Counting the Cost

During the Megyn Kelly interview, Josh sits off-camera in the same room. Jill is glad to be able to escape the paparazzi when she, Derick, and their son relocate to El Salvador for their mission work. In El Salvador, she and Derick live simply with no AC, no Wi-Fi, and limited electricity. Their mission is in an area that experiences frightening gang violence, but Jill finds her work with local women and girls fulfilling. She is grateful for space away from her family and from the show. The peace breaks when Derick sees people on Twitter talking about Josh, who was caught using Ashley Madison, a website “for people who want to have extramarital affairs” (144). Josh’s wife, Anna, is devastated, and Jill hears from her parents they are sending Josh away again. 

Jill and Derick make a trip back to the US. At a family meeting, Jim Bob tells everyone Josh is doing well at a Christian rehab. Jim Bob went to great lengths to protect Josh from paparazzi and media attention; Jill wishes he had done the same for her and her sisters when the In Touch story broke. To rebrand the show in the wake of this newest scandal, Scott and Jim Bob decide to change the name to Jill and Jessa: Counting On and shift the focus to the adult Duggar children, excluding Josh.