Jill Duggar Responds to Fans Who Want To Know Why She Wasn't in Sister Jana Duggar's Wedding

Long before both of the Duggar family's TLC shows 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On were canceled, it was unheard of for one of the adult daughters to have a wedding and not include their sisters in it. But things have changed and with Jill Duggar's distance from the family apparently comes a different dynamic when it comes to bridal parties, namely Jana Duggar's. And Jill replied to a comment on Instagram from a follower who asked why she wasn't one of Jana's bridesmaids.

While Jill has been the most vocal critic out of her family members about her upbringing, and she publicly shared her thoughts about the fundamentalist Christian religion she grew up in, she isn't exactly on the outs with the family. After she released her 2023 memoir Counting the Cost, Jill revealed that her parents, primarily dad Jim Bob Duggar, wasn't happy about it.

But that same year, Jill was part of the family Christmas celebration. It appears she's still working on her relationships with her family members, so why wasn't she also part of Jana's bridal party?

On Aug. 20, 2024, Jill shared an Instagram post featuring a mashup of different videos of Jana's wedding. Where, by the way, she was indeed a guest at, despite early reports and rumors that Jill and her husband Derick Dillard were not present. In the comments under the post, one follower asked Jill why she wasn't a bridesmaid, along with all of her other adult and teenage sisters.

"I don't know, but it should always be the bride's decision," Jill replied to the comment. And, while she seemed happy to just be in attendance at the wedding, it does make you wonder what Jill's relationship is like with Jana if she not only wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid, but also isn't aware of why she wasn't asked.

Jana's matron of honor was sister Jessa Duggar. Her bridesmaids were Johannah, Jinger, Joy, and Jordyn Duggar, as well as sister-in-law Abbie Duggar. In the past, the sisters were quick to include everyone in their respective bridal parties. Jana was even Jill's maid of honor once upon a time. But apparently, in distancing herself from the family in some ways, some of the blow back Jill faced was being excluded from this wedding's bridal party.

When another Instagram follower commented on Jill's post to ask about her kids and if they were in attendance, she explained that at the wedding venue, "space was tight." Some shade, perhaps? Probably not. She also said that her kids were at the rehearsal dinner the previous night.

Even though Jill isn't on the outs with her family as a whole, it's clear that the dynamic has changed greatly since she made the decision to distance herself from some of the Duggars' core beliefs.