Tyler Duggar: What Happened to Jim Bob and Michelle’s Adopted Son?

His name may not begin with a “J,” but there was a time when a boy named Tyler Duggar was very much a part of Jim Bob and Michelle’s massive brood.

Tyler, as you may recall, is the biological son of Michelle’s troubled niece Rachel Hutchins.

He was taken in by the family in 2016 amid his mother’s mounting legal and addiction and woes.

Despite fans’ assumptions to the contrary, it does not appear that Tyler was ever formally adopted by the Duggars.

The family’s website refers to him as Jim Bob and Michelle’s “grandnephew.”

But Jim Bob and Michelle seem to consider Tyler one of their sons.

And insiders say that while he might not make many appearances on the family’s social media pages, he still lives on the compound and considers Jim Bob and Michelle his parents.

In fact, the couple often refers to their family situation as “20 kids and counting” — although they can probably ditch the “counting” part at this point, as we’re pretty sure Michelle is done making babies.

Interestingly, the informal adoption of Tyler came not long after Michelle gave birth for the 20th time.

Sadly, the baby, whom the Duggars named Jubilee, was stillborn.

This was the event that apparently led Jim Bob and Michelle to give up on further expanding their family.

But a few years later, Tyler unexpectedly came into their lives.

The couple legally assumed custody of the boy in 2016, when he was just eight years old.

These days, Tyler is 14, but it seems he’s wisely decided to steer clear of the spotlight.

After all, the Duggars reality shows have been canceled, which means there’s no monetary reason for Tyler to live his life on camera.

And since he still uses the last name Hutchins, he’s one of the only Duggars who might be able to effectively distance himself from the family’s recent scandals.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Josh Duggar was convicted on child pornography charges last year.

He’s currently serving a 151-month sentence in a federal prison in Texas.

With the family media empire at an end, and their last name basically synonymous with “devil,” most of the Duggar boys and men have no choice but to work for Jim Bob in one of his many failing businsesses.

But not Tyler.

Unlike Jim Bob and Michelle’s other kids, Tyler was never forced to act out fake storylines on the family’s reality shows.

In fact, many Duggar fans probably aren’t even aware that he exists.

Those circumstances were probably painful when Tyler was younger, but these days, he’s enjoying the last laugh:

The moment he turns 18, Tyler is free to enter the world without anyone knowing he was ever a Duggar!

Hopefully, he’ll be able to shake off all the nonsense that he was indoctrinated with during his years on the compound!

Tyler Duggar: What Happened to Jim Bob and Michelle’s Adopted Son? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .