Duggar family patriarch Jim Bob Duggar stepped out on Tuesday, Aug. 25, making it the first time he's been spotted since his son Josh Duggar's cheating scandal erupted last week.
Jim Bob, 50, was snapped running errands in his local town of Springdale, Ark., sporting a solemn expression as he walked out of a local joint. His appearance came five days after his eldest son, Josh, admitted to cheating on his wife, Anna, in a statement released on the Duggar family's official website.
"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever," Josh wrote, a day after it was reported that his information was linked to two subscriptions on infidelity website Ashley Madison. "While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife."
In the stolen data leaked by hackers, the information linked to Josh showed that the user listed interests like "one-night stands" and "experimenting with sex toys."
This is the latest scandal in a difficult year for Josh, who this past May was confronted with old demons when it came to light that he molested five girls, including his sisters Jessa and Jill Duggar, as a teenager. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar subsequently appeared on The Kelly File with Fox News' Megyn Kelly to discuss how the family coped after the 2002 to 2003 events.
"He came to us and was crying and told us what happened," Jim Bob recalled at the time, adding that certain "safeguards" were implemented in order to prevent recurring instances.
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As shocked as Jim Bob and his wife were back then, they reacted with disappointment last week after learning of Josh's infidelity.
"When we learned of this late last night our hearts were broken," Jim Bob and Michelle wrote on the family's official website. "As we continue to place our trust in God we ask for your prayers for Josh, Anna, our grandchildren, and our entire family."
Josh, meanwhile, concluded his statement with an apology. "I humbly ask for your forgiveness.," he told the millions of fans of his family's now-canceled TLC series 19 Kids and Counting. "Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time."
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