Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Break Silence on ‘Duggar Family Secrets’

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are speaking out about Amazon Prime Video's new docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which premiered on the streaming service Friday.

"The recent 'documentary' that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love," the former TLC personalities wrote in a blog post on the family's website. "Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format. This 'documentary' paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that's the direction of entertainment these days."

The post continued: "We have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting. We love every member of our family and will continue to do all we can to have a good relationship with each one. Through both the triumphs and the trials we have clung to our faith all the more and discovered that through the love and grace of Jesus, we find strength, comfort, and purpose."

The new docuseries not only explores the family's public scandals — including allegations that eldest son Josh Duggar, who is now serving a 12.5-year prison sentence on child pornography charges, had molested numerous girls — but also focuses on the Duggar family's connection to the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) religion and leader Bill Gothard.

Just one day before Shiny Happy People debuted on Prime, former 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On star Jill Dillard (née Duggar) announced a tell-all book Counting the Cost, which "details our painful journey as part of the reality-show-filming Duggar family." Husband Derick Dillard also announced the news on his Instagram account. 

"The challenges we have faced, including lack of respect for boundaries, greed, manipulation, and betrayal, are not that much different than what many people in our audience have faced," the caption read in part. "However, 15+ years of reality television, undergirded by secrecy and lies, is tantamount to pouring gasoline on the fire of our struggle."