In recent weeks, we’ve been reporting on Josh Duggar’s comeback tour .
While the Duggars have not made their intentions explicit, it seems clear that they’re working toward rebuilding their disgraced son’s reputation in the hope that fans will be able to overlook Josh’s sex crimes.
That seems unlikely, but it’s not stopping Jim Bob and Michelle from pulling out all the stops.
Of course, if the Duggars have learned anything over the years it’s that nothing distracts their fans from scandal quite like a new baby.
And that’s just one reason that Duggar watchers believe Anna is currently expecting her sixth child.
Take a look:
Anna’s Clan Josh and Anna have been keeping a low profile ever since it was revealed in 2015 that he had molested five young girls while still in his teens.
Hiding Out While Anna has continued to make occasional appearances on Counting On, Josh has mostly kept his distance from his family’s media empire.
Creeping Back In recent weeks, however, Josh has made numerous appearances on the official social media counts run by his parents.
Starting Slow The Duggars are no slouches when it comes to public relations, and they wisely decided to re-introduce Josh gradually.
Safety In Numbers They started with photos of Josh in crowd scenes at family events such as birthday parties.
Back At It Recently, Josh and Anna began making public appearances together for the first time since his sex scandals.
Moving On Up (Getty) Last month, the couple attended the wedding of family friend and fellow reality star Josie Bates.
The Big Leagues (TLC) Last week, they made an appearance at the wedding of Josh’s younger brother John David.
Things Are Changing Now, several of Josh’s siblings have gotten married in the years since his sexual assaults were revealed, and Josh attended the wedding each time.
A Different Time But on those occasions, the Duggars were still treating Josh like the toxic liability that he is, and his presence was not exactly celebrated.
Ode to Joy (TLC) At Joy’s nuptials, for example, Josh was edited out of footage shot by TLC for the customary wedding special.
The Wedding Guests At John David’s wedding, however, Josh and Anna were heavily photographed and even took time to record this video greeting for the bride and groom.
Jumping to Conclusions Interestingly, fans were less concerned with Josh’s presence in the video than with Anna’s appearance.
Is Anna Pregnant? Duggar aficionados are convinced that Anna is hiding a baby bump in this video.
Bump Sighting? We’re not convinced, but the Duggar faithful have already concluded that Josh and Anna are expecting their sixth child.
Premature Congratulations (Getty) “Congratulations if you’re pregnant Anna! Keep growing Gods kingdom! I’m thankful He’s healed your marriage,” one fan commented on YouTube.
Questions Abound “Did I miss a pregnancy announcement from them?” asked one fan.
Straight to the Point “Is Anna pregnant again?” another commenter queried.
Nothing New Anna, of course, is the subject of pregnancy rumors on a near-constant basis.
Clearing the Air The last time false reports that she was expecting circulated online, Anna shot them down with a self-deprecating joke.
Anna’s Got Jokes (© TLC) “I’m not expecting,” she said at the time. “Only overdue for a diet.”
Keeping Mum This time around, Anna has not commented on the rumors, leading many to believe she really is expecting.
Convenient Timing And as the news comes just as Josh is attempting to rebuild his reputation and career, many believe those two facts are not unrelated.
Give Them Some Credit? (Getty) Others believe it’s absurd to assume that Anna would get pregnant just to boost her husband’s public profile.
Then Again … (Getty) The Duggars maintain their fame and fortune is a reflection of God’s will, and it’s not something they take lightly. And at this point, we really wouldn’t put anything past them …