Josh Duggar Returns Home After 6 Months In Rehab; Duggar Family Opens Up About Forgiveness

Josh Duggar
Josh Duggar has left rehab after spending six months at a faith-based treatment facility in Rockford, Illinois, the reality TV family announced on their blog on Thursday, March 10.  AP

Former "19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar has returned home after spending nearly six months in a faith-based rehab following his admittance to infidelity and pornography addiction.

In a statement shared on their personal website on Thursday morning, the Duggar family confirmed the news.

"Josh has completed his residential rehabilitation program. We are so thankful for everyone who worked with Josh in this program," the statement reads. "It was a crucial first step in recovery and healing for Josh. Josh has now returned to Arkansas, where he will continue professional counseling and focus on rebuilding relationships with his family. We look to God for help and guidance and place all of our trust in Him. We are forever grateful for the love and prayers offered by so many and hope you will continue to pray in the days ahead."

The 28-year-old Duggar son had been at Reformers Anonymous in Rockford, Illinoins since last August, when he admitted to being addicted to pornography and to being unfaithful to his wife of seven years, Anna. A few months prior, it was revealed he had molested several young girls as a young teenager, including two of his own sisters.

In the days before Josh's return, his family spoke about how his indiscretions have affected them over the past several months and shared how they're working on forgiving him.

"I definitely have forgiven Josh. It is a process, though, that you have to work through in your heart," Josh's sister Jessa Seewald told People Magazine. "And trust is not quickly rebuilt. It is something that takes a while. We love him very much, though, and we are very hopeful for the future."

Younger sister Joy added: "I have forgiven him and I feel that, but the trust is not there."

Anna, who has four children with Josh, also shared her uncertainy regarding the future of her marriage in a recent promo for the upcoming TLC show, Counting On.

"I don't know what I'm stepping into," she said. "I don't know how to handle each situation...It's not anything I ever would have thought I would walk through. [I tell myself,] 'Just do the next right thing, have the next right response for the next 15 minutes.'"

Meanwhile, Josh's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, penned a letter to their disgraced son his 28th birthday last month, reminding him of their love and sharing that they pray for him "every day."

"Today is our son Josh's birthday. The heartache of the past year cannot surpass the joy 28 years ago on this day when we first became parents!" they wrote on their family's official Facebook page. "We love you Josh and believe your best days can be ahead of you. We continue to pray for you every day."

While the Duggar family's hit TLC show, 19 Kids and Counting, was canceled as a result of the scandals, TLC in February announced plans to turn the Jill & Jessa: Counting On special into a full series, premiering Tuesday, March 15, at 9 p.m. EST. Josh Duggar is not expected to appear in the upcoming series.

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