Josh and Anna Duggar welcome fifth child — 2 years after scandals rocked their marriage
Two years after a high-profile cheating and molestation scandal rocked their marriage, Josh and Anna Duggar have welcomed a fifth child.
The former 19 Kids and Counting stars married in September 2008, and share Meredith, 2; Marcus, 4; Michael, 6; and 7-year-old Mackynzie. Their newest addition, son Mason Garrett, joined the family on Tuesday, weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 22 inches long.
“We are so thankful and happy to announce the arrival of our new son, Mason Garrett Duggar,” the family posted on its website. “Both he and Anna are doing well. He arrived today without complication and we already adore him. The entire family is ecstatic over the arrival of another beautiful blessing. We want to thank everyone for your prayers, kind words and well wishes. We appreciate it much more than we could ever express. We pray God blesses each of you with an abundance of the kindness you’ve shown us.”
Josh and Anna announced in March that they were expecting again, noting that it was a particularly sensitive time in their marriage. In May 2015 — just two months before Meredith was born — a 2006 police report surfaced and revealed that, as a teen, Josh had been investigated for inappropriately touching several underage girls, including a family babysitter and two of his sisters, Jill, now 26, and Jessa, 24.
As a result, the reality show chronicling the lives of the large, conservative Christian brood was canceled in July 2015. Then, just one month later, Gawker reported that Josh had prowled on the Ashley Madison website for married people seeking affairs. He responded by admitting to having cheated on his wife and having become addicted to pornography. Shortly after, he resigned from his work at the conservative Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., and checked into a faith-based rehabilitation facility in Rockford, Ill., where he stayed for more than six months.
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever,” he said in a statement at the time. “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. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”
The couple acknowledged in this year’s baby announcement that they’ve been through a tough time.
“For nearly the last two years, we have quietly worked to save our marriage, focus on our children, and rebuild our lives together as a family. Doing so is never easy after a breach of trust,” they shared. “We’ve learned that a life of faith and rebuilding a life together is simply done one day at a time. As we continue our journey as a family and rebuild our lives, we are delighted to share with you that we are expecting a new baby boy later this year. Beauty comes from ashes and we cannot wait to see and kiss the face of this sweet new boy!”
That moment is finally here.
Read more from Yahoo Celebrity:
