Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[louannems]

18 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

That's a different flowered dress. The other one had striped short sleeves.

Yes, pale grey and white striped short sleeves on a flowered dress.  Lovely, not.

[Sew Sumi]

Quite hideous, in fact. Joy also has one, but at least she has only been seen in it just once.

[Lunera]

8 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Lol. I had some time on my hands.

[xwordfanatik]

True.  Joshley couldn't pretend to be "fetch" on his best day.

[ginger90]

[Scarlett45]

37 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Barf. 

[JoanArc]

10 years of  Marriage, 2 years of sexual fidelity. Yaaaaaayyyyy!

[floridamom]

I'm of the opinion that the Duggar parents should not publicly comment on Josh and Anna's wedding anniversary. Considering Joshley's marital behavior, it would be in better taste if they kept quiet about it. Obviously, Josh was NOT HAPPY in his marriage nor is this the lifestyle he really deep down wants to live. He's being forced to continue in a set of beliefs that are too rigid for him.

Anna is still an idiot.

[Marigold]

Anna looks positively worn out. 

Wonder if Jim Bob came along on their trip to help Anna manage Josh? 

[kokapetl]

Who in their right mind takes a baby to the speedway?

[bigskygirl]

1 hour ago, kokapetl said:

Who in their right mind takes a baby to the speedway?

I seriously doubt JB, Smugs or Anna are in their right mind, so you may have already answer your question.

[mythoughtis]

1 hour ago, kokapetl said:

Who in their right mind takes a baby to the speedway?

The same family that takes a baby from Arkansas to Colorado to sit outside at a ski lodge.  So, not in their right mind. 

[Temperance]

On 9/26/2018 at 1:03 PM, Barb23 said:

Looks like Anna is wearing the flowered dress again some have noticed she wore when she was pregnant.  Seems like she's been wearing it a lot lately. Our speculations may be right.

That is a different flowered dress. However, I notice that in these pictures, she's careful to block her stomach. Some fundie women like to block their stomach to avoid speculation.  Anna, however, a month ago was standing by herself. I too think she's probably pregnant. I'm thinking March 2019.  

Edited September 27, 2018 by Temperance

[GeeGolly]

9 hours ago, kokapetl said:

Who in their right mind takes a baby to the speedway?

Surprisingly, the Duggars are not the only ones.

[Natalie68]

On 9/20/2018 at 12:55 AM, SabineElisabeth said:

 

I spent a few hours at the Bates' once when the Duggars were visiting, including Anna - and I did not get the impression at all that she is snobby or standoffish.  To me, she seemed a little shy, but otherwise, pretty bland and nice enough.  Of course, I'd never say that spending an afternoon with them in any way qualifies me to have a truly informed opinion on what they are really like, and certainly doesn't qualify me to say that I'm now able to "out" anyone as being one way or another.  YMMV, however.  ;-)

Since you have been up close and personal, is their hygiene as bad as it looks?  

[SabineElisabeth]

On 9/20/2018 at 2:55 AM, SabineElisabeth said:

 

I spent a few hours at the Bates' once when the Duggars were visiting, including Anna - and I did not get the impression at all that she is snobby or standoffish.  To me, she seemed a little shy, but otherwise, pretty bland and nice enough.  Of course, I'd never say that spending an afternoon with them in any way qualifies me to have a truly informed opinion on what they are really like, and certainly doesn't qualify me to say that I'm now able to "out" anyone as being one way or another.  YMMV, however.  ;-)

 

14 hours ago, Natalie68 said:

Since you have been up close and personal, is their hygiene as bad as it looks?  

Meeting them pre-dated my (amazing) discovery of PTV, so I hadn't heard anyone snark on their hygiene at that point.....meaning it wasn't on my radar as something to pay particular attention to.  So, with that caveat, I can say their hygiene/cleanliness isn't something that registered in my mind at all, one way or the other, so it must not have struck me as being outside the realm of normal.  I apologize for not being able to provide a more detailed answer, but hopefully that's at least somewhat informative as far as your question goes!

