He may have put them on blast, but Derick Dillard still has love for his in-laws. Following his impromptu Instagram Q&A about the state of his relationship with father-in-law Jim Bob Duggar and the rest of the Counting On crew, one fan couldn’t help but wonder how he feels about his wife’s family. When they voiced their curiosity in the responses to the same photo that started the tell-all, the law student was happy to answer one last question about Jill Dillard (née Duggar) and her clan. In response to a comment asking if he loves the Duggars, he answered simply on Sunday, January 5. “Yes,” he wrote.

Courtesy of Derick Dillard/Instagram

The comment — which came a week after the question was asked — seems to hint that the subject has been weighing heavily on the former reality star’s mind. It also echoes similar sentiments that he shared during his Q&A. “[There are] no hard feelings,” he insisted at the time. “There are just more things we are aware of now. The truth will always set you free.” In a separate comment, he continued, “I haven’t trash talked [the family], just answered questions that others should know about us so they’re no longer deceived like we were.”

Though he didn’t slam Jim Bob specifically, Derick, 30, did seem to hint that all of the family discord was his responsibility. Alleging that only the family patriarch has a contract with TLC, he revealed that he and Jill, 28, were under the impression that they were essentially volunteering for the show — and that they didn’t have a choice. “We were made to believe … that we would be sued if we refused [to film],” he said. “Once we became more enlightened, we realized we could easily defend ourselves … against a lawsuit from the family/TLC.”

Some noticed, however, that Derick didn’t specify which of his in-laws he loves. In the past, he hasn’t shied away from fueling feud rumors with Jim Bob, 54. The in-laws he was talking about could’ve been Jill’s siblings and their spouses, whom he seemed to stand up for in previous comments. “If it’s the same way [for them] it was for us, the others may be pressured into submission with threats of lawsuits, too deep into it/dependent or something else like that to speak up,” he told fans. “TLC should give the kids their own show.“