No matter what the world thinks of the Duggar family, fans were genuinely concerned about Jinger Duggar.
Recent photos showed Jinger looking frighteningly thin, sparking worries about disordered eating.
In an apparent move to reassure fans, Jeremy has posted new photos in which his wife looks happy and presumably healthy.
Some fans are relieved. Others wonder if this is a deliberate PR move to quash concerns.
Jeremy Vuolo shared these two photos on his Instagram page.
"Sundays," he wrote as a simple caption on the pics.
Between the bare arms and the caption not being immediately relevant to church, it does stand out when compared to the Duggar brand.
As for the photos themselves, Jinger looks happy and healthy in the pics, whether they are candid or staged.
Her arms do not appear to be "gaunt" as some had worried.
While that’s not a sure sign that her eating habits are fine, it’s reassuring to some — and so is her bright and happy expression.
When we say that some followers were reassured, you don’t have to take our word for it.
Commenters were quick to point out how happy and peaceful Jinger looked in the photos.
Whether that was the intent of the pics or Jeremy was just sharing pics of his beautiful wife, that’s what followers saw.
"Jinger looks so refreshed and beautiful," one fan noted. "And also happy."
"Such a lovely young woman. Such peace in her eyes," another follower praised.
Another commenter expressed a desire for the rest of Jinger’s family to be so well-styled, writing: "I wish this glow for all of them."
Jinger has been open about her past struggles with disordered eating, having admitted to extreme diets.
On the one hand, this sort of behavior can be related to the strict expectations imposed upon women within the Duggar family, church, and cult.
Since she was supposed to be beautiful and cater to her husband’s every wish, she was expected to look presentable and desirable under her clothes — even before she met Jeremy.
But what we need to remember about disordered eating is that it is not a cults-only phenomenon.
The roots of disordered eating, whether brought on by parental cruelty or social pressure or childhood food scarcity, lie in control.
In many ways, disordered eating is a form of self-harm, not only in its effect but in terms of its causes.
Jinger has, frankly, never been able to control her life.
Yes, she experiences relative freedom now, as Jeremy’s wife, but that path was chosen for her.
Jim Bob saw and treated her as her property before approving her marriage to Jeremy.
There are many responses to a bad situation, some healthier than others.
Disordered eating, though thankfully not a universal response to stress or trauma, is one that is sometimes rewarded with praise by society.
It is a relief that Jinger has acknowledged, publicly, that some of her past eating behaviors were unhealthy and extreme.
As for the photos, it’s hard to say whether Jeremy was trying to quash worries about Jinger or just sharing pics of his gorgeous wife.
She is a beautiful woman and they are, after all, a particular type of online influencers — taking and sharing pics go with the territory.
It’s easy to read complicated motives into simple actions, but not everything is a PR move. Of course … sometimes, it is. We just don’t know.
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