Really, other than the fact there are A LOT of them, on the surface, they seemed pretty much like all the other people I grew up around in the South.  And given that outside of watching them on tv, my entire personal experience with them consists of 3 hours, give or take, I can only speak on a surface level with any degree of certainty.  Any other opinions I offer about them here are just that - opinions.  ;-)

[Natalie68]

On 9/28/2018 at 6:37 AM, SabineElisabeth said:

 

Meeting them pre-dated my (amazing) discovery of PTV, so I hadn't heard anyone snark on their hygiene at that point.....meaning it wasn't on my radar as something to pay particular attention to.  So, with that caveat, I can say their hygiene/cleanliness isn't something that registered in my mind at all, one way or the other, so it must not have struck me as being outside the realm of normal.  I apologize for not being able to provide a more detailed answer, but hopefully that's at least somewhat informative as far as your question goes!

Really, other than the fact there are A LOT of them, on the surface, they seemed pretty much like all the other people I grew up around in the South.  And given that outside of watching them on tv, my entire personal experience with them consists of 3 hours, give or take, I can only speak on a surface level with any degree of certainty.  Any other opinions I offer about them here are just that - opinions.  ;-)

Thank you!

[Christina87]

@SabineElisabeth that is SOOOO cool that you met them so up close and personal! I met JB and Michelle at a political event one time where they were signing autographs. Apparently they weren't going to sign anything, but I was with a small group of girls that really wanted to meet them and Michelle said to set up a table quickly, and they would sign ours. There was a major candidate at the next table, so no one else cared about meeting the duggars. Michelle seemed engaged and really sweet, but it was weird because they ushered us so that we were only interacting with her, not JB. I think he shook our hands and said hello, but Michelle was the one writing the Bible verse and making small talk, and then they had us stand next to her for the picture. I guess us poor hussies would have defrauded JB or something!

Edited September 29, 2018 by Christina87

[PikaScrewChu]

Every time I see this thread bumped up I wonder how many kids Smuggar and Anna will end up with. It's looking more and more like the Smuggars will end up with the most kids out of the 19. I thought Jessa might give them a fair shake but it looks like she's decided to slow down.

[Temperance]

3 hours ago, PikaScrewChu said:

Every time I see this thread bumped up I wonder how many kids Smuggar and Anna will end up with. It's looking more and more like the Smuggars will end up with the most kids out of the 19. I thought Jessa might give them a fair shake but it looks like she's decided to slow down.

Almost any of the Duggar kids could have the most. Josh and Anna have more, mainly because they're older and have been married ten years. Of the married kids right now, I think Joe and Kendra will have the most.

[PikaScrewChu]

19 hours ago, Temperance said:

Almost any of the Duggar kids could have the most. Josh and Anna have more, mainly because they're older and have been married ten years. Of the married kids right now, I think Joe and Kendra will have the most.

Well yeah, they've been married the longest. But at the rate Anna's going (for reasons unknown at this point, unless she wants to beat Esther in the baby making department) she will far outrank the Duggar daughters. I'll wait and see how Kendra and Joe will fare.

Granted the Smuggars were the golden couple up until his downfall. Sometimes you wonder what would have happened had it never come to the general public that Smugs had molested his sisters and the Duggars covered it up.

[bigskygirl]

4 minutes ago, PikaScrewChu said:

Well yeah, they've been married the longest. But at the rate Anna's going (for reasons unknown at this point, unless she wants to beat Esther in the baby making department) she will far outrank the Duggar daughters. I'll wait and see how Kendra and Joe will fare.

Granted the Smuggars were the golden couple up until his downfall. Sometimes you wonder what would have happened had it never come to the general public that Smugs had molested his sisters and the Duggars covered it up.

I think Smugs and Mrs. Smugs were tossed aside when Jill and Jessa got hitched. He and Deredick are probably the two most hated family members along with JB and Michelle.

