JIM Bob and Michelle Duggar’s ex-best friend Bobye Holt has requested a restraining order against her husband, Jim, after they appeared on a docuseries together.
Bobye and Jim starred on Amazon Prime’s Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, as the docuseries exposed the famous family’s belief in the controversial organization The Institute of Basic Life Principles.
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The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal Bobye requested an order of protection against the husband of her 11 children on April 20, 2023.
A clerk for Washington County Court in Arkansas could not confirm if the protection order was granted.
A judgment was entered and the case was closed on May 8, 2023.
The U.S. Sun can also confirm the couple’s son requested a protection order against his father on the same day as his mother.
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The case regarding the son is listed as “closed,” according to the clerk, who also could not confirm if the request was granted.
No divorce has been filed, The U.S. Sun confirmed with the Washington County court.
Without a Crystal Ball was the first to report on the filing for the order of protection.
Jim did not respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
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HOLT FAMILY TELLS ALL
The couple appeared happy and affectionate during the docuseries, as they held hands while detailing their decades-long friendship with Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle, 56.
Bobye said during the docuseries: “Over the years our relationship with them had grown. [Their oldest son] Josh was our first daughter’s boyfriend. We had known him since he was a baby.”
The couple, who were courting for marriage, split when Josh allegedly admitted to molesting five females in the family home in 2002 and 2003, Bobye and Jim explained in the docuseries.
His younger sisters Jill, 32, who appeared in the docuseries, and Jessa, 30, came forward as victims.
Bobye claimed: “What Jim Bob had said to us was Josh had gotten into some trouble. He’s touched his sisters inappropriately.”
Jim added on the docuseries: “We found out about it when he was 15. We were like, ‘Well when were you going to tell us?’ Michelle said, ‘Well we weren’t going to tell you guys at all. We were going to have Josh confess to Kayleigh once they were married.
“I said, ‘Were you using my daughter as a carrot to get him to behave the right way?’ And he said, ‘Yeah kind of.’”
A rep for Jim Bob and Michelle did not respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
ON THE STAND
Bobye and Jim were also present at Josh’s child pornography trial and sentencing, as the matriarch took the stand and testified for the prosecution.
Josh was arrested for one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography in April 2021.
Bobye testified that the plan was for her oldest daughter and Josh to "get married," but she and Jim decided to call off the courtship after learning of the reported molestation.
She explained: "He told us so our oldest daughter would know why the relationship had to end. Josh went to a facility for troubled youth."
Bobye wept in the courtroom as she claimed she "still loves" Josh despite his past behavior, adding, "Being here is miserable.”
Josh, 34, was found guilty of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021 and has been serving his 151-month prison sentence at FCI Seagoville in Texas.
The disgraced reality star filed an appeal to the conviction in October 2022, as he is requesting the court grant him a new trial.
DUGGARS TELL ALL
Jill appeared on the documentary alongside her husband, Derick Dillard, to speak about IBLP.
Rebel cousin Amy King also spoke about growing up with the family.
The Duggar family released a statement in response to the docuseries: "The recent 'documentary' that talks about our family is sad because in it we see the media and those with ill intentions hurting people we love. Like other families, ours too has experienced the joys and heartbreaks of life, just in a very public format.
"This 'documentary' paints so much and so many in a derogatory and sensationalized way because sadly that’s the direction of entertainment these days.
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"We have always believed that the best chance to repair damaged relationships, or to reconcile differences, is through love in a private setting. We love every member of our family and will continue to do all we can to have a good relationship with each one."
The statement ended: "Through both the triumphs and the trials we have clung to our faith all the more and discovered that through the love and grace of Jesus, we find strength, comfort, and purpose."
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