The Truth About Jill Duggar's Tattoo

When Jill Duggar exited her family's TLC reality series "Counting On," she underwent an image overhaul. Viewers were used to seeing her and her sisters wearing skirts and dresses because pants were forbidden fruit for Duggar women, a fashion rule that Michelle Duggar explained in a blog post for TLC Parentables. The mother of 19 recalled how it came to be, writing, "I really feel like the Lord is impressing upon me that I should be modest in what I wear. And also, that I really should be defining who I am as a woman by choosing to wear dresses and skirts."

According to Patheos, the Duggars are Independent Fundamental Baptists who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, and in her blog, Michelle recalled how the family studied scripture together when crafting the Duggar dress code. If the book also influenced their feelings about body art, it's likely that the former "19 Kids and Counting" stars came to the conclusion that getting inked should be banned as well. After all, there is a Bible verse (Leviticus 19:28, to be exact) that says, "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you." 

But Jill demonstrated that she wasn't going to play by her parents' rules anymore when she rocked a pair of jeans for a 2017 outing with her husband, Derick Dillard, and fans later learned that tattoos were also on the table.

Jill Duggar first showed an appreciation for body art by getting a temporary henna tattoo on her hand in 2017. In response to questions from her Instagram followers about the ink, she revealed that she got it at an exhibit for India during a visit to a museum. In October 2021, the tattoo chatter started up again when Duggar shared photos of religious messages that she had scrawled on her hand and wrist. They read "Jesus only Jesus" and "He is my peace."

A month later, an Instagrammer predicted that the former "Counting On" star would get something permanent etched on her skin, to which Duggar replied, "Possibly ... have to decide which one, where and build up courage ... might take me awhile. lol." She further discussed the possibility in a Q&A on the YouTube channel that she shares with her husband, saying, "Biblically, I don't think that there's something wrong with it." However, she suggested that a lot of thought and consideration should go into getting a tattoo, pointing out, "It's a permanent thing."

Duggar confessed that she has a fear of needles, saying that just getting her nose pierced was difficult for her. She also expressed some concern over how much getting tattooed would hurt and how long the process would take. But although she might have some reservations about going under the needle, she concluded, "I'm a very sentimental person, so I could see myself getting a tattoo."

In her September 2020 YouTube Q&A, Jill Duggar explained why her pants and nose ring didn't make an appearance until after she moved out of her parents' house. "Even if I liked something before, [I] maybe wouldn't have done it because of some of the backlash that I would get from people close to me," she said. "I just hate confrontation, so maybe I would have avoided it." She revealed that her husband supported her decision to get a nose piercing, a look she liked long before she would ever dare trying it herself.

Duggar added that going to therapy has helped her be more comfortable with the idea of living life on her own terms and she's learned to accept that some of her family members aren't going to be accepting of the choices she makes. Duggar also spoke to People about why she decided to leave "Counting On" and distance herself from her parents. "Our control to choose what jobs we were allowed to accept and even where we were allowed to live was taken away from us," she revealed.

Now that she's a parent herself, Duggar is allowing her sons more freedom than she had growing up. She told Us Weekly that the boys can watch television regularly, which wasn't an option when she was a kid, and she's even let her son Samuel rock a temporary tattoo.