[Scarlett45]

20 hours ago, Temperance said:

Almost any of the Duggar kids could have the most. Josh and Anna have more, mainly because they're older and have been married ten years. Of the married kids right now, I think Joe and Kendra will have the most.

My money is on Joe & Kendra then Joy & Austin, but we won’t really be able to tell until we see how long it takes them to get to 3 children a piece.

Yes both girls married at 19 and had honeymoon babies, but Austin came from a family of 2, he might not be into the idea of having 10+ children, also he’s one of the sons in law I think will actually support all of his children without JB breathing down his neck. 

Joe & Kendra actually seem to enjoy each other, so I could see them being a couple that keeps having sex pretty regularly when the “honeymoon” period is over. But Kendra’s mom only has 9 kids, and I say “only” compared to Michelle’s 19. I think it really depends on how Kendra feels about being pregnant, how painful are her labors, and how much raising these children costs them. 

Jessa looked to be following in Michelle’s footsteps having her first two back to back but I don’t think she particularly cares to be a super breeder. They may have 4 kids total and then Ben may get snipped. 

[Pingaponga]

On 9/25/2018 at 2:02 PM, ginger90 said:

In the first photo, where Anna is wearing green, she totally looks pregnant.  To me, at least.

[DragonFaerie]

So do Josh and JB - pregnant looking that is

[charmed1]

On 9/25/2018 at 2:02 PM, ginger90 said:

Hee. Little Meredith looks like she’s recovering from a late night bender of milk and goldfish crackers. 

[Heathen]

On 9/30/2018 at 6:02 PM, Scarlett45 said:

My money is on Joe & Kendra then Joy & Austin, but we won’t really be able to tell until we see how long it takes them to get to 3 children a piece.

Yes both girls married at 19 and had honeymoon babies, but Austin came from a family of 2, he might not be into the idea of having 10+ children, also he’s one of the sons in law I think will actually support all of his children without JB breathing down his neck. 

Joe & Kendra actually seem to enjoy each other, so I could see them being a couple that keeps having sex pretty regularly when the “honeymoon” period is over. But Kendra’s mom only has 9 kids, and I say “only” compared to Michelle’s 19. I think it really depends on how Kendra feels about being pregnant, how painful are her labors, and how much raising these children costs them. 

Jessa looked to be following in Michelle’s footsteps having her first two back to back but I don’t think she particularly cares to be a super breeder. They may have 4 kids total and then Ben may get snipped. 

Caesareans may limit Joy's breeding, if she needs a C each time. Then again, her fool mother had multiple VBACs and even two home VBACs, so you never know. 

I don't think any of the Duggar daughters or daughters-in-law will get close to Michelle's number, not even Anna, because her pace has been pretty consistently every two years. If Anna goes until she's 43, she would still "only" have about 12 kids. 

[DragonFaerie]

1 hour ago, Heathen said:

If Anna goes until she's 43, she would still "only" have about 12 kids. 

And I don't see Anna having a laundry room breakdown.  She grew up in a big family, her sister has like 12 kids, and she seems to manage keeping her kids clean and dressed properly and fed.  I think it'll be Josh who has the laundry room breakdown.  And by laundry room I mean strip club and by breakdown - arrested for public intoxication and grabbing the strippers.

[Heathen]

1 minute ago, DragonFaerie said:

And I don't see Anna having a laundry room breakdown.  She grew up in a big family, her sister has like 12 kids, and she seems to manage keeping her kids clean and dressed properly and fed.  I think it'll be Josh who has the laundry room breakdown.  And by laundry room I mean strip club and by breakdown - arrested for public intoxication and grabbing the strippers.

I think Anna has a genuine "heart for children" or whatever that BS term is they use, while Mullet patently does not. 

I feel sorry for Josh at times. Yes, he's an incestuous child molester and serial philanderer who could change his life if he wanted to, but I'm sure he feels he is NOT capable of doing so. He's from a culture and family in which using birth control is likened to murder, and he's married to a Flavor Aide-drinking woman who will continue to have babies as long as her body allows her to. And he's next to unemployable outside their culture. In short, he's stuck. A strip club arrest or DUI for Smuggar would not surprise me. 

