Jill Duggar's husband Derick claims the couple wasn't PAID for appearing on TLC's Counting On in since-deleted tweets, insisting they were considered as 'VOLUNTEERS' for the show

• e-mail

The Duggar family seems to make a lot of money for TLC — so much that the network brought the group back to TV following eldest son Josh Duggar's molestation scandal.

But it appears that not all of the adults in the extended Duggar family are actually getting paid for their time on the show, according to The Hollywood Gossip.

The site reported that Derick Dillard, 29, who is married to Jill Duggar, 26, tweeted that TLC did not compensate him and his wife for appearing on the show, and instead they were considered 'volunteers.'

No paycheck? Derick Dillard has allegedly claimed that he and his wife Jill Duggar were not paid by TLC for appearing on Counting On

Fam: The 29-year-old and his wife starred on the 19 Kids and Counting spin-off series

In 2009, reality producer Terence Michael told E! Online that reality show families typically earn about 10 per cent of their show's per-episode budget. He believed that the budget for 19 Kids and Counting was $250,000 to $400,000, meaning the Duggars made $25,000 to $40,000 per episode.

That was when the Duggars' show was still brand new — in fact, it was still called 18 Kids and Counting. With the success since then, the budget has likely grown — as have the paychecks.

But according to one of the men who married into the family, those paychecks may not be spread around.  

This month, Derick — who married Jill in 2014 — took to Twitter to complain about TLC. Though he has since deleted the tweets, The Hollywood Gossip caught the contents before they were removed.

Derick reportedly complained that when his son Samuel was born, the newborn spent two weeks in the NICU, racking up medical bills — which TLC refused to help pay.  

Claims: Earlier this month, he tweeted that he and Jill were 'volunteers' on the show

Shocking: He claimed they were not paid by the network and were merely 'helping out' with the show

Nope: Derick said that they'd asked for help paying medical bills when their youngest, Samuel, was in the hospital, but TLC said no

'We even requested that they help with some of the medical expenses from the birth that they made a pretty penny on, but they refused to help cover any of those costs,' he tweeted.

'We could pay for it fine; I had a great job,' her went on. '[But] the point is, I thought that at least since they were making money off the birth special episode, they could help soften the burden a little.'

Fans allegedly pointed out that Derick and Jill already received a salary from the show, which Derick denied. 

'As far as we could tell we were volunteers and hadn’t been paid anything for the show,' he wrote. 

'Like I said, for the year we were paying off our son's birth expenses, both Jill and I thought we had been volunteering our time to help out [the show].'

Members of the Duggar family have spoken out before as viewing the show as part of their ministry. 

Hoarding the cash? Derick implied that someone in the Duggar family was paid, though — and many have guessed that it is patriarch Jim Bob Duggar

Ministry: Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar don't have TVs in their home but originally agreed to be on TV to spread their faith

For fun: Jill and Derick may have continued on with the series for similar reasons despite not getting a paycheck

The Duggars don't actually watch TV themselves — Jim Bob and Michelle decided televisions distracted from family time and don't keep them in the home. But they decided to be on the show as a way to spread their faith.

'We saw this show as an opportunity to share our blessings with the world. We agreed to it as long as they agreed to not edit out our faith,' Jim Bob told CBS News in 2010.

Yet it seems that whatever money TLC paid the family for 19 Kids and Counting — and continues to pay for Counting On — may go right to the patriarch, Jim Bob himself.

'TLC should approach all adults if they expect any obligation from them, so they can evaluate their own situation,' Derick tweeted. 'Like I said, until recently, I assumed we were just volunteering to help out in filming where it would help out. 

'I knew they didn’t owe anything but I didn’t think it was unreasonable to request some expense reimbursement under the impression we volunteered all the time,' he added. 

Fired: TLC cut ties with Derick last year after he tweeted about fellow network star Jazz Jennings (pictured)

Derick was critical of Jazz, who is transgoender, and purposefully used male pronouns to talk about her (though Jazz prefers female prnouns)

Gone: After he called being transgender a 'myth,' TLC let viewers know that they'd ended their professional relationship with him

'[The producers] were always asking for our time, so it seemed like a lucrative trade on their part, to make all the money they did and only be requested to help cover some expense,' he said.

'We paid [the medical bills], but it seemed like a reasonable trade to request, considering what they asked of us,' he wrote. 'TLC should have handled all of it much differently ... Doing the right thing should be more important than taking the path of least resistance.'

Though most of the tweets have since been deleted, a few replies mentioning volunteering and TLC's refusal to pay for Samuel's hospital stay remain on the site. 

Daily Mail Online has reached out to TLC for comment. 

However, salaries from TLC to the Dillard family are a moot point now, since Derick was fired from Counting On last year.

The show, which focuses on the next generation of Duggars getting married and having kids, initially spotlighted Jill and Derick and Jessa Duggar and her husband, Ben Seewald. 

In the same boat? It is possible that Jessa Duggar and her husband Ben Seewald are also 'volunteers' on the show

One on the way: Counting On focuses on the younger generation of Duggars getting married and having kids, including Jinger (pictured), who is expecting her first 

But last year, Derick attacked another TLC star on Twitter, which led to repercussions.

Derick criticized Jazz Jennings, the 17-year-old star of I Am Jazz, saying: 'What an oxymoron. A "reality" show which follows a non-reality. "Transgender" is a myth. Gender is not fluid. It’s ordained by God.'

'4 those who take advantage of him in order 2 promote their agenda, including the parents who allow these kinds of decision 2 be made by a child. It’s sad that ppl would use a juvenile this way. Again, nothing against him, just unfortunate what’s on TV these days,' he added, pointedly using the male pronoun.

TLC responded quickly, cutting ties with Derick and removing him and Jill from promos for the show.

'We want to let our viewers know that Derick Dillard has not participated in Counting On for months and the network has no plans to feature him in the future,' the network said in a statement. 

Busy breeders: Joy-Anna, who is just 20, welcomed a baby boy named Gideon in late February

Speedy: The little boy was born 36 weeks and 5 days after their May wedding

Hmmm... The timing of the pregnancy caused some speculation that Gideon was conceived before the wedding night, a big no-no in the Duggar household

Wasting no time: Now Josiah Duggar, 21, has announced that he is engaged to his 18-year-old girlfriend

'We want to reiterate that Derick’s personal statements do not reflect the views of the network. TLC is proud to share the story of Jazz Jennings and her family and will continue to do so.'

He has continued to stir up controversy on Twitter since then, arguing frequently with those with whom he disagrees.

Meanwhile, Counting On has continued to spotlight Jessa and Ben, as well as newlyweds Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo and Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth.

Jinger, 24, is currently 22 weeks along with her first child, and in February Joy, 20, welcomed her first son, Gideon.

Earlier this month, Josiah Duggar, 21, announced his engagement to his 18-year-old girlfriend, Lauren Swanson.

It is unclear if any of the adult children gets a paycheck from TLC.