'Counting On' Star Jinger Duggar Reveals Weight, Body Image Struggles During Teenage Years

Jinger Duggar is opening up about her past struggles with weight and body image in her teenage years.

Duggar grew up in the spotlight due to her family's reality show "19 Kids and Counting" on TLC. It ran for years before it was canceled in 2015 following her brother Josh's molestation scandal. In an interview with Us Weekly, Duggar said she was affected by beauty standards, which made her feel like she needed to lose weight when she was a teen.

"I think in this culture around us, there is so much talk about what true beauty is and what we’re defined by — if it’s by how we look, how we were raised or how popular we are, whatever those things may be," she told the outlet.

"For me, the wrestling was with my weight and my body image, even though I was very in shape and I didn’t need to lose weight. I felt like I needed to; as a 14-year-old girl, I was really wrestling with that," she continued.

Duggar also talked about her struggles in her and husband Jeremy Vuolo's recently released book, "The Hope We Hold."

In the book, she recounted how difficult it was for her to overcome body image issues and said she had not been open with the people around her. Only a few, including Vuolo and her mom Michelle Duggar, were aware of her struggles. But she said she eventually was able to embrace her appearance.

"I talked to Jeremy," she continued. "He knows about that, of course, from day one and my mom, but I think just those [issues] that I had, I wanted others to be able to see that they’re not alone and that there are answers for that. And you don’t have to feel like you have to measure up to a certain standard of beauty or personality or whatever it may be, but [it’s about] just accepting who you were made to be."

Duggar admitted that there are still times when she questions her weight. However, she said it no longer bothers her on a daily basis since she has already learned to accept herself after finding her "identity in Christ."

"There are days where I feel like it will come up in my mind for a second, but it’s not something that I struggle with on a daily basis," Duggar added. "I mean, everybody will look in the mirror at some point and say, ‘Oh, like, I feel terrible.’ Or if I’ve [been] eating super unhealthy, like, ‘I know, OK. I just got to get back on track."

In another interview, Duggar shared how Josh's scandal in 2015 affected their family. According to her, it made her realize who her true friends were at the time and also brought their family closer to each other.