Jim Bob Duggar's Late Gay Uncle 'Separated Himself' From the Family Prior to His Death: 'Nobody Kept in Touch With Him'
Jim Bob Duggar's estranged uncle, Tommy Lester, was not in contact with the Duggars prior to his passing on Sunday, June 25.
"Tommy removed himself from the family decades ago," an insider spilled to an outlet on Lester's relationships with the TLC stars. "Nobody kept in touch with him at all."
"All the family knows is that he was gay and was married," the insider added. "He separated himself from the family when the oldest Duggar children were young."
Although it is unclear whether or not Lester chose to separate himself from his family members because of his sexuality, Jim Bob and Michelle's chosen religious organization — Institute in Basic Life Principles, also known as the IBLP — does not recognize gay marriage.
Back in 2014, the conservative couple was also accused of deleting numerous images of LGBTQ+ couples from their Facebook wall after asking fans to share "happily married" snapshots with them.
As OK! previously reported, Lester was confirmed dead by Washington County Sheriff's Office earlier this week. His body was discovered in the master bathroom of the home he lived in with his husband, Lawrence Nestrud.
"First Responders moved Tommy to the living room and attempted life-saving medical treatment on Tommy. I was told they attempted life-saving medical treatment until Tommy passed away," the incident reported read, noting Nestrud informed officers Lester "had not felt well and fell down multiple times the night before."
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The report stated Nestrud confirmed Lester had not been "diagnosed with any medical condition," but that his husband's memory "was getting worse" and he had fallen down "more often" lately.
"Tommy’s body did have bruises in the early and late stages of healing, this was consistent to Lawrence’s statement about Tommy falling down," the reported concluded.
The coroner ruled the death was "not suspicious" and determined his cause of death as "cardiac arrest."
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The source spoke with The Sun about Tommy and the Duggar family's estranged relationship.