Jessa Seewald Says Josh Duggar’s Cheating Scandal Strengthened Her Marriage To Husband Ben

Jessa Seewald has managed to find something positive in her brother Josh Duggar’s numerous scandals. The former “19 Kids & Counting” star reflected on that difficult time, revealing that it helped bring her and husband Ben Seewald closer together.

“[It] strengthened our resolve to be true to our wedding vows,” she said on Tuesday’s episode of her and sister Jill Dillard’s TLC show “Jill & Jessa: Counting On” (via People magazine).

However, the 23-year-old mom of one admitted that it was “very difficult” to have to live through everything. “We cried a lot of tears,” she said. “I felt like it was especially difficult for me because I had spoken out in defense of Josh and had stood up for him and then there was a whole another wave of things that came through.”

Jessa initially defended her 28-year-old brother after reports surfaced that he had molested young girls, including her and Jill, when he was a teenager. Shortly after that scandal, Josh was found to have an account on the cheating website Ashley Madison. He later admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, Anna Duggar, and having a pornography addiction.

“It was really difficult for me to just be like, ‘I stood up here, I spoke out for him,’ and yet there were some things he was hiding and wasn’t being honest about,” Jessa said on the show. “It was very emotional through those months after that, just working through all that.”

On last Tuesday’s episode, Anna opened up her relationship with Josh admitting that she was “really excited” for him to leave rehab. “I can look back on the past few months and say it’s been a hard road, but it’s been a good road, and I know there’s still a lot of work,” she said (via Us Weekly). “I think it’s daily [that] there’s going to be a lot of work, and there kind of is a long process ahead, but we’ll just take it one day at a time and keep trusting God and do the right thing. There’s a lot of little steps before it’s where it needs to be.”

As previously reported, Josh completed his program at a Christian rehab facility and his back home in Arkansas with his family. However, the drama surrounding his different scandals is far from over. In March, reports surfaced that certain family members didn’t want him around their children.