Former reality star Jill Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard revealed heartbreaking facts about their family on Saturday.
The couple, who are already parents to three boys, announced that their eldest daughter was stillborn. “It is with great sadness that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful baby girl, Ira Marie Dillard,” the couple wrote in a shared Instagram post.
“Jill was four months pregnant (due in August) when we found out our baby had died in utero,” they shared. The couple had not publicly announced that they were expecting.
Jill Duggar opens up about toxic relationship with Jim Bob destroyed by reality show and pedophile brother’s treatment
Jill Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard have announced the stillbirth of their daughter Ira Marie. (Jill (Duggar) Dillard Instagram)
If you are an app user, click here to visit Instagram
“From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby. Isla was loved from the start and her three older brothers were determined to introduce her to their world. We were so excited,” they wrote. “We appreciate everyone’s prayers as we continue to grieve and heal from the loss of little Ira Marie.”
Jill and Derrick have three sons, Israel, 9, Samuel, 6, and Frederick, 1. (Jill (Duggar) Dillard Instagram)
Like what you’re reading? Click here for more entertainment news
This isn’t the first time the couple has been transparent about their fertility challenges. In October 2021, before the birth of their youngest son, the couple revealed that they had suffered a miscarriage shortly after breaking the news to their two older sons.
“It was fun to see the joy on their faces when we shared the news,” they previously wrote on their blog. “When we talked about the pregnancy and how we would be involved during the pregnancy and after the birth, they were full of questions and very excited. But a few days later, the miscarriage started.”
If you are an app user, click here to visit Instagram
Click here to sign up for our entertainment newsletter
The couple currently share children Israel, 9, Samuel, 6, and rainbow baby Fredrik, 1, who was born in July 2022.
Duggar and her family have been in the spotlight for years, finding fame in 2008 on the popular reality series “19 Kids and Counting,” which follows her parents, Michelle and Bob Duggar, members of the Basic Living Principles Institute. It skyrocketed. Christian fundamentalist groups and their children.
The Duggar family appeared in New York in 2014, a year before the show was canceled. (D Dipasupil/Getty Images, bonus)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The show, which ran for seven seasons, saw the birth of Michelle and Bob’s two children, three marriages, and the birth of four grandchildren. It was canceled in 2015, but a spin-off, Counting On, premiered in December of the same year.
The family is full of scandals, mostly surrounding Duggar’s younger brother Josh. Josh is currently in prison for possession of child pornography. Duggar and Dillard’s book, Counting the Cost, released in September 2023, details the hardships they experienced as members of a prominent family.
“It helped us process and unpack our emotions,” Duggar previously told FOX News Digital about writing the memoir. “It was a cathartic process…This wasn’t just an isolated experience of reality shows or extended families…People could relate to it and say, ‘I felt the same thing. I felt the loneliness that comes from control.’ I hope you say that.”
