As could be expected, Reed doesn't agree with many of the fundamentalist practices his sisters and the Duggars grew up with, such as homeschooling. (His sisters were homeschooled; he went to public schools.) Women in the church are expected to dress modestly and never wear pants, a rule Reed sees as "obviously not" normal.
Then there's the church's belief in supervised courtship rather than dating, with no physical intimacy before marriage. Reed says, "I'm personally like, that's a little crazy to me. I don't know if I could marry someone without kissing them." Still, he rejects the idea that his sisters have been repressed in any way. "They were never preachy with me, but they always seemed very happy," he told Joy. "I don't look at my sisters and see 'cult'! Nothing stood out as being...concerning. My mom has always been supportive of my lifestyle and who I am, and she's been supportive of them as well."
Fans might well wonder how Reed was received by his sister's new in-laws, who aren't exactly known for being LGBTQ+ allies. Mother Michelle actively pushed against an Arkansas trans-rights bill, and oldest son Josh is a member of organizations promoting heterosexual marriage (via HuffPost). Despite their personal views, though, the Duggars were nothing but "sweet" to him, Roberts says. Michelle even invited him to visit the family home. In a separate interview with WOACB, Roberts added, "They were a joy to be around and they were so pleasant and nice to me."
