Last month, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard purchased their new home, and not a moment too soon.
In July, Jill’s baby is due. This Rainbow Baby will be the couple’s third child.
With the date looming near, Jill celebrated with a baby shower.
But there were a lot of Duggar faces missing — even sisters who fans thought were still close with her.
Jill Duggar Dillard took to the Dillard Family Facebook page with an update.
The expecting mother of three shared a caption about her baby shower.
Alongside the message, she included a slew of photos from the event, featuring balloons, gifts, and a tasty spread of food.
“I feel so loved and more prepared now for baby boy,” Jill wrote on Facebook.
She feels prepared “with all the gifts, prayers, & blessings by friends and family.”
Jill then acknowledged the “(+ several who couldn’t attend the party in person).”
Jill expressed her gratitude to those “who showered us this weekend.”
The baby shower is of course “in anticipation of our little man’s arrival next month!”
The due date is fast approaching!
“Special thanks to the hosts: my MIL Cathy Dillard Byrum my SIL Deena Dillard,” Jill credited.
She continued, then thanking “my cousin Amy Rachelle King & my Aunt Deanna Duggar.”
The gallery of pictures showcased Jill, her gorgeous blonde locks, and a lot of lovely presents.
Jill included photos in which she opened gifts, featuring little outfits for her baby.
There were plenty of balloons to mark the occasion.
The chocolate cupcakes, artistically styled to resemble succulents made out of frosting, looked particularly inviting.
But Jill also listed the people who were there to support her.
We all notice some conspicuously missing names from that list.
While it’s possible that Jill excluded some guests by request, or only thanked her hosts, there’s not one sister in the mix.
Like we said, it’s possible that some of Jill’s sisters could make it.
We do know for certain that Jessa did not.
She spent the day of the baby shower at an art exhibit … and made sure that the public knew about it.
Then, we cannot help but think about how this is only the latest indicator of a widening gulf in the family.
Many of Jill’s siblings would never, ever visit Amy’s house.
The family’s extreme fundamentalist views portray Amy, who is a devout Christian, as “dangerously” worldly.
Jill has, in some ways, been walking a similar path for some time.
She got a nose piercing. She wears pants and bares her arms. Her kids go to real schools to receive real educations.
Perhaps most dangerously of all, Jill has been in therapy to process the trauma of her childhood growing up in an abusive cult.
Josh Duggar’s prosecution, conviction, and then sentencing only added to the existing family tensions.
Within the Duggar brood, fellow cult members who repent without questioning their rules receive seemingly unlimited forgiveness.
In contrast, Jill’s baby steps towards independent thought are anathema. That’s their loss, then.