[DangerousMinds]

20 minutes ago, Heathen said:

I think Anna has a genuine "heart for children" or whatever that BS term is they use, while Mullet patently does not. 

I feel sorry for Josh at times. Yes, he's an incestuous child molester and serial philanderer who could change his life if he wanted to, but I'm sure he feels he is NOT capable of doing so. He's from a culture and family in which using birth control is likened to murder, and he's married to a Flavor Aide-drinking woman who will continue to have babies as long as her body allows her to. And he's next to unemployable outside their culture. In short, he's stuck. A strip club arrest or DUI for Smuggar would not surprise me. 

Flavor Aide - thank you!

[Temperance]

Anna seems to have as much help from Jana as Jessa and Jill, and probably more since they moved back to AR near the TTH. Michelle's family had almost as many kids as Anna's family did although Michelle was the youngest and Anna has three younger siblings.  I hope for Anna's that she never has three kids under two. Anyway she has two daughters who will be helping when she needs it.

[bigskygirl]

4 hours ago, Heathen said:

I think Anna has a genuine "heart for children" or whatever that BS term is they use, while Mullet patently does not. 

I feel sorry for Josh at times. Yes, he's an incestuous child molester and serial philanderer who could change his life if he wanted to, but I'm sure he feels he is NOT capable of doing so. He's from a culture and family in which using birth control is likened to murder, and he's married to a Flavor Aide-drinking woman who will continue to have babies as long as her body allows her to. And he's next to unemployable outside their culture. In short, he's stuck. A strip club arrest or DUI for Smuggar would not surprise me. 

And the worse part is the children will suffer because of it. My father finally admitted one day he did not want to be tied down to a family and left. It still hurts because my dad and I were close when I was growing up,  but in some ways, I understand why he did it. Sadly my parents are the perfect example of people who should not get married and have children. I do not understand why people think marrying off one of their children who has serious problems are better off getting married and having children. My grandparents thought it was the best thing for my dad to get married and start a family so he would stop drinking. It backfired big time, and three innocent children paid the price for it. And yes, my mother was not that great of a parent either because she was dealing with her own issues from a terrible childhood. Makes me want to hunt down JB and Michelle and Anna's parents and say what the hell were you thinking along with some major bitch slapping along side their heads.

[Zella]

10 hours ago, Heathen said:

I think Anna has a genuine "heart for children" or whatever that BS term is they use, while Mullet patently does not. 

I feel sorry for Josh at times. Yes, he's an incestuous child molester and serial philanderer who could change his life if he wanted to, but I'm sure he feels he is NOT capable of doing so. He's from a culture and family in which using birth control is likened to murder, and he's married to a Flavor Aide-drinking woman who will continue to have babies as long as her body allows her to. And he's next to unemployable outside their culture. In short, he's stuck. A strip club arrest or DUI for Smuggar would not surprise me. 

Bonus points for the Flavor Aid reference! I always say that in place of "drink the Kool Aid" and people give me weird looks. 

I also Josh feels stuck, and I think he's eating his feelings over it. Truthfully, I feel a bit bad for him, too. I think the best he could have done after his scandals broke was just admit he wasn't cut out for family life and move on. (Probably a bit biased because of my experiences with one of my own parents.) It would have been a horrible thing to do to his wife and children, but is it any worse than what they live now? 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Zella

[Sew Sumi]

No sympathy from me. He could have received real counseling even after the Joshgates and improved his image by admitting that Jesus Jail wasn't enough to "cure" him. 

He obviously needed something after his parents privately chucked him down the river to save their squeaky clean image for the TLC cameras way back when. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Sew Sumi

[Zella]

31 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

No sympathy from me. He could have received real counseling even after the Joshgates and improved his image by admitting that Jesus Jail wasn't enough to "cure" him. 

