Jill Duggar Dillard Poses With Rarely-Seen Sis Jennifer (She Grew Up So Fast!)

People who have watched the Duggars since the 17, 18, and "19 Kids and Counting" days have noticed that Jennifer Duggar and Jill Duggar Dillard were very close. Jennifer seemed especially unhappy when Jill got married and moved out of the Duggar family home, most likely due to their buddy system connection.

In a post from 2019 on the "Duggars Snark" Reddit thread, a Redditor theorized that Jennifer doesn't smile in rare photograph appearances because she misses Jill. The commenter added that Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar made a mistake by, "[enabling] a buddy system which emotionally neglected their younger children and bonded them to older sisters who were due to marry and leave at a young age and (2) [creating] a situation where [Jennifer] is not able to freely spend time with the woman who raised her, and who she was clearly bonded to as a young girl."

In the June 2023 "Shiny Happy People" docuseries, it seemed that Jill and her husband Derick Dillard are not in contact with Jim Bob and Michelle, with Derick saying, "There's been some distancing there. We're not on the best terms with some of the family." It's possible that Jill and Jennifer do not get to talk or see each other often because of that, but hopefully, that can change at some point due to their bond.