Josh Duggar's brothers: We were blown away by the sex scandal and don't want to be like him anymore

Josh Duggar has lost more than he probably expected after disclosing his molestation and cheating past.


Because Josh hid these demons from most of his family and preached the Catholic faith while not actually adhering to its principles, he lost the respect of two of his brothers.

In a preview clip of the new special Jill & Jessa: Counting On, John-David Duggar and Joseph Duggar expressed their real feelings on the scandal that led to TLC canceling 19 Kids & Counting and Josh entering rehab in Rockford, IL.

"After everything kind of started to settle down from the first release of stuff in the news about Josh, we got word of a second thing that we had no clue about," John-David, 25, said.

Josh revealed in May he had molested a handful of girls -- including his younger sisters Jill Duggar and Jessa Duggar -- when he was a teenager, and then in August, he admitted to cheating on the wife of his four children and developing an addiction to pornography.


Added John-David, "That was a little more of a shock probably than the first stuff coming out because you look at your brother and you want to think the best about him... I always wanted to be like him. But one of the toughest things I had to tell my older brother was, 'I don't want to be like you anymore.'"

As for Joseph, the disclosures "blew his mind."

"I don't think there's any way any of us would have known that my brother was living such a secret life," an emotional Joseph, 20, explained in the promo. "Whenever somebody you respect the most is willing to get up and proclaim what we believe as Christians, about being true to your wife, you'd never would expect that person to be involved in it and it broke my heart."

Since John David is the second eldest of the Duggar brothers, he feels more responsibility than ever.

"It's a big load. It's a big weight upon me now. I know I've got a whole bunch of younger siblings looking up to me, and I've got to be an example to them," John-David insisted. "Because whatever I am, that's what they want to be. I know that's what it was for me and Josh."


Josh's wife Anna Duggar will also break her silence on the scandal when Jill & Jessa: Counting On premieres Sunday, December 13 at 8PM ET/PT on TLC. The two remaining parts will then air December 20 and 27 at 9PM ET/PT.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski