The Dillards and the Kings weren’t missing from grandma Mary Duggar’s funeral — they were just “cut out.” That’s what Derick Dillard explained to a fan over Instagram on Thursday, January 9. Continuing his impromptu Q&A in the comments section of his Christmas post, the former Counting On star explained why his and Amy King’s family didn’t make it onto the show during the episode where the Duggars laid Jim Bob Duggar‘s mom to rest.

“So you’re no longer filming Counting On? [I] never see you, Jill [Dillard (née Duggar] or the kids in any episodes. Not even the heart wrenching episode of grandmother Duggar’s death,” a fan wrote in the responses to the post. Explaining that it was “not [their] fault,” the law student said, “TLC cut out any family that they don’t want viewers to see in attendance. It wasn’t in the script for us or the Kings to be there.”

Courtesy of Derick Dillard/Instagram

Back in June 2019, both Jill, 28, and Amy, 33, posted about the emotional day. Despite that, the December 17 episode that honored grandma Mary’s life and honored her after their death didn’t feature either family. When the fan expressed surprise over that decision, Derick, 30, reminded them that reality isn’t always what we see on reality TV.

“Well, the show is only about what TLC wants it to be about,” he explained. “If there’s something about the family that they don’t want viewers to see, then they’ll just edit it out or create their own storyline. TLC is only going to show viewers what they want viewers to see.”

Courtesy of Derick Dillard/Instagram

The revelation follows several other admissions and allegations from the father of two, who’s made a habit out of answering fans’ questions on his social media accounts. In one exchange, he shed light on why there is “no chance” he and his family will return to the show even though his wife makes the occasional cameo in birth episodes. “The conditions we were filming under took us to the brink of sanity and could have easily destroyed our lives if we had continued that trajectory,” he shared. “We are now trying to pick up the pieces.”