On the latest episode of her “WHOA That’s Good” podcast, Sadie Robertson Huff spoke to fellow Christian author and influencer Jinger Duggar Vuolo about their similar backgrounds and faith experiences. Both Huff, 28, and Vuolo, 31, grew up in conservative families that had reality TV shows, and both are now married mothers of three.
During their hour-long conversation, Huff and Vuolo spoke about growing up in the spotlight and maturing in faith. They also exchanged advice about marriage and motherhood, reminding listeners not to succumb to the pressure of other people’s expectations.
Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Sadie Robertson Huff Grew Up on TV
Jinger Duggar Vuolo is the sixth of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children. The family was featured on the TLC reality shows “19 Kids and Counting” and then “Counting On.” Looking back, Vuolo called that “an interesting journey, definitely not without challenge and struggle and a lot of trials that we faced in the public eye.”
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Although the Duggar children were “very sheltered,” Vuolo said, they learned “the true gospel” from their parents. “From an early age, I knew that salvation was not by works, that I needed to trust in Jesus for salvation,” she told Huff. But Vuolo also heard “a lot of extra-biblical rules, things that were not based in the Bible.” She mentioned teacher Bill Gothard, saying he “claimed to speak for God but didn’t.”
As described in the 2023 Amazon docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” Gothard and his Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) strongly influenced Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. According to Vuolo, those teachings left her “crippled with fear” about God’s requirements. In fact, she told Huff that Gothard’s teachings “quickly overclouded” her parents’ message that “God was a loving and kind heavenly Father.”
Vuolo said husband Jeremy helped her move beyond legalistic rules and a performance-based mindset about faith. Jeremy, who works at The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles, watched hours of Gothard’s seminars with Vuolo before the two were married. Comparing IBLP teachings to specific Bible passages helped her spot what was deceptive, she said.
Learning how God really operates is “freeing,” said Vuolo, who wants to help other people find that same “freedom in Christ.” Her 2023 theological memoir is titled “Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear.”
Huff, who grew up in the spotlight on “Duck Dynasty,” commended Vuolo for adjusting her beliefs without entirely deconstructing from them. Instead of throwing away her faith or feeling bitter, Huff noted, Vuolo worked hard to “weed out the bad” from the good in a beautiful way.
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Vuolo used the term “disentangling,” comparing the process to pulling gum out of a child’s hair. “It’s slow, it’s painful, it’s hard, but it’s worth it,” she said. “Just opening the Bible for yourself and reading the Word of God has been the most freeing thing. And being in a good church [that] helps you to learn the Word has also been super-helpful for me.”