He obviously needed something after his parents privately chucked him down the river to save their squeaky clean image for the TLC cameras way back when. 

 

I agree that he is a grown man and should take responsibility for what he has done and that he is ultimately responsible for his own life and actions. But I also don't think his parents well-equipped any of their children for that level of responsibility, initiative, maturity, or self-awareness, and that is what I do feel sorry for all the Duggar kids for. Their parents truly did them a terrible disservice. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Zella

[Heathen]

12 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

No sympathy from me. He could have received real counseling even after the Joshgates and improved his image by admitting that Jesus Jail wasn't enough to "cure" him. 

He obviously needed something after his parents privately chucked him down the river to save their squeaky clean image for the TLC cameras way back when. 

Getting counseling is the hardest step. There are many, many people who can't even do that who are brighter and were raised in better environments than Smuggar Duggar. 

[Spencer Hastings]

Getting counseling is still taboo in many well adjusted families.  Growing up African-American, therapy just wasn’t talked about as an option. You kind of just suck it up on the outside and deal with it in house. It was so foreign to me to see so many of my white friends talking to therapists all the time.  I remember thinking “Why would I feel comfortable talking to some random stranger about my problems?  It’s none of their business!”

That being said, Josh might not see it as a viable option either.  You need real life friends and experiences to even realize that it might be more beneficial than prayer and dealing with it as a family.  It took me until my mid-twenties to realize it.  I had the benefit of my parents letting me interact with humans outside of our inner circle, Josh doesn’t.  Therapy just isn’t something that is considered in their family, I can’t fault the kids for that. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Spencer Hastings

[Scarlett45]

20 minutes ago, Spencer Hastings said:

Getting counseling is still taboo in many well adjusted families.  Growing up African-American, therapy just wasn’t talked about as an option. You kind of just suck it up on the outside and deal with it in house. It was so foreign to me to see so many of my white friends talking to therapists all the time.  I remember thinking “Why would I feel comfortable talking to some random stranger about my problems?  It’s none of their business!”

That being said, Josh might not see it as a viable option either.  You need real life friends and experiences to even realize that it might be more beneficial than prayer and dealing with it as a family.  It took me until my mid-twenties to realize it.  I had the benefit of my parents letting me interact with humans outside of our inner circle, Josh doesn’t.  Therapy just isn’t something that is considered in their family, I can’t fault the kids for that. 

Yes I agree. My family is a little more open to therapy than many other Black families I know (as a kid my mom was always afraid growing up as a Sib would make me feel neglected and resentful towards my sister); but therapy is for when something very out of the ordinary or BAD happened. “Not being happy” isn’t a reason to go to therapy- life is hard, deal with it. 

Given that the Duggar family didn’t consider therapy for Josh when he molested his own sisters(!!!) I can see how he wouldn’t think of it after Ashley Madison. Lots of men cheat on their spouses (of course women cheat too) and they have no intention of leaving or see anything wrong with their behavior, they just want to have their cake and eat it too. I think Josh is very unhappy he got caught, not unhappy he made the choices he did, as such therapy wouldn’t help him anyway. 

[andromeda331]

20 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

No sympathy from me. He could have received real counseling even after the Joshgates and improved his image by admitting that Jesus Jail wasn't enough to "cure" him. 

He obviously needed something after his parents privately chucked him down the river to save their squeaky clean image for the TLC cameras way back when. 

None from me either. Growing up in a crappy family with a crappy childhood is no excuse for molesting anyone. And nothing about his demeaner in the ten years he was on TV showed he sorry or gave a crap at what he did. Or he wouldn't have been so smug, so gross, and making comments at his sisters who had to "accept" his apology and continue to cook, clean and do his laundry. Or accuse other groups of being molesters. You don't do any of that if you are actually genuinely sorry for what you've done. 

[Rabbittron]

The only thing he is sorry for is that he got caught. 

[andromeda331]

16 minutes ago, Rabbittron said:

The only thing he is sorry for is that he got caught. 

