In the second part of TLC's three-part Duggar family special "Jill and Jessa: Counting On," Anna Duggar finally opened up and gave her heartfelt account of how life has been since her husband Josh's cheating scandal broke out, the family prepared for Jessa Seewald's baby shower, and Jill and her husband Derek Dillard left for their missionary trip in Central America.
The first part of the episode was dedicated to Anna, and she struggled to hold tears back as she spoke about the betrayal she felt when news broke that Josh had used the cheating website Ashley Madison to seek out partners for affairs.
"I think it is such a betrayal for a spouse to go through what we're walking through," she told cameras during her on-camera interview, as previously reported by HNGN.
She gave updates on Josh's whereabouts and said he was "at a place where he felt he needed a lot of help," and admitted himself into a faith-based rehab center for sex addition. Since Josh has been away receiving treatment, Anna was forced to move in with Josh's parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and is staying in the girls' bedroom in the family's Arkansas home with Anna and Josh's four children. But even though she said her world has been "shattered" since Josh's scandal, she's still standing by her husband.
"I have every right to walk away from this marriage," Anna said. "And I respect other people's views but in my heart, when I got married I vowed to God first and then to Josh: for better or worse, 'til death do us part.
"My prayers and heart's desire is for our marriage to be restored," she continued, no longer able to hold back tears.
Anna said that she was grateful for the chance to spend more time with Josh's family even under these circumstances, and she was very hands-on in Jessa's baby shower preparations. Family friend and party planner Sierra worked her magic, and together with Jessa's sisters and sister-in-law, they prepared a fall-themed baby shower at a local barn, complete with baby shower games and a pumpkin spice-flavored dessert table.
Jessa's sister Jill and her husband Derek were happy to be in Arkansas for the baby shower, which was one of the last times they would be around the whole family before embarking on a missionary trip in Central America with their infant son Israel and Derek's mother Cathy.
After Jessa's shower, the eldest Duggar sister Jana stopped by the Dillard's home to help them pack and the family had a tearful send-off at the airport. Once settled into their new apartment in Central America, Derek and Jill fully immersed themselves in language lessons and learned more about the culture through locals, like a woman named Lydia.
Lydia showed them the traditions of the land, like carrying babies in a sling made of an embroidered material instead of a baby Bjorn like most Americans use. During a dinner at Lydia's home, little Israel even had a taste of his first solid food: mashed avocado with a little bit of lemon, courtesy of Lydia.
"It's crazy to think this is our life now," Jill said. "It's been exciting so far, but we still have a lot of come."
Watch a clip from the episode below.
