19 Kids and Counting alum Jinger Duggar is opening up about her family’s ties to the Christian fundamentalist organization, Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). The former reality star wants to share her experience of growing up in a strict religious environment, with her former church’s rules controlling nearly everything in her life. One of these rules included dressing modestly and wearing long swim skirts in the water, which meant that Jinger never learned how to swim properly.
While talking to PEOPLE about her latest book, People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations, Jinger confessed how embarrassed she was to realize that she couldn’t swim. According to the reality star, she developed a fear of water as a result of the constricting clothing that she was forced to wear as a child. However, after marrying Jeremy Vuolo and moving to L.A. with him, Jinger decided to overcome her fear.
The Counting On star asked a close friend from Hawaii to help her. She recalls being pregnant with her daughter, Evangeline Vuolo at the time. However, that didn’t stop Jinger from learning the basics. The reality star admitted that her progress was slow, but she didn’t give up. “One day it clicked and it was amazing,” she revealed. Jinger was proud to share that she can now jump in her deep pool and swim. However, she admitted that she is still not completely comfortable in the water and wouldn’t trust herself to swim alone or let her daughters in with no one else around.
Jinger Duggar’s Has More to Say About Her Former Church
Jinger’s latest book was released on January 14, 2025, and focuses on the former reality star’s personal experience of always seeking the approval of others. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Jinger discussed her book and talked about feeling like she wasn’t good enough for the IBLP. While Jinger has recently spoken against her former church’s teachings, her childhood was very different.
According to the Duggar sisters, her parents’ devotion to IBLP founder Bill Gothard’s teachings led her to believe that something was wrong with her. Jinger shared that her parents would “drill” Gothard’s teachings into her and her siblings. She revealed that the Duggar sisters, especially, were told to do everything to please their husbands because if they didn’t, they risked being abandoned. “It was all so focused on, ‘Do this, do this, do this, do this,’” added Jinger.
Jinger credited her husband, Jeremy, for having helped her unlearn all of this and showing her what an equal partnership looked like. Jinger recalled how much the IBLP’s teachings impacted her life, to the point where she was afraid to make simple decisions without her husband’s approval. However, Jeremy pushed her to be vulnerable and share her feelings with him. In Jinger’s exact words: “‘I don’t care,’ He said, ‘I want to hear even if we have different opinions.’” But it took Jinger years to start speaking her mind without feeling overwhelmed.
All episodes of Counting On and 19 Kids and Counting are available to stream on Discovery+.
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