A group shot from the Jana Duggar‘s August 15 wedding has spurred speculation from fans that Josh Duggar’s wife Anna is being frozen out by some members of the controversial family.
Anna, who has stood by Josh despite allegations he molested four of his sisters – Jill, Jessa, Joy-Anna and Jinger, among others – did not appear in a large family photo snapped at Jana’s nuptials.
A total of 18 Duggar children, all of their spouses and even the Duggar grandchildren are present in the image – excluding Anna and the seven children she shares with Josh; Mackynzie, Michael, Marcus, Meredith, Mason, Maryella, and Madyson.
Jana, 34, who is the oldest daughter in the reality TV family, exchanged vows Thursday with Stephen Wissmann, 31, at The Grand at Willow Springs, a wedding venue located in Washington County, Arkansas, with 500 people in attendance, People reported.
An August 17 article published by The U.S. Sun indicated that fans of the show recognized Anna had been pictured at a table during the nuptials.
The images, which fans believed Anna to be seen in, were initially posted by Alaythia Wissmann, sister of the groom in an Instagram Stories post that was captioned ‘Mr & Mrs Wissmann.’
A group shot from the Jana Duggar’s August 15 wedding has spurred speculation from fans that Josh Duggar’s wife Anna is being frozen out by some members of the controversial family
Anna and Josh Duggar pictured at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland in February of 2015, months before Josh’s past actions were reported, leading to the cancelation of 19 Kids and Counting
Josh Duggar’s problematic past & legal troubles
The Duggar family’s TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting was canceled in July of 2015 after Josh Duggar‘s past history of molestation surfaced.
A probe of Josh was conducted in 2006 after an associate of the family tipped them off, but officials cited the statute of limitations in deciding against pursuing charges at that time.
Josh Duggar is currently serving a 12 1/2-year prison sentence in connection with his 2021 conviction for downloading images of child sexual abuse.
Federal officials who probed Josh Duggar said that he’d downloaded the illegal images at an auto dealership he’d been working at in Arkansas.
Authorities who probed Josh Duggar’s computer testified that in 2019, they located images ‘depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers,’ according to the the AP.
In June, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Josh Duggar to his 2021 conviction. The U.S.’s highest court ‘did not elaborate on the denial, as is typical,’ according to the AP.
Previously, Josh Duggar’s conviction had been upheld by the lower courts, who did not accept his case that his lawyers should have been permitted to inquire about an ex-employee at the car dealership who had a previous sex-offense conviction on their record; and had used the computer at the center of the case.
Attorneys for Josh Duggar did not question the ex-employee in testimony after the judge said they were prohibited from mentioning the ex-employee’s sex-offense conviction, according to the AP.
Before his past had been revealed, Josh Duggar had been working as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative organization. His current date of release from custody is slated 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 images of child sexual abuse. Pictured in a December 2021 mug shot
Anna wed Josh Duggar on September 26, 2008 in Florida. Pictured on NBC in 2009
Anna and Josh were pictured leaving a court in Arkansas in November of 2021 amid his trial
Details and controversies about Anna
Anna wed Josh Duggar – the oldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar – on September 26, 2008 in Florida, with the nuptials being documented on 19 Kids and Counting’s second season special A Very Duggar Wedding.
The couple went on to welcome seven children – Mackynzie, Maryella, Marcus, Mason, Michael, Meredith and Madyson, according to InTouch.
Anna has remained residing with her children on the Duggar family’s Tontitown, Arkansas compound, the outlet noted in May.
Anna at one point had thought about moving to Texas, as Josh remains in custody at Federal Correctional Institute in Seagoville, Texas, as a source told the outlet that Josh opposed the move.
‘The problem is that Josh doesn’t want Anna and their kids moving away from his family,’ a source told InTouch in October 2022. ‘He thinks it will create too much of a disconnection for her and his kids.’
Duggar family cousin Amy King told People in June of 2023 that she had told Anna that she had a place that she and her children could live while Josh was in custody.
Anna wanted ‘nothing to do with it at all, and that’s her decision,’ according to King, who explained to the publication that she had ‘tried’ through multiple channels to reach Anna.
‘I don’t know if her phone’s being monitored,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if she’s turned it off [and] she’s gotten a new one. I’ve tried on Instagram, I’ve tried on Twitter.’
Anna pictured in 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas leaving court on her own after Josh had been taken into custody
Anna had debated a move to Texas to be closer to where Josh is serving his sentence
InTouch reported in May that ‘Anna and Josh are still married as he continues his prison sentence,’ but that Anna had been conflicted about how to move forward amid the difficult circumstances.
‘She took her wedding vows seriously and she wants to stand by her man and all that, but the reality of her situation is very difficult,’ a source told the outlet in January of 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 weren’t ‘physically possible for now, or the near future.’
Anna Duggar has kept a low profile on social media amid her family’s well-publicized issues, as she deleted an Instagram account she had in 2022 following Josh’s conviction, the outlet reported.
Anna has an account on X/Twitter that has more than 114,000 followers that she had been on sporadically. After staying off posting on the platform for two years, she has posted two tweets over the past three months, both in support of former President Donald Trump.
Fan reaction to Anna’s attendance at the wedding event
Fans on a Reddit thread centered on The U.S. Sun report speculating about Anna’s attendance at the event appeared to be on the same page that it made sense she would be there, regardless of the history surrounding her spouse.
‘I’d be surprised if she weren’t there,’ one user said. ‘I’m curious why people think it’s surprising she was there.’
Another user said that Jana and Stephen’s wedding ‘had 500 guests’ so ‘of course Anna was there.’
One user said that Anna’s presence was a matter of keeping up appearances, as she remains in her marriage to Josh.
‘She has to be there she’s the good servant she has to stay loyal to the family while her husband’s in prison for being a nasty man and then she’ll take him back when he gets out and they’ll figure out on how to raise the kids that are left,’ said the user.
Fans on a Reddit thread speculated about Anna’s attendance at the event
A separate thread speculated on how Anna gets along with the rest of the family, titled, ‘What do the Duggars think of Anna at the moment?’
One user said that the family harbored resentment toward Anna over Josh’s actions that led to the cancelation of their lucrative reality show and subsequent bad publicity in regards to Josh.
The user said that the family cast ‘unfair and unrealistic’ expectations toward Anna in controlling Josh, and described her as ‘a daily walking talking reminder’ of Josh’s wrongdoings.
The user noted that the family ‘can’t afford the hit they’d take’ in terms of publicity if they shunned Anna and her children completely.
Another user agreed with the assessment, saying, ‘This sounds right, and she obviously didn’t fix him (the problem is HIM) and now the family has to support her and her gaggle of children!’
Said another user: ‘Anna was not the one that caused the disgrace to the family.’
A user said they felt bad for the kids, noting that they probably ‘do not understand why they can’t be in the big family portrait’ published in a magazine.
Fans were divided as to if Anna was taking the right tack in recent years, as one said she was ‘to blame for staying’ while another asked, ‘Realistically though, what other option did she have?’
