Why Fans Think Jinger Duggar Vuolo May Have Had An Eating Disorder

TLC fans were first introduced to Jinger Duggar Vuolo on the original TV documentary about the Duggar family, 14 Children and Pregnant Again! (via IMDb), back in 2004. Since then, viewers have watched Jinger and her siblings grow up on the hit reality show 19 Kids and Counting, which was canceled in 2015 after it was discovered that the eldest Duggar son, Josh, molested four of his siblings in multiple incidents and parents Jim Bob and Michelle covered it up (via USA Today).

Jessa and Jill Duggar then went on to star in a three-episode special, Counting On, which ended up turning into a full-on Duggar spin-off series, now starring the entire Duggar clan, sans Josh. Counting On wrapped its eleventh season in September 2020, and over the last five years, fans have watched many of the Duggar kids transition into married life, with many of them having kids soon after they tie the knot with their respective partner.

Jinger and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, recently took to Instagram to share that they are releasing a book, The Hope We Hold: Finding Peace in the Promises of God, which hits shelves on May 4, and have been promoting the book ever since their surprise announcement (via Hello!).

In promoting her upcoming book, Jinger Duggar Vuolo spoke candidly on Instagram about some of her struggles growing up. "I talk about in Chapter 5, the wrestlings [sic] I had as a young teen and I really struggled with finding my identity in Christ and wrestled with weight loss, wanting to lose weight, and trying to be skinny and all of that, for myself, for finding my identity in that," the reality star, who has two daughters, shared on April 14 (per The Sun). "And just how the lord helped me to know who I was in Christ and to be grounded there instead of who I thought I should be, and what I thought I should look like."

Jinger said she hopes her honesty about her struggles will help people who may be feeling the same way, and her candid admission got fans talking about whether or not she may have had an eating disorder in the past.

"I just hope your parents realize that yall were really suffering and you needed them so they can be there for your younger siblings," one Instagram fan wrote, while another said, "I really hope that you got some real help.. not church help, but help from a licensed dr. You of course can rely on God. But you need to get real help from a real doctor," adding that eating disorders are under the umbrella of mental illness.