Bingo!

[ginger90]

[farmgal4]

48 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

I think Mackynzie is beautiful.

[BitterApple]

She looks like an American Girl doll in those portraits Jinger took. 

[queenanne]

Nice appropriate compliments and praise, that a 9-year-old will interpret as compliments and praise... what have you done with JB and Mechelle, lol?

[Scarlett45]

I ended up looking at a list of Duggar Daughter/in law wedding gowns, and I have to say Anna thought she hit the fundy lottery marrying Josh but quickly crashed to earth. I understand her family didn’t have a lot of money, and the Duggars weren’t as media savvy then (17 Kids & Counting just started as a weekly show) but she looks awful IN the wedding photos. I don’t see the joy on her face I saw in Jinger or Jessa’s wedding photos; and it wasn’t as if she was an “old maid” like Tabitha Paine and married a known rapist out of desperation. 

[Zahdii]

I was under the impression that yes, Anna thought she'd one the big prize in Josh, and I think that in some ways she might still believe it.  Sure, she had to do some impressive mental gymnastics to get through the scandals, but now she's got him right where she wants him.  No more living in PA while he flits off to DC for a fancy job, leaving her alone among heathens all day.  No more worries that he might sneak off on a business trip and get snipped.  Yep.  She's living a pretty good life in a nice house, and JB is keeping Josh on a short leash and making sure the money is coming in.  She has all the company she wants in the whole Duggar collective, and free babysitting to boot. 

I think that Anna's problem at the beginning of her marriage was a feeling of unworthiness and a dislike of being filmed.  She eventually got more comfortable in front of the cameras, but I don't think she misses them all that much.  And as for being unworthy?  She's had almost everyone not named Duggar telling her she's too good for Josh, and I suspect even a couple of Duggars think so, too.

[FakeJoshDuggar]

They lived in Maryland, not Pennsylvania. I think Anna liked the life that they had in the DC area. Josh had a high profile job, she was Mrs. Joshua Duggar, and he had viable political ambitions. I think they planned to stay at the FRC for a while and then make a run for the Arkansas House. He had name recognition, political allies, and would have had a decent shot.

They had their own money that wasn’t tied to her FiL.  I think that was the big one. They seemed like they made organic friends. It was the first time in their life they were actually free. 

Edited October 9, 2018 by FakeJoshDuggar

[Scarlett45]

6 hours ago, FakeJoshDuggar said:

They lived in Maryland, not Pennsylvania. I think Anna liked the life that they had in the DC area. Josh had a high profile job, she was Mrs. Joshua Duggar, and he had viable political ambitions. I think they planned to stay at the FRC for a while and then make a run for the Arkansas House. He had name recognition, political allies, and would have had a decent shot.

They had their own money that wasn’t tied to her FiL.  I think that was the big one. They seemed like they made organic friends. It was the first time in their life they were actually free. 

I agree. I think Anna liked life when Josh was working for the FRC. Now she’s just an in-law with five kids. No more TLC freebies, Josh has embarrassed her, the other girls are seen as “hipper” and “on trend”. I think she gets a lot of joy out of being a Mom, but I don’t think she likes the status quo right now. 

[Soaper410]

I also think Anna liked the DC job.  I think she was lonely in some ways but It seemed either her sisters or his sisters came to visit her every few weeks.  Jana and Jessa helped out tremendously and stayed up there for a week or two at a time.  

I think for Anna, being in DC was Josh being on the forefront of the abortion and family values fight.  It’s everything she’s been taught to value and uphold!  

I think Anna for her own sake thinks Josh has changed.  She’s happy with her babies and whatever her marriage is right now.  She’s stuck in it so might as well make the best of it.  My assumption is Josh will rebel sooner rather than later.  He’s been the favorite, the oldest, the one who isn’t responsible for anything...he won’t last very long under JB’s leash and TLC refusal to air him.  

Edited October 10, 2018 by Soaper410