Amy and Jill's Text Thread: Finding Strength Through Family Scandal

When family crisis hits, it’s often the relationships you didn’t see coming that hold you up. For Amy Duggar King and her cousin Jill Duggar, the fallout from Joseph Duggar’s arrest in March has become the unlikely catalyst for a deeper, more authentic bond than they’d ever shared before.

In a Wednesday, May 13 YouTube interview with reporter Dory Jackson, 39-year-old Amy opened up about the text conversations she and Jill, 34, have exchanged as Joseph’s legal troubles unfolded. What emerges from her account isn’t scandal chasing—it’s the quieter, more profound story of two women who grew up in the same extended family but had to weather a major crisis to truly know each other.

Amy’s mom, Deanna Duggar, is the older sister of Jim Bob Duggar, who shares Jill, Joseph, and 17 other children with his wife, Michelle Duggar. That family tree puts Amy and Jill within the orbit of one of reality TV’s most scrutinized clans, yet until recently, their connection existed at the surface level of holiday gatherings and obligatory pleasantries.

The arrest came in March after allegations that Joseph had unlawful sexual activity with a minor. The 31-year-old Counting On alum was subsequently extradited to Florida, where he pleaded not guilty and was released on $600,000 bail. He and his wife, Kendra Duggar, 27, also face four counts of child endangerment. The case has laid bare uncomfortable truths within the family itself—and it’s also exposed something more constructive: the ability of two cousins to show up for each other without reservation.

According to Amy, her texts with Jill went far beyond surface-level check-ins. We have definitely sent messages back and forth, all week long, you know, for weeks now of just like,‘Are you doing OK? I love you,’[and]‘We’re here together. We’re gonna get through this,’Amy recalled. What’s striking is how she frames the evolution: at first, they were just cousins who knew each other. Now, they’re people who’ve proven they can trust each other with real, vulnerable stuff.

That trust became tangible in concrete ways. You know, we’re not going to blab what we’re told and what we talk about, Amy said, emphasizing the discretion that real family closeness requires. She pointed to the fact that she trusts Jill with her 6-year-old son, Daxton, while Jill (who shares three sons with husband Derick Dillard) returns that trust. It’s not pick and choose. You don’t cherrypick what you believe or what you want to say to someone. You’re going to trust them with everything.

Meanwhile, Amy remains estranged from her uncle Jim Bob, 60, and most of his kids. She revealed in March that she last spoke with Joseph and Kendra five years ago—well before the allegations surfaced. In that context, her closeness with Jill stands out as a deliberate choice to invest in a relationship that matters, even when the family dynamics make things complicated. It’s a reminder that sometimes what bonds us most isn’t shared history—it’s shared humanity in the face of hard times.