Duggar Girls Admitted Parents Jim Bob and Michelle 'Put Locks on Their Bedroom Doors After Brother Josh Confessed to Molesting Them' in Eerie Resurfaced Interview
Duggar daughters revealed their parents installed locks after Josh confessed to inappropriate behavior.
March 23 2026, Published 2:20 p.m. ET
Two of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's daughters once revealed the drastic steps their parents took after their brother Josh admitted to inappropriate behavior, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The revelations came during a 2015 interview with Megyn Kelly on Fox News, which has since resurfaced, as scrutiny around the family has continued.
Jessa and Jill Duggar Describe Learning the Truth
Jessa Seewald said she was 'shocked' when her parents told her what had happened to her brother, Josh.
Jessa Seewald recalled the moment she was told what had happened, admitting she struggled to grasp it at first.
"I was like shocked," she said. "I didn't know. I didn't understand, 'Okay, this is what's happened' until my parents told me."
Her sister Jill Dillard acknowledged the seriousness of Josh's actions, saying he made some "very bad decisions."
"He's going to suffer the consequences of those decisions," Jill added at the time.
Inside the Duggar Home After the Confession
Jill Dillard said her brother made 'very bad decisions' and would face consequences.
During the interview, the sisters explained their parents introduced several changes following Josh's admission.
Jill pointed to new "safeguards" within the home, including separating the boys and girls into different sleeping arrangements and adding locks to bedroom doors.
Jessa also defended her parents' response, crediting them for taking action once they became aware of the situation.
Jessa Duggar Calls Labels 'Melodramatic'
The sisters said their parents added safeguards, including separating boys and girls.
In a preview clip released ahead of the interview, Jessa – who identified herself as "one of the victims" – pushed back on how her brother was being described publicly.
She said it was melodramatic to label Josh a "pedophile," "rapist," or "child molester."
Jill also defended their family amid widespread criticism, saying: "Some people, I've heard them say, you know, 'you're hypocrites.' Well, if you go back and look at everything people that have seen in our lives, in television, you know, we've never claimed to be a perfect family," she said.
"My parents have always actually stated, you know, 'We are not a perfect family.'"
Josh Duggar Admitted to 'Inexcusable’ Behavior
Michelle Duggar said the family felt like 'failures' and were 'devastated' by the revelation.
Josh later addressed the allegations himself, saying he had "acted inexcusably" after reports emerged he had been investigated in 2006 for inappropriate contact involving underage girls.
In a separate interview with Kelly, his parents said their son had confessed to them years earlier, prompting them to seek counseling for both him and the victims.
"He said he had improperly touched some of our daughters," Jim Bob explained. "He said he was just curious about girls, and he had gone in and touched them over their clothes when they were sleeping."
Michelle described the emotional toll the revelation took on their family.
"There was so much grief in our hearts. I think, as parents, we felt, 'We're failures,'" she said. "You know, here we tried to raise our kids to do what's right, to know what's right... We were devastated."
The parents said all of the children received counseling and maintained that the behavior did not continue.
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The resurfaced interview comes after the girls' other brother, Joseph Duggar, was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
