All About Josh Duggar's Wife Anna: Her Marriage, Family and Religious Upbringing

With her husband's newest scandal, the devout young mother of four has been thrust into the spotlight.

Image
Photo: Scott Enlow/TLC

After a challenging year, Josh Duggar is back at home with his wife Anna Duggar and their four young children .

On Wednesday, PEOPLE exclusively published the first photos of Josh, 28, after he returned home in March following a series of scandals last year and spent nearly seven months at a faith-based rehab facility in Rockford, Illinois.

Josh’s scandals put the spotlight on Anna, after he admitted to being unfaithful to her and being addicted to pornography.

In a March episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On, Anna tearfully spoke about visiting her husband in rehab.

“This visit was great because it definitely gives a lot of hope, but also the weight of everything is there and so it definitely drives me deeper to my faith,” she said.

That faith can be traced back to growing up as one of eight children to parents Mike and Suzette Keller, who gave Anna a strict, religious childhood similar to that of the Duggars.

“Her parents are even a little more extreme,” A source told PEOPLE of the Kellers last year.

When Anna, now 27, met Josh at a Christian homeschooling convention back in 2006 when she was a teen, she wasn’t allowed to gush about him to her siblings. “That’s not something that’s shared amongst siblings,” the source said. “They always got 15-minute, one-on-one sessions with their mom every week. That was the time to share their feelings, but other than that they had to keep their feelings to themselves.”

Growing up, Anna was particularly close to her youngest sister Susanna.

“Growing up, they were attached at the hip,” said the source. “They did everything together.”

Despite her rigid upbringing, Anna still had spunk. Said the source, “She’s really fun. She was always the bossy sister, but in a fun way. If she and her siblings were playing a game, she would make sure they were doing it exactly by the rules. They always had a good time together.”

Anna, who wed Josh in 2008, spoke out about her husband’s impending return from rehab and addressed his scandals on a recent episode of TLC’s Jill & Jessa: Counting On.

“I think it’s daily, there’s going to be a lot of work and there kind of is a long process ahead, but we’ll just kind of take it one day at time and keep trusting god and doing the right thing,” Anna said. “I think there’s lots of hope for the future and a lot of excitement. But, in some ways, there are a lot of steps before it’s where it needs to be.”

Related Articles