Jinger Duggar Vuolo Says Brother Josh's Scandal Is Still 'Such a Painful Thing' for the Family to Navigate

Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo tells PEOPLE about her brother, who's in prison for child pornography convictions: "It can take years to just even come to that place of realizing, 'Wait, this is the reality'"

The consequences of Josh Duggar's multiple controversies might never get easier for his family.

The popular TLC reality stars was swept up in scandal in 2015 when Josh, now 35, admitted to sexually abusing multiple young girls — including sisters Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Jessa (Duggar) Seewald — when he was between ages 12 and 15. That same year, news broke that he had paid a woman for sex that he met through Ashley Madison, a website designed to facilitate affairs for married people.

In 2021, Josh's arrest and conviction on child pornography charges (for which he was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in federal prison) ultimately caused a further divide among the family, with some people standing by him and others speaking out against him.

Reflecting on her older brother's actions, Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo opens up exclusively to PEOPLE, admitting that it's "hard for me to speak" even now about the fallout of Josh's choices.

Related: Jinger Duggar Vuolo on Feeling 'Strong Enough' to Speak on Her Experiences: 'Grateful' for the 'Freedom'

"In a sense, it's difficult but at the same time, I can only just share what I've seen and share my opinion on it. And at the end of the day, I think it's such a painful thing to walk through when you have a family member who is in that place," says the Becoming Free Indeed author, 29. "It's really tough. I think it can take years to just even come to that place of realizing, 'Wait, this is the reality.'"

From Vuolo's point of view, she's just "grateful that justice is being served."

"As hard and painful as it is to see your own brother make these choices, I am grateful that he is having this justice served," she adds. "I can't speak for the rest of the family, but I can definitely share that from my heart."

Josh's various scandals are among the many topics explored in Prime Video's four-part docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, which also looks at the Duggar family as a whole as well as their affiliation to the controversial Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

Though Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Amy (Duggar) King chose to appear in it alongside their husbands and their dad Jim Bob Duggar's sister Deanna, Vuolo opted out of it. That said, she does believe "a lot of things will be exposed in the documentary about IBLP's teachings" and she's "eager to see what the documentary has [to share]."

Related: 'Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets' — The Biggest Revelations from Prime Video's Explosive Docuseries

For those who tune in, Vuolo shares what she believes is the most crucial thing to know about IBLP: "I would say from my perspective, I think that whenever it is painted that this is in the Bible, the teachings are in the Bible, my biggest thing as someone who has left those teachings is to see that that's not who Jesus is."

"[IBLP founder] Bill Gothard paints this picture of doing these outward things to gain favor with God, or you will lose your favor with God. You're going to be an enemy and God's going to smite you. That's not how God operates," she adds. "Realizing the truth is so important."

Related: Who Is Bill Gothard? Everything to Know About the Institute in Basic Life Principles Founder

In the meantime, Vuolo will let her debut memoir Becoming Free Indeed — in which she details her upbringing and experiences with IBLP — do the talking.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, writing about this, but at the same time, I was also just so grateful to be able to do that because as I was piecing together the book and thinking through what I wanted to share, there was also some level of healing," she explains of her book, which hit shelves in January. "But at the same time, I was thinking about everyone who had been harmed and affected in a negative way by these teachings. And that's really what drove me to write this book."

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Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is now streaming in full on Prime Video.

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