NEWS'It Was A Challenge: 'Counting On' Alum Jinger Duggar Reveals She Didn't Know What Reality Television Was When Show Started
A whole new world! Jinger Vuolo (neé Duggar) opened up about the challenges that came with living out her childhood on reality television after growing up in a strictly conservative home.
The Counting On alum admitted that when the first series started, many of the Duggar kids weren't even aware of what a reality show was because they didn't own a television.
"You’re 10 years old and we had camera crews enter. [At] first, it was just a documentary and we had a couple of people, who would come a couple of months in a row, they would come and film our family," she shared in a recent podcast interview. "And so, it was very odd when that started. It was a challenge that I would realize the older I got."
The Duggar family have been a reality TV staple since their 2004 documentary special 14 Children and Pregnant Again!. Four years later, in 2008, TLC aired the first season of 17 Kids and Counting, with the title changing every time a new child was born.
"I mean my parents told us it was a TV show and we were like, ‘What’s that?’" the 28-year-old explained. "So it didn’t really make sense, or click or register until we got older."
MORE DELAYS! JOSH DUGGAR ASKS JUDGE TO POSTPONE SENTENCING APPEAL OPENING BRIEF FOR THE THIRD TIME
The hit TLC show ran for 10 seasons before it was swiftly canceled in 2015 after a series of scandals surrounding the oldest Duggar child hit headlines. Reports surfaced in May of that year that Josh Duggar allegedly molested five underage girls, four of whom were said to be his sisters. Later that year, it was revealed he had cheated on his wife, Anna, through famed adultery dating site Ashley Madison.
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The series was later rebranded as Counting On and ran from 2015 through 2021. However, the follow-up show was cancelled as well after Josh was arrested in April 2021. Later that year, he was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography. He is currently serving out a 12 and a half year sentence at FCI Seagoville in Texas.
Following the show's cancellation, Jinger and her husband, Jeremy, addressed the situation in a joint statement.
"We are grateful for TLC for giving us the opportunity to be on their network over the years and their kindness to the Vuolo family," they wrote at the time. "We wholeheartedly agree with TLC’s decision not to renew Counting On and are excited for the next chapter of our lives."
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Jinger revealed what it was like to grow up on reality television during an appearance on the “Candid: Conversations With Jonathan Youssef” podcast.
