The Duggar family may abide by strict courtship rules, but patriarch Jim Bob Duggar's sister Deanna quietly admitted she had a child out of wedlock.
Deanna Duggar, 52, has been married to Terry Jordan, 52, since 2006.
Her daughter, the aspiring country singer Amy Duggar, is 27.
This is an open secret, if that. Deanna actually admitted it in 2009 on an early episode of 19 Kids And Counting (then titled 18 Kids and Counting).
“Terry and I knew each other a long time ago, and I got pregnant with Amy. And so, we dated each other on and off for quite some time,” Deanna said.
"Then we finally decided you know what, we need to get married!"
"So we got married, we’ve been together for three years.”
On her Instagram, Amy Duggar refers to Terry as dad, saying "a girl’s father is the first man in her life and the most influential ... I admire my dad.”
However, it isn’t clear if Terry is in fact her biological father.
They go way back, but it's not clear how far, and in what way. In a 2012 interview with the Examiner, Terry said he and Deanna started dating 20 years ago.
In which case, Amy Duggar's real father would still be a mystery.
She doesn't seem bothered by this, though, and even Deanna and her conservative, reality star brother have maintained close ties through the years.
Despite the fact that premarital sex - heck, even full frontal hugs out of wedlock are among the things not allowed by the Duggars - she and Jim Bob are close.
“We enjoy getting together every week,” Jim Bob has said.
The polarizing reality TV family has weathered some controversy of late, along with some interesting revelations pertaining to their own family members.
Jim Bob and Deanna appear to be on good terms, but Michelle Duggar, 49, has been the subject of criticism from her lesbian sister Evelyn Ruark.
See more Duggar family scandals in the gallery below:
