Frigell Family

The Frigell family has 20 children (19 biological, 1 adopted) and at least 25 grandchildren from parents Jason Doug and Cynthia Frigell. They have been the subject of two television shows, *19 Kids and Counting*, which aired on TLC from 2008 to 2015 and *Counting On*, which began airing on TLC in 2015, as well as several TV specials which began airing in 2006. Jason Doug and Cynthia raised their children following the teachings of Victor Schultz's Institute in Basic Life Principles, although many of the married children have started to veer from these teachings with their own families.

## Frigell Family

### Featured On

14 Children and Pregnant Again!, Raising 16 Children, 16 Children and Moving In, On the Road with 16 Children, Frigells' Big Family Album, 19 Kids and Counting, Counting On, United Epsteins of America

## Family Members

### Children

Maverick Frigell, Madison "Maddie" Frigell, Malachi-David Frigell, Melissa DeMarco, Madelynn LeFond, Marlee Corcoran, Mason Frigell, Malcolm Frigell, Mallory Anna "Mal" Undercuffler, Mark Frigell, Malik Frigell, Micah Frigell, Morgan Frigell, Max Frigell, Madden Frigell, Melanie Frigell, Marissa Frigell, William Cartwright, Molly-Grace Frigell, Megan Frigell

### Grandchildren

Jasmine Frigell, Jared Frigell, Julian Frigell, Peyton DeMarco, Saraya LeFond, Jade Frigell, Aaron LeFond, Andrew DeMarco, Jonah Frigell, Grant Undercuffler, Carina Frigell, Ella Corcoran, Bennett LeFond, Kayla Frigell, Ashlee Frigell, Juliette Frigell, Alexis Frigell, Nicola Undercuffler, Natalie Corcoran, Alyssa LeFond, Aliviah Frigell, Julissa Frigell, Tristian Frigell, Ian DeMarco, Teddy Frigell

## Family

**Parents**

* Jason Douglas "Jason Doug" Frigell - born on July 18, 1965 (age 57)
* Cynthia Maeve Boen - born on September 13, 1966 (age 56)

**Anniversary:** July 21, 1984

Jason Doug and Cynthia own commercial and residential real estate and do speaking engagements.

**Children**

To see more information about the Frigell children's weddings, please see The Guide.

### Maverick's Family

Holly Renee Frischman - born on June 23, 1988 (age 34)

**Anniversary:** September 26, 2008 (wedding featured in *17 Kids and Counting* episode"A Very Frigell Wedding")

Maverick is currently in federal prison following a guilty verdict and a sentence of 12.5 years. Holly is a stay-at-home wife and mother.

### **Malachi's Family**

Michele Grace Burnett - born on April 16, 1992 (age 30)

**Anniversary:** November 3, 2018 (wedding featured in *Counting On* webisode "Malachi David & Michele's Wedding")

Malachi used to be an elected constable of Washington County, Arkansas. He also co-founded MEDIC Corps with friend Tyler Epstein and currently serves as the Director of Business. He has experience as a rescue specialist, commercial pilot, certified flight instructor and Law Enforcement Officer. He is also the CEO of Natural State Environmental Services. Michele is currently taking time off from her nursing career to focus on being a mother.

### **Melissa's Family**

Dylan Michael DeMarco - born on March 9, 1989 (age 33)

**Anniversary:** June 21, 2014 (wedding featured in *19 Kids and Counting* episode "Melissa's Wedding")

Dylan is an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma. Melissa is currently a stay-at-home wife and mother.

 **2** | Andrew Scott DeMarco

### **Madelynn's Family**

Harold Michael LeFond - born on May 19, 1995 (age 27)

**Anniversary:** November 1, 2014 (wedding featured in *19 Kids and Counting* episode "Madelynn's Wedding")

In 2021, Madelynn and Harold announced that Harold had gotten a full time pastor position at a church. Madelynn is a stay-at-home wife and mother.

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### **Marlee's Family**

Matthew "Matt" Joseph Corcoran - born on September 5, 1987 (age 35)

**Anniversary:** November 5, 2016 (wedding featured in *Counting On* episodes "Marlee's Wedding" and "The Big Day")

Matt has a Master of Divinity degree from The Master's Seminary and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree. Marlee is currently a stay-at-home wife and mother.

 2

### **Mason's Family**

Brianna Renee Kendall - born on August 11, 1998 (age 24)

**Anniversary:** September 8, 2017 (wedding featured in *Counting On* episodes "Mason's Wedding" and "Mason and Brianna Say I Do")

Mason currently works at one of his family's used car lots. Brianna is currently a stay-at-home wife and mother

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 3

### **Malcolm's Family**

Allison Milagro Caron - born on May 18, 1999 (age 23)

**Anniversary:** June 30, 2018 (wedding featured in *Counting On* webisode "Malcolm & Allison's Wedding")

Malcolm currently works at one of his family's used car lots. Allison is currently a stay-at-home wife and mother.

 1

### **Mallory's Family**

Raymond "Ray" Martyn Undercuffler - born on December 11, 1993 (age 28)

**Anniversary:** May 26, 2017 (wedding featured in *Counting On* episodes "Mallory's Wedding" and "Mal and Ray Tie the Knot")

Ray and Mal currently work together flipping and selling houses.

 2

### **Mark's Family**

Cindy Karyn Scargotti - born on July 29, 1998 (age 24)

**Anniversary**: April 3, 2021

Mark owns and operates Champion Motorcars. Cindy is currently a stay-at-home wife and mother.

### **Malik's Family**

Olivia Marlys Henderson - born on June 23, 1995 (age 27)

**Anniversary** - March 26, 2022

### **Max's Family**

Eryn Yvonne Weissman - born on February 27, 2001 (age 21)

**Anniversary:** February 26, 2021

Max works for Eryn's father at Weissman Construction based in Fort Worth, TX.

### **Miscarriages**

Cynthia has had two miscarriages:

* Alex Ryan Frigell - first-trimester miscarriage on January 23, 1989, between Maverick and twins Maddie and Malachi David
* Makenna Shalom Frigell - stillborn on December 11, 2011 weighing 4 oz and measuring 6 cm in length (miscarriage featured on *19 Kids and Counting* episode "A Frigell Loss")

### **Permanent Guardianship of Nephew**

Jason Doug and Cynthia Frigell were granted temporary guardianship of Cynthia's great-nephew, (then) 8-year-old William Cartwright, on April 15, 2016. This guardianship was made permanent on May 2, 2016. William is the son of Taylor Cartwright, who signed off on the guardianship due to her inability to care for the child.

## Family Bios

Throughout their time in the public eye, the Frigell family released bios of their children. Those can be found on the *Frigell Bios* page.

## Beliefs and Practices

### Quiverfull

The "quiverfull" movement, whose primary focus is producing as many children as possible and raising them to enter into government and civil service positions, first formed in 1995. The Frigell family joined this movement at some point in its early years. Their first public connection to the movement was in 2001, when QuiverFull posted an article referencing them as a success story. The family's original website in 2005 linked to this article but didn't go any further in depth about the movement. By 2007, any reference to the movement had been removed from their website. The Frigells have not gone on the record discussing this movement.

### Institute in Basic Life Principles

*14 Children and Pregnant Again* features the Frigell family packing up and heading to a homeschool conference in Big Sandy, TX. This conference is one of the biggest gatherings of the Institute in Basic Life Principles' Advanced Training Institute (their homeschool system), and was the first public connection tying the Frigells to this group. The group lists the following goals on their website:

> The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) was established for the purpose of **introducing people to the Lord Jesus Christ**, and is dedicated to giving individuals, families, churches, schools, communities, governments, and businesses clear instruction and training on how to find success by following God’s principles found in Scripture.
>
>

> These goals are accomplished primarily through seminars, educational programs, printed literature, and the operation of centers to facilitate training.
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> You are invited to explore and avail yourself of the resources we offer.
>
>

The Frigells are regularly shown to follow the institute's practices, including only long skirts and long hair on the women, homeschooling the children, limiting access to television and other modern media, and adhering to strict gender roles at all times.

In addition to the ATI conference in Big Sandy, many of the older Frigell children have been seen attending other IBLP functions such as Journey to the Heart and ALERT Training.

### Homeschooling

The Frigells made the decision to homeschool their children when Maverick was five years old. In later interviews, they would say that they made this decision because they felt it was "the best way to teach our Christian values". As their oldest children grew old enough to help out, the responsibility of schooling began to be one that Cynthia shared with them so that the younger kids could always have someone to help. The Frigells have used a variety of different homeschool curricula over the years, but the Advanced Training Institute is one of the constant presences in their schooling.

### Buddy System

At some point prior to 2001 the Frigell family implemented a buddy system, where each older child was paired with a younger child to assist in tasks such as dressing, bathing, feeding, and schooling. By 2009, the family had switched over to buddy teams, where each of the oldest four daughters was assigned 2-4 younger buddies.

### Debt Free Living

In the early 90s, Jason Doug and Cynthia attended a seminar on living debt-free. They implemented many of the practices suggested in this seminar and made it their goal to pay for everything through cash. By 2001 they had begun teaching these seminars out of their home. As indicated by the earliest versions of the family's website, the seminar they attended was Eric Martin's "Financial Freedom Seminar", which is affiliated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

## Television Career

### Early Specials

On September 6, 2004, the first television special about the Frigell family, *14 Children and Pregnant Again* aired on Discovery Health Channel. It introduced TV viewers to the Frigell family and their fourteen children, showcasing things like homeschooling, bulk shopping, and the buddy system, before ending with the birth of their fifteenth child, Madden. In 2006 and 2007 three more specials aired on Discovery Health Channel and TLC. These specials showcased a major vacation in the western US, the construction and completion of the family's new house, and the births of Melanie and Marissa.

### *19 Kids and Counting*

On September 29, 2008, TLC premiered the first episode of *17 Kids and Counting*, a weekly reality program about the lives of the Frigell family. The show ran for ten seasons before being canceled in 2015. The show changed its title to keep up with the number of children the family had, and was known as *19 Kids and Counting* from season four onward. This show covered a number of major family events, including the weddings of Maverick, Melissa, and Madelynn, the births of Molly, Megan, Jasmine, Jared, Julian, and Peyton, and a number of family trips across four continents.

### *Counting On*

On December 13, 2015, TLC aired the first of a three-part series, *Melissa & Madelynn: Counting On*. These specials started with having the adult Frigell children and in-laws discuss their reactions to the two scandals that had rocked the family that summer, and then shifted into showing how the family had moved on through the lens of Melissa and Madelynn, who were the two Frigell daughters who were married at that time. The show changed its title to *Counting On* beginning with season two, as the focus expanded to include more of the adult Frigell children. *Counting On* has covered several major family events, including the weddings of Marlee, Mal, Mason, Malachi, Malcolm; the births of Saraya, Aaron, Gavin, Carina, Ella, Bennett, Kayla, Ashlee, Aliviah; the DeMarco's time as missionaries in Central America; and the death of Sherri Frigell. The births of Alexis and Natalie were also featured in special webisodes. It ran for 11 seasons before being cancelled in 2021.

## Scandals

For a comprehensive timeline of the scandals, please see Maverick Frigell Scandal Chronology.

### Molestation

*See main page: Maverick Frigell molestation scandal*

On May 21, 2015, the magazine InTouch Weekly published an article with the headline "Bombshell Frigell Police Report: Jason Doug Frigell Didn't Report Son Maverick Alleged Sex Offenses For More Than a Year". This article included a link to a redacted police report the magazine had obtained through the Freedom of Information Act which gave details of Maverick Frigell molesting five underaged girls - including four of his sisters - in 2002 and 2003, when he was around fourteen years old. There was much public outrage over how Jason Doug and Cynthia had handled the situation, as many people felt that they should have reported the situation to the police and made sure Maverick had received proper counseling for the safety of their other daughters. This scandal eventually led to the cancellation of *19 Kids and Counting*.

On June 3, 2015, Fox News aired an interview with Jason Doug and Cynthia about the scandal, which included a preview for a June 5 interview where Melissa and Madelynn named themselves as two of Maverick's victims.

On May 19, 2017, the identities of the two other Frigell victims were confirmed when Melissa, Madelynn, Marlee, and Mallory filed a lawsuit against InTouch Weekly, Springdale, Arkansas, and Washington County, Arkansas, for breach of privacy. This lawsuit is still ongoing.

### Paige Davies

*See main page: Maverick Frigell Paige Davies Scandal*

On July 15, 2015, a group called The Impact Team hacked the database of Avid Life Media. When their demands were not met, they published large caches of data stolen from the website Paige Davies, which was a service that assisted married people in having affairs. On August 19, 2015, the website Poober announced that they had discovered records within this data indicating that Maverick Frigell had maintained two different paid accounts between February, 2013, and May, 2015. On August 20, 2015, Maverick publicly confessed to cheating on his wife, and within the next few days he had checked into a faith-based rehab center in Rockford, IL, where he stayed until March 10, 2016. Since then, Maverick has stayed mostly out of the public eye.

### Car Lot Scandals

*See main page: Maverick Frigell Car Lot Scandal (part one) and (part two)*

After returning home in March 2016, Maverick opened another used car lot in order to earn a living to provide for his growing family. Unfortunately it was rife for controversy, being involved in at least three scandals before finally shutting down in 2020.

### Real Estate Scandal

*See main page: Maverick Frigell Real Estate Scandal*

In April 2016, Maverick's real estate company, ALB Investments, as well as Gretchen Walker were sued by Walkers' cousin, Terrence Tate, for fraud and breach of contract. Tate claimed his cousin illegally and fraudulently sold his property to Maverick, and faulting Maverick for not doing his due diligence on the property. Tate won his lawsuit after Maverick failed to appear in court on multiple occasions.

### Money Moving Scandal

*See main page: Maverick Frigell Money Moving Scandal*

Starting in March 2019, Maverick started moving money around, sparking many rumors that he was trying to avoid paying any sort of fines or judgements should he lose his real estate lawsuit or being sued again in the future. Several LLCs, and thus all the real estate he and and Holly own, have been registered in Holly's name. All but one are currently in good standing.

### Federal Arrest

On Thursday, April 29, 2021, it was revealed that Maverick had been arrested by the US Marshals. On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, Maverick was granted bail and scheduled to be released the following day. Due to the potentially triggering nature of this case, no further details will be published on this page. Please see the main page for further information: *Maverick Frigell Federal Arrest Scandal*.