Joseph Duggar’s aunt Deanna Duggar is opening up about her hopes for his family after his arrest on child molestation charges.
“The way I feel about it is, I think Kendra should divorce him,” Deanna, 63, told Page Six in an interview published on Monday, March 30. “She needs a new life. The best thing to do would be to divorce him and go on with her life.”
Joseph, 31, was arrested earlier this month and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older. He was accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2020 while vacationing in Florida.
Days later, Joseph’s wife, Kendra, 27, was arrested and charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, second-degree, and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment. (Joseph was charged with those offenses as well.)
“I don’t know what the charges are going to be for Kendra,” Deanna told the outlet of Kendra’s arrest. “I don’t know, we’re all waiting to see. While my heart goes out to her, I know there [have] been some wrong decisions. My prayers are for the victims. For Kendra, for Joseph, for the whole family, wake up and repent of their pride, their feeling of the world is against them, get things right in their family.”
Deanna is the sister of Joseph’s father, Jim Bob Duggar. Jim Bob, 60, and his wife, Michelle Duggar, share 19 children. Their lives were documented on the TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting and spinoff Counting On.
Deanna and her daughter, Amy Duggar King, both appeared on the shows as well. Amy, 39, has become an outspoken critic of her uncle and his family in the years since TLC ended its association with the Duggars.
After Kendra’s arrest, a Duggar spokesperson told Us Weekly that her legal trouble “is a misdemeanor charge totally unrelated to the Florida case.”
An insider, meanwhile, told Us that Kendra’s arrest happened after authorities came to their home to investigate the original charges against Joseph.
“Kendra’s arrest has nothing to do with Joseph’s — although one precipitated another,” a source told Us on March 21. “After his charge, they automatically do a home study if minors live there. They came to her house.”
Per the insider, the couple’s child endangerment charges were based on the findings of that police investigation.
“Apparently, they had two rooms where the lock of the doorknob was on the outside instead of inside,” the source explained. “They arrested her and took her kids for that, saying it’s evidence that she wrongly detains her kids.”
Joseph and Kendra tied the knot in 2017. They share four children: Garrett, 7, Addison, 6, Brooklyn, 5, and Justus, 3.
Deanna noted on Monday that she hasn’t seen Joseph in “a few years” but said she “went into shock” after hearing about his arrest.
“I couldn’t believe it was Joseph. This is so horrible to hear this again in the family,” she said, adding that she hopes her nephew gets help through “rehabilitation.”
Joseph’s older brother Josh Duggar admitted in 2015 that he molested multiple underage girls, including some of his own sisters, when he was a teenager. In 2021, he was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography. He is currently serving a 12-year federal prison sentence.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
