Duggar rebel cousin Amy reveals she ‘regrets’ appearing on 19 Kids And Counting after Josh’s arrest for child porn
DUGGAR family rebel Amy King has revealed she was “completely blindsided” by the skeletons in troubled cousin Josh’s closet - and probably would never have joined 19 Kids and Counting if she’d known about his past.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun after oldest Duggar son Josh was hit with last week, Amy said she has been left “heartbroken” by the latest scandal to hit her estranged ultraconservative family.
And the 34-year-old revealed that she and husband Dillon King, also 34, are even weighing up plans to expand their young family and its own growing business empire after they move to a new home.
Bubbly Amy spoke candidly on her regrets about having featured on 19 Kids and Counting from her 3130 Clothing boutique in Springdale, North West Arkansas.
Television channel TLC cancelled the show in 2015 after it emerged that Josh had sexually abused four of his sisters and a family friend while he was a teen.
Now Josh, 33, stands accused of receiving and possessing child pornography depicting sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, Amy said: “I wish I had known some more information before getting on the show.
“I was blindsided about Josh’s past, completely blindsided. I wish I had known that backstory beforehand, that way I probably would never have been on the show.
“But it is what it is. I had a great time with the kids, I love my cousins.
“At the same time, I love changing it up a little bit and being a business owner, having my own family and not being in that spotlight.
“It’s really refreshing. I don’t consider myself famous at all, I work with boxes all day long and change diapers.
“It’s just a different time in our lives but I love it and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Amy’s boutique – which is currently expanding to include men’s clothing – sits just one store down from husband Dillon’s fine dining restaurant Wellington’s.
Dillon has plans to keep growing his business and aims to have as many as five different locations after Wellington’s survived after opening just five weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic swept the US.
The young couple also count on support from Amy’s mom Deanna Duggar – Duggar patriarch Jim Bob’s older sister – who is living with them following a painful divorce from Amy’s dad Terry Jordan and helping to look after their 18-month-old son Daxton.
Earlier this year, fans speculated that Amy and Dillon’s marriage might be in trouble after she posted a cryptic remark on social media.
She wrote on Instagram in March: “Y’all owning a business in general is hard work and throw in a pandemic it’s so stressful.
“Which makes life hard, marriage hard, parenting hard. I’m tired, stressed and to be honest some days just feel like I’m drowning.”
Asked about online rumors that she had secretly split from her husband, Amy said: “Dillon and I are as happy as can be.
“We have our 18-month-old boy Dax and we have kind of been talking about maybe giving him a baby brother or sister and figuring out our next steps in life.
“We are about to sell our house, so we’re looking into either buying one and fixing it up or building one.
“We’ve been looking at land and we like the modern industrial kind of style.
“Obviously we would have to rent a house for a little bit while we build but we’re looking at several options.We’re looking at several towns in the area but probably not Tontitown (where the Duggar clan live).
“My husband is an architect and wants to build a bachelor style home but with babies and a wife. My husband is a good man, he is faithful to a tee so I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.
“If I had to deal with any kind of nonsense he would find his clothes and ID in the ocean.
“I’m that woman, I’m kind of crazy and he knows that and respects that. I’ve been in relationships in the past where I’ve been cheated on and it just breaks you, it breaks who you are. To have a guy that doesn’t even think about anything like that and just really loves his family is a blessing.
“It’s hard finding a good person in this world, it really is. My life now is about good, honest, genuine people and that’s just the life I live.”
Pressed on whether the couple will be expanding their family any time soon, Amy said: “I love the idea of adoption and giving a child the opportunity to be in a safe environment but we haven’t discussed it yet.
“I love being a boy mom but I could probably go with a little girl, a little Amy would be fun. Daxton is only 18 months and he is the most precious thing ever so we’re just kind of focusing on him at the moment.”
Dillon chimed in to add: “I’m very comfortable with one kid kind of family size.
“I don’t think she (Amy) has made up her mind yet. For me it’s two max, if we have two I’m getting snipped. Two and we’re done.”
Although Amy has previously admitted that she is not on speaking terms with some members of her family, she still has a very close relationship with fellow Duggar rebel Jill Duggar Dillard.
Speaking about how close the pair are, Amy said: “I love Jill, she is lovely and wonderful. We are very close.
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“Jill and I just click, we get along and have always had inside jokes. I wouldn’t say that we are the rebels of the family, we just like to have fun. There are differences of opinion on some things and Jill and I definitely share opinions.
“We’re not rebels, we’re just normal, wonderful people if you ask me.”