Jill Duggar Dillard is embarking on a new chapter in her life. The former star of "Counting On" announced that she and her husband, Derick Dillard, along with their three sons—Israel, 11, Samuel, 8, and Frederick, 3—will be relocating away from their native Arkansas after Derick joins the Marine Corps. "He's shipping out for active duty to Quantico, VA in a few weeks," Jill shared on their blog on April 9. "With the Lord's willing, he will commission as an officer at the end of OCS [Officer Candidate School] and then proceed to several other trainings before getting his assignment as a Marine Corps JAG [Judge Advocate General's Corps] officer."
"Becoming a military JAG officer has been Derick's long-standing dream, and he even received a recruiting letter from the Marine Corps last year," the 34-year-old continued. "But the timing just wasn't right for our family." Fortunately, a second opportunity presented itself in March. "We've been surprised at how quickly things have come together and the doors that have continuously opened," Jill shared. "So much so that we can't deny that God is leading us in this direction."
According to the former "19 Kids and Counting" star, she and her children will "move to join" Derick in Virginia once he completes his 10-week training. From there, the family will relocate to Rhode Island. "We'd appreciate your prayers for health and strength for Derick as he prepares for and trains at OCS," Jill added. "And for the rest of us as we navigate this new family transition without him for a while!"
This isn't the first time Jill has left her home state; she grew up with 18 of her siblings at their family compound in Springdale. One year after her 2014 wedding, she and Derick moved to Central America to do missionary work. They returned to Arkansas in 2017, the same year they cut ties with TLC and distanced themselves from Jill's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.
"We were kind of caught between a rock and a hard place where we had to choose between our family goals over filming," Derick explained in a 2020 YouTube video. "It was in the best interest of our family to pursue our family goals." Since then, their relationship with Jill's dad has deteriorated further. As Derick put it last year after they were photographed back at her childhood home, "Just so people know, Jim Bob approached me while we were there on Christmas Day for about five minutes, and I do not respect him."
"We're trying to be civil for the sake of our family, but that doesn't mean everything is perfect," he added on Instagram. "And it certainly doesn't mean that I won't comment when people try to warp reality for their own purposes."
