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Amy Duggar King is pulling back the curtain on what it was really like growing up Duggar \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t all sweet tea and sibling sing-alongs.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old niece of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar<\/a> is opening up about her time around the 19 Kids and Counting<\/em> family, revealing how her different lifestyle made her the black sheep \u2014 or in her own words, the \u201ccrazy cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n Although she wasn\u2019t part of the main Duggar household, Amy appeared often on the family\u2019s hit TLC show.<\/p>\n But behind the scenes, the emotional toll of being judged by her extended family was something she quietly carried.<\/p>\n \u201cI would leave crying after filming and feeling so bogged down,\u201d she told E! News<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI just felt so misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n Amy\u2019s choices \u2014 wearing jeans, cutting her hair, dating \u2014 made her stand out in a family known for strict religious rules and modesty standards.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I was kind of taken aback,\u201d she admitted, reacting to how many of her cousins now embrace the very things she was once criticized for.<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong><\/em> Luxurious $1.5 Million \u2018McBee Dynasty\u2019 Home in Nashville for Sale \u2014 See Inside! [Pictures]<\/a><\/p>\n Amy added, \u201cSo now you’re wearing jeans. Now you’re cutting your hair. The things that were very evil and rebellious \u2014 the things I was judged for \u2014 are now completely normal.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the pain, Amy hasn\u2019t stayed silent. Over the years, she\u2019s continued to speak out against what she calls hypocrisy within the Duggar clan.<\/p>\n Amy first appeared on 19 Kids and Counting<\/em>, TLC\u2019s reality series that followed Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 19 children.<\/p>\n The show premiered in 2008 and quickly became one of TLC\u2019s most watched and talked-about series, spotlighting the family\u2019s ultra-conservative, faith-based lifestyle in Arkansas.<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong><\/em> Dog the Bounty Hunter\u2019s Family: 13 Kids, 6 Relationships + Heartbreaking New Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n While Amy wasn\u2019t featured in every episode, her occasional appearances made her the \u201crelatable one\u201d \u2014 someone many viewers could identify with, especially compared to her more tightly controlled cousins.<\/p>\n The show ran for 10 seasons and 18 TV specials before ending abruptly<\/a> in 2015, following Josh Duggar\u2019s molestation scandal.<\/p>\n After 19 Kids and Counting<\/em> was canceled, the family returned to TLC with Counting On<\/em>, a spinoff focused on the older Duggar daughters \u2014 including Jessa, Jinger, Jill and Joy-Anna \u2014 as they started families of their own<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amy didn\u2019t appear regularly on Counting On<\/em>, but the show carried forward many of the same rules and expectations that had once left her on the outside.<\/p>\n Even as her cousins slowly began embracing lifestyle changes, like jeans and haircuts, Amy remained a symbol of what had once been considered \u201crebellious.\u201d<\/p>\n Counting On<\/em> aired for 11 seasons before being canceled<\/a> in 2021, quietly closing the chapter on the Duggar family’s television legacy \u2014 and perhaps finally validating Amy\u2019s experience along the way.<\/p>\n Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDuggar TV Dynasty<\/h3>\n
‘Counting On’ \u2014 A New Era, Same Old Pressure<\/h3>\n
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