Josh Duggar Insisted His Mistakes Were in the Past

"I sought forgiveness," Josh said following his molestation scandal just three months ago

Published on August 21, 2015 09:05 AM

Josh Duggar, the eldest child of former 19 Kids and Counting stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, has found himself mired in scandal once again.

Following the molestation scandal that wreaked havoc on the Duggar family, Josh has confessed to having a pornography addiction and cheating on his wife Anna, at times with the help of an infidelity website.

All of this stands in stark contrast to the image he painted of himself just three months ago.

“I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life,” wrote Josh, 27, in a statement back in May, addressing the reports that as a teenager he had molested five underaged girls.

He continued, “In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”

With the previous scandal, wife Anna came to Josh’s defense: “[I know] who Josh really is,” she wrote in a statement at the time. “Someone who had received the help needed to change the direction of his life and do what is right.”

Now, Josh has said that he was still living a lie. “I have been the biggest hypocrite ever,” he wrote in the new statement addressing the cheating allegations. “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.”

He continues, “I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.”