Jill Duggar and husband announce devastating stillborn birth of first daughter: 'Loved from the start'
Former '19 Kids and Counting' and 'Counting On' star and her husband announced that their daughter was stillborn after dying in utero
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former reality star Jill Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard shared a heartbreaking revelation about their family on Saturday.
The couple, who are already parents to three boys, announced the stillbirth of their first daughter. "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful baby girl, Isla Marie Dillard," the couple wrote in a shared post to Instagram.
"Jill was 4 months pregnant (due in August) when we found out that our baby died in utero," they shared. The couple had not publicly shared that they were expecting.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jill Duggar and her husband Derick Dillard announced the stillbirth of their daughter, Isla Marie. (Jill (Duggar) Dillard Instgram)
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"From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby. Isla was much loved from the start, and her 3 big brothers were so excited to introduce her to their world," they wrote. "We appreciate your prayers as we continue to grieve and heal from the loss of our little Isla Marie."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jill and Derick share three sons together: Israel, 9, Samuel, 6, and Fredrick, 1. (Jill (Duggar) Dillard Instgram)
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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 shared that they had miscarried shortly after sharing the news with their two older boys.
"It was fun to see so much joy in the boys’ faces as we shared the news with them," they wrote previously on their blog. "They were full of questions and so excited as we talked about the pregnancy and how they would get to be involved along the way and after baby was born. However, a few days later we started miscarrying."
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The couple now share Israel, 9, Samuel, 6, and their rainbow baby, Fredrick, 1, whom they welcomed in July 2022.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Duggar and her family have been in the spotlight for years, skyrocketing to fame in 2008 with the popular reality series, "19 Kids and Counting," which followed her parents, Michelle and Bob Duggar, members of the Institute of Basic Life Principles, a Christian fundamentalist group, and their brood of children.
The Duggar family appeared in New York in 2014, one year before their show was canceled. (D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Extra)
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The show, which aired for seven seasons, saw the birth of two of Michelle and Bob's children, the marriage of three of their children, and the birth of four of their grandchildren. It was canceled in 2015, although a spinoff, "Counting On," premiered in December of that year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The family has been riddled with scandal, mostly surrounding Duggar's brother, Josh, who is currently in prison for possession of child pornography. In Duggar and Dillard's book, "Counting the Cost," released in Sept. 2023, the couple detailed the struggles they experienced as members of the famous family.
"It’s helped us process and disentangle our feelings," Duggar previously told Fox News Digital of writing the memoir. "It’s been a cathartic process… This is not an isolated experience, just for reality TV or for large families… I hope people can relate to it and say, ‘I felt that too. I felt the isolation that breeds from control.’"