Jill Duggar reveals she and husband Derick Dillard were going to threaten her father with a PROTECTIVE ORDER after he refused to stop contacting them when she turned her back on the family’s ‘cult-like’ religion

Jill Duggar has shared new details about her “rocky” relationship with her father, Jim Bob, claiming that she and her husband, Derick Dillard, almost had to threaten the patriarch with a protective order after he didn’t stop contacting her.

Jill, 32, says the relationship between 34-year-old Derick and Jim Bob was “really great” but their differences led to a rift – and they almost took legal action.

“I think Derick trusted my dad and my dad trusted him,” the Counting On star said while appearing on Christy Carlson Romano’s podcast, Vulnerable.

The mother-of-three said that when Derick and Jim Bob, 58, “started to have some disagreements” and they “were not complying with everything,” their relationship changed dramatically, resulting in some “really difficult conversations” between them.

The 19 Star Kids And Counting alum reflected on an interaction between her husband and father, in which Derick expressed his displeasure with Jim Bob’s treatment of Jill.

“I think my dad got the photo when Derick told him that if you continue to contact her directly, I’m going to have to file a protective order,” the TLC star recalled, adding that her husband was a lawyer.

Despite the “shaky” daughter-father relationship, Jill said she hopes “things can get better” between the couple and the Duggar patriarch.

“But even with my family, we don’t rush things,” she added.

‘We want to have good relations. We want more trust to develop.’

Jill maintained that she stands by her decision to get space from her parents, who are devout members of the ultra-Christian group, The Institute in Basic Life Principles.” along with some of her siblings; talk about the importance of setting boundaries.

“It’s not that you don’t care, but you have to set some boundaries, do what’s right at the time,” the former TLC personality said.

“When you’re stronger, when you’re healthier, when you get to a place where you can do what you need to do, then maybe you can talk about putting yourself in that situation again, with healthier boundaries at times .’

Jill has been open about her struggles with family dynamics, discussing growing up in the spotlight and the realities of being forced to take part in multiple TV series in her impressive memoir, Counting The Cost.

Jill and her family were thrust into the spotlight after starring on the TLC series 19 and Counting from 2008 to 2015, followed by its spin-off, Counting On, from 2015 to 2021.

In September, Jill revealed her most recent interaction with her father, saying he showed up unannounced while she was having brunch with her sister, Jinger.

She admitted to ET that their relationship was “not like it used to be,” with Derick interjecting, adding, “If you’re someone he can’t control, then you’re cut off.”

Jill said that although Jim Bob was friendly during the unexpected meeting, she could tell he was trying to close himself off from her.

“He won’t say anything about it when we’re all together,” she said, noting that this can make the situation “awkward” but not confrontational.

“It’s not like it used to be… It used to be that you would be pulled aside into a room and (pronounced), you know, behind closed doors,” Jill said.

“But now… there’s this respect for our border, where he wouldn’t fly. Like, we would pick up and leave if something was going on.”

Derick talked about how he feels Jim Bob “controlled” Jill and her sisters, and why the patriarch was no longer a part of their lives.

“I think the sad thing is that the pattern that we’ve seen is kind of happening to us, where if you’re someone that he can’t control, you get cut off,” Derick added.

“It’s like, ‘I can’t control you, so you’re cut off.'”

“You can sit around and have superficial conversations sometimes, and that’s really what I want right now,” Jill explained.

The Duggars’ healthy Christian public image collapsed in 2015 after it emerged that their eldest child, now 35-year-old Josh, had groped several of his sisters and an underage babysitter as a teenager.

The strange and tense dynamic was the subject of an Amazon Prime Video docuseries Shiny Happy People, which aired earlier this year.

The documentary exposed the ultra-religious family, who portrayed a wholesome Americana image but were members of the bizarre and controversial Christian group, The Institute in Basic Life Principles.

The IBLP has come under fire for its teachings, which require women to be subservient to men and are known to isolate members.

A docuseries delved into the family’s past and their involvement in religion, likening Jim Bob to a “cult leader” who acted in accordance with the IBLP credo, which sees men as “head of the house.”

The organization, founded by shunned minister Bill Gothard, has a set of incredibly strict rules that govern almost every aspect of its members’ lives, including who to date and how to dress.

The Duggar kids weren’t allowed to have any physical touch with their partner before the wedding — which meant no forward-facing hugs or hand holding.

All children were home-schooled and women had to wear floor-length dresses at all times, as trousers – as well as showing off any part of their legs – were strictly forbidden.

Jill also made a series of shocking allegations about her parents Jim Bob and Michelle in the docuseries, including that they “took advantage” of her and her siblings by tricking them into signing contracts and forcing them to participate in numerous family reality shows. against their will – without paying them.