NEWSJoseph Duggar's Wife Kendra Warns Him Getting Their Kids Back 'Comes First' as Disgraced Star's Prison Fate Looms Amid Child Molestation Scandal
Joseph Duggar plead not guilty to child molestation charges.
April 2 2026, Published 11:15 a.m. ET
Kendra Duggar's "first priority" is getting her and husband Joseph Duggar's kids back in her custody after their arrests.
As OK! reported, shortly after Joseph was arrested on child molestation charges over an incident that involved a 9-year-old girl, the mom-of-four was arrested for child endangerment. Joseph was hit with those charges as well, resulting in their kids being removed from their home.
Kendra and Joseph Duggar's Kids Were Taken From Them
Kendra Duggar told husband Joseph that getting their kids back is her 'first priority.'
In leaked phone calls from when Joseph was in jail, Kendra, 27, confirmed to her spouse that their four children were no longer in her custody, sharing of the tots, "From what I hear they are doing good."
Kendra admitted she was struggling, expressing, "It's just like, when you then take my babies from me... they were who I was just going to pour my life into."
'We'll See Where the Rest of It Leads Us'
In the phone call, the mom-of-four didn't seem concerned about her husband's scandal.
"I'm fighting for the kids and they're my number one priority right now," she added, to which Joseph, 31, said he's "100 percent behind" her.
Kendra confessed she was more focused on the well-being of their little ones than what happens to her husband in his case.
"I just want you to know, through all of this, whatever happens, that's who's coming first," she warned. "Then we'll just see where the rest of it leads us and try to put the pieces together."
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Why Was Kendra Duggar Arrested?
Kendra Duggar was arrested on child endangerment charges.
As OK! reported, Kendra was arrested and released on March 20.
"After his [Joseph's] charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there," an insider told Us Weekly of what happened. "Apparently, they had two rooms where the lock of the doorknob was on the outside instead of inside. They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids."
Joseph Duggar was accused of molesting a girl in 2020 when she was 9 years old.
Meanwhile, Joseph was arrested on March 18 over an incident that occurred in 2020.
A girl, who's now 14, informed authorities that while on vacation in Panama City Beach, Fla., Joseph asked her to sit on his lap several times.
Things escalated after the trip, and on one occasion, she revealed that after she sat on his lap, the former 19 Kids and Counting star "covered the parties with a blanket. Once the parties were covered, the defendant would pull the victim’s dress up and touch the victim’s thighs."
The minor claimed "[Joseph's] hand grazed [her] v-----" and that his hand was "outside of her underwear." She recalled feeling "uncomfortable" and "confused."
Joseph eventually "apologized" for his actions and stopped doing it.
The dad-of-four was released on a $600K bail and plead not guilty. He was banned from having unsupervised contact with minors, including his own kids.
