Jinger Duggar’s Husband Jeremy Vuolo Reveals ‘Deep Betrayal’ and ‘Lessons’ Learned in Their Marriage

Jinger Duggar Vuolo and husband Jeremy Vuolo are going strong as they approach their ninth wedding anniversary in November, but their relationship hasn’t been all sunshine and roses.

On a Wednesday, July 30 installment of their The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast, the parents of three – who welcomed Felicity, 6, Evangeline, 4, and Finn, 4 months, together – reflected on a “really difficult time” early in their marriage.

Jeremy, 37, called the situation a “deep betrayal,” but clarified that it had nothing to do with either of their families. Rather, it involved other people in his life that he’d been “excited” for his wife, 31, to “meet and engage with.”

“You have relationships in your life that ground you, and when those shake or are removed, you feel like, ‘What am I doing?’” he explained.

Feeling very “deeply unsettled” by the unnamed incident, the couple spoke with their pastor, who suggested “the Lord’s teaching you how to walk alone.”

Despite the time being tough for them, looking back, the former professional soccer player noted that they were “the greatest lessons” they’d ever learned as a married couple.

“We looked back on our first year and thought, ‘That was really incredible,’ but actually, there were a ton of challenges,” Jeremy continued. “And a lot of them were assaults from the outside. And it was like, ‘OK, we didn’t expect to be in a war zone,’ but we got to bunker down and we get to bunker down with each other.”

The pair hasn’t only weathered personal struggles, they’ve also gotten through tense times with their extended families. In Jinger’s book, Becoming Free Indeed, she spoke candidly about her strict upbringing and where her beliefs diverged from the ones her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, held.

While she didn’t specify who she meant, Jinger told People that she had “loved ones” who were “very unkind” to her about what she chose to share in the tell-all book.

“It was not easy. But at the end of the day, I realized it was the best decision. It was the best thing that I could have done, to love these people by sharing truth,” she revealed in the interview.

“That was something that was freeing for me because … the more that I’m thinking clearly through the ‘why’ behind I want to speak truth, I need to stand up for the vulnerable,” she continued. “My people-pleasing before would never have allowed me to do that. I would’ve been silent.”