Jinger Duggar Vuolo of 19 Kids and Counting fame started on reality television more than two decades ago with her family's first documentary, and spent many years in front of the cameras. That changed after charges were filed against her brother, Josh Duggar, for child pornography. Now, nearly four years after Counting On was cancelled as the 19 Kids and Counting spinoff, Jinger weighed in on whether she'd want to return to reality television, and I can't say I blame her for her response.
Vuolo, now 31, spent many years of her youth in front of a camera along with much of the rest of her family. She has since moved on from the lifestyle of 19 Kids and Counting, which involved literally moving to California and starting to wear pants. A mom of two, she revealed on The Jinger and Jeremy Podcast where she stands on a return to reality TV:
There's sides of it that you miss, but then there are lots of aspects that I don't miss... I don’t know. I don’t think so. Not right now. Not in this season of life. If there was filming or something that would happen, that's fine. It's good. But like a reality show like it was before? I don't think so. Not the same way, for sure.
Jinger's last regular appearances on reality television were as part of the eleven seasons of Counting On, which launched in late 2015 after 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled earlier that year in the wake of the allegations against Josh Duggar for child molestation. Counting On was then cancelled in 2021 ahead of Josh Duggar's trial, with TLC releasing a statement that the network felt "it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately."
With how much of her life that she spent in the spotlight, what her family went through with Josh's eventual conviction, and her later comments on the "disturbing" religious environment of her youth, I can't say that I blame Jinger for wanting to stay away from aspects of reality television that she doesn't miss. That's not to say that she only had bad memories of her TLC years, though, as she went on to say:
For all those years you have the sweet memories of traveling and stuff, but it’s not all the same. Because you wouldn’t have your same film crew, you wouldn’t have your same people you’re working with. And you’re not filming as a larger family unit so there’s lots of things that would feel so drastically different if you did a show again.
Even if Jinger did want to return to reality television with her family, they wouldn't be able to just pick up where they left off with the same team behind the scenes. Her sister Jessa has debunked rumors of a falling out, but the siblings just live different lives now. Plus, it wasn't that long ago that Jinger shared that it was "hard and scary" to speak up about her life in the 19 Kids and Counting household.
All in all, Jinger Duggar Vuolo seems content with the life she's built with husband Jeremy and their two kids without having it broadcast as a reality show. If she does ever come back to the sphere of reality TV, fans just shouldn't count on a repeat of 19 Kids and Counting or Counting On.
