A group photo from Jana Duggar’s August 15 wedding has fans speculating that Josh Duggar’s wife Anna is being ostracized by some members of the controversial family.
Anna, who supported Josh despite allegations that he abused four of his sisters – including Jill, Jessa, Joy-Anna and Jinger – was not in the large family photo taken at Jana’s wedding.
Jana, 34, the eldest daughter in the reality TV family, exchanged vows with Stephen Wissmann, 31, on Thursday at The Grand at Willow Springs, a wedding venue in Washington County, Arkansas, with 500 guests in attendance. People reported.
An article published on August 17 by The American Sun indicated that fans of the series recognized that Anna was photographed at a table during the wedding.
Fans thought the photos were Anna. These photos were originally posted by the groom’s sister Alaythia Wissmann in an Instagram Stories post captioned “Mr & Mrs Wissmann.”
A group photo from Jana Duggar’s August 15 wedding has fans speculating that Josh Duggar’s wife Anna is being ostracized by some members of the controversial family
Anna and Josh Duggar pictured at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland in February 2015, months before Josh’s previous actions were reported, which led to the cancellation of 19 Kids and Counting
Josh Duggar’s Troubled Past and Legal Issues
The Duggar family’s reality series 19 Kids and Counting on TLC was canceled in July 2015 after Josh Duggar’s history of sexual abuse came to light.
In 2006, Josh was investigated after an acquaintance of the family tipped them off. Authorities based their investigation on the statute of limitations when they decided not to press charges.
Josh Duggar is currently serving a 12.5-year prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for downloading child sexual abuse images.
Federal officials investigating Josh Duggar said he downloaded the illegal images at an Arkansas car dealership where he worked.
Authorities who examined Josh Duggar’s computer testified that in 2019 they found images “depicting sexual abuse of children, including toddlers,” the AP.
In June, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Josh Duggar against his 2021 conviction. The U.S. high court “provided no further explanation for the denial, as is customary,” AP reported.
Josh Duggar’s conviction had already been upheld by lower courts, which rejected his argument that his lawyers should have been allowed to inquire about a former employee of the car dealership who had previously been convicted of a sex offense and who had used the computer as the centerpiece of the case.
Lawyers for Josh Duggar did not question the former employee in his testimony after the judge said they were prohibited from mentioning the ex-employee’s conviction for a sex crime, AP reported.
Before his past came to light, Josh Duggar worked as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative organization. His current release date from custody is scheduled for October 2, 2032, InTouch reported.
Josh Duggar is currently serving a 12 1/2 year prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for downloading child sexual abuse images. Pictured in a December 2021 arrest photo
Anna married Josh Duggar on September 26, 2008 in Florida. Pictured on NBC in 2009
Anna and Josh were photographed leaving an Arkansas courthouse during his trial in November 2021
Details and controversies about Anna
Anna married Josh Duggar, the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, on September 26, 2008 in Florida. The wedding was documented in the 19 Kids and Counting season 2 special A Very Duggar Wedding.
The couple later had seven children: Mackynzie, Maryella, Marcus, Mason, Michael, Meredith and Madyson, according to In-Touch.
Anna still lives with her children on the Duggar family’s property in Tontitown, Arkansas, the outlet reported in May.
Anna at one point considered moving to Texas, as Josh is still incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institute in Seagoville, Texas. A source told the site that Josh was against the move.
“The problem is that Josh doesn’t want Anna and their kids to be away from his family,” a source told InTouch in October 2022. “He thinks it will put too much distance between her and his kids.”
The Duggar family’s niece, Amy King, shared People in June 2023 that she had told Anna that she had a place for her and her children to live while Josh was incarcerated.
Anna wanted “nothing to do with it at all, that’s her decision,” said King, who explained to the publication that she had “tried” to reach Anna through several channels.
“I don’t know if her phone is tapped,” she said. “I don’t know if she turned it off. [and] she got a new one. I tried Instagram, I tried Twitter.’
Anna pictured in 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, leaves court alone after Josh is taken into custody
Anna had considered moving to Texas to be closer to where Josh is serving his sentence
InTouch reported in May that “Anna and Josh are still married while he serves his prison sentence,” but that Anna was unsure about how to proceed under these difficult circumstances.
“She took her marriage vows seriously and she wants to support her husband and all that, but the reality of her situation is very difficult,” a source told the outlet in January 2023, adding that she “wants Josh by her side, as a husband and as a father to their children.”
The insider noted that Anna’s ambitions are “not physically feasible for now, or in the foreseeable future.”
Anna Duggar has kept a low profile on social media amid her family’s troubles, deleting her Instagram account in 2022 after Josh was convicted, the site reported.
Anna has an account on X/Twitter who has more than 114,000 followers that she has been on sporadically. After not posting on the platform for two years, she has posted two tweets in the past three months, both in support of former President Donald Trump.
Fans’ reaction to Anna’s presence at the wedding party
Fans on a Reddit thread The rumors about Anna’s attendance at the event were based on a report by The US Sun, which speculated about Anna’s attendance at the event. Opinions were divided and it seemed logical that she would attend, regardless of her husband’s history.
“I’d be surprised if she wasn’t there,” said one user. “I wonder why people find it surprising that she was there.”
Another user said that Jana and Stephen’s wedding had “500 guests,” so “of course Anna was there.”
According to one user, Anna’s presence was just to keep up appearances, as she is married to Josh.
“She has to be there, she’s the good servant, she has to stay loyal to the family while her husband is in prison because he’s a mean man. And when he gets out, she takes him back and then they figure out how to raise the kids that are left,” the user said.
Fans on a Reddit thread speculated about Anna’s attendance at the event
A separate thread speculated about how Anna interacts with the rest of the family, titled: “What do the Duggars think of Anna right now?”
According to one user, the family held a grudge against Anna because of Josh’s actions, which led to the cancellation of their lucrative reality show and the subsequent bad publicity surrounding Josh.
The user said the family had “unfair and unrealistic” expectations of Anna when it came to controlling Josh, describing her as “a daily walking and talking reminder” of Josh’s misdeeds.
The user noted that the family cannot afford “the publicity damage they would suffer” if they were to completely avoid Anna and her children.
Another user agreed with the review and said: ‘That sounds good. She clearly didn’t help him (the problem is with HIM) and now her family has to take care of her and her group of children!’
Another user said: ‘Anna wasn’t the one who brought shame on the family.’
One user said he felt sorry for the children and that he probably “doesn’t understand why they can’t be in the big family photo” that will be published in a magazine.
Fans were divided over whether Anna has been on the right track in recent years, with one saying it was her “fault for staying,” while another asked, “But realistically, what other option did she have?”