and the rest of his family to be deposed and rehash painful and embarrassing questions about the sex addiction scandal that rocked the supposedly conservative Christian Duggar clan to its core and resulted in Josh making a public apology and heading off to rehab.
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”
#Breaking_News Josh and Anna Duggar Divorce: Triggered By Fears of “Filthiest Secrets” Being Revealed… https://t.co/dL6k22KNAQ via #Indilens
— Asraful Islam (@asrafulbprd1) February 3, 2017
However, despite the detailed Josh and Anna Duggar divorce rumors reported earlier in the week, the pair say that there is no truth to the story. As Fox News reports, the couple issued a statement through a spokesperson. According to their representative, Anna isn’t fed up to the point of ending their marriage. In fact, according to their rep, nothing about the current round of Duggar divorce rumors is based in reality.
“The report is absolutely not true.”
Duggar Divorce Bombshell! Anna Ready 2 Call Quits: Sparked By Fears Of Josh’s ‘Filthiest Secr… https://t.co/sDXHJ383VQ via @YahooCelebrity
— kim ellis (@kimellis9) February 4, 2017
Rumors of an impending Josh and Anna Duggar divorce have been circulating in one form or another virtually from the time the news of Josh’s child molester past broke. That news was followed quickly by the revelation that he had been a paid user of cheating website Ashley Madison and had been paying women for sex while married to Anna. In fact, Josh reportedly had paid extra for an “Affair Guarantee” on his Ashley Madison account.
The news that Josh was utilizing the website for married cheaters was brought to light when Ashley Madison became the target of hackers and the personal information of thousands of its users was leaked online.
Josh and Anna Duggar have been married since 2008 and have four young children who have also been mentioned in relentless divorce rumors that have dogged the couple.
[Featured Image by Danny Johnston/AP Images]