Kendra Duggarher determination was tested after her husband, Joseph Duggarwas arrested on child molestation charges – but the “hardest” pill to swallow, she says, is losing her children after her arrest.
“I think Friday was probably my hardest day. But that’s crazy to say, because Wednesday was really crazy,” Kendra, 27, told Joseph, 31, in a phone call with her husband while she was in jail, obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, April 8, at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Kendra appeared to be referring to her Friday, March 20, arrest on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor, and Joseph’s Wednesday, March 18, arrest on charges of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in 2020.
He mentioned that Friday’s incident was the most difficult for him, because it led to him being separated from his four children. (The two share sons Garrett and Justus and daughters Addison and Brooklyn.)
“When you took my children from me, they were the ones I just lived for at this time,” Kendra told her husband, who went on to call their children his “purpose” in life.
He agreed, and said, “That’s right.” Kendra, who married Joseph in 2017, noted that she did not believe her children should be taken away while authorities investigated her home life.
“I was like, how did this happen? And I still can’t believe it. I don’t even think it’s completely real to me,” Kendra said on the phone. Sometimes, it feels weird not having them, but then it’s like, ‘Oh, this is going to go next week,’ you know.
A source previously told Us that Kendra’s arrest was not connected to Joseph’s molestation case.
In a phone call, Joseph Duggar’s wife, Kendra Duggar, revealed what her family thinks about his recent arrest. “Just know that everyone loves you, even if you’re disappointed,” Kendra, 27, said in an interview Thursday, March 26, later released by TMZ. Joseph, 31, admitted he understood the “disappointment,” but “absolutely” feels it […]
The insider said that after Joseph’s authorities “did their own home study,” at that time they allegedly discovered that “there were two rooms where the door lock was on the outside inside.” He was arrested and the children were taken away because he was allegedly “improperly imprisoning his children,” according to the source.
Us confirmed on March 18 that Joseph was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving the molestation of a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older.
After being transferred from an Arkansas prison to a Florida prison, Joseph pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released from jail on March 31 after posting $600,000 bail.
In addition to the molestation charge, Joseph and Kendra were both charged last month with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of false imprisonment following his arrest and subsequent release.
Joseph Duggar, Kendra Duggar.
Courtesy of Joseph and Kendra Duggar/InstagramBefore his release – and meeting Kendra on Wednesday – Joseph praised his wife for “doing amazing” in their recorded phone call. He said that in a prison call received by Us that “everyone I’ve heard of” has told him that he is handling the situation gracefully.
“It’s a small miracle. Whoever said that, I know it’s not me, because, like I said, I don’t know how I’m standing on two feet after everything I’ve been through,” Kendra admitted on the phone. “And it’s like Mother keeps saying, ‘This is just God’s grace being poured out on you.’ And he’s like, ‘You’re so strong, and you’re going to make it.’ It was crazy.”
Kendra said that when she looks back at the arrest of both of them, she “doesn’t know how I did that.”
Joseph Duggar and wife Kendra Duggar’s new audio shows the couple discussing where they are after their arrests. “Good to hear from you,” Kendra, 27, told Joseph, 31, according to a March 20 call from the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, obtained by Entertainment Weekly. In […]
“It must be God pouring out his grace upon me, and it is grace that is sufficient for each day, [that] that’s what they told me,” he continued: “Sometimes I start looking at the future and I get frustrated, and I don’t know what it holds. But I’m like, everybody keeps telling me, ‘You’re taking one step right now. You’re just doing it for one day.’”
Joseph told Kendra that was how he handled all the unknowns. “I don’t just think about what the future might be, or any of that.
Kendra agreed, telling her husband that she still had “feelings” from all their recent “ups and downs” but knew it was part of the journey.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is being abused by children, call or text the Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
