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DUCK DYNASTY Star Opens Up About the Family Intervention that Saved His Life From Drugs

Photo from Jep Robertson’s Instagram

DUCK DYNASTY Star Opens Up About the Family Intervention that Saved His Life From Drugs

By Movieguide® Staff

On I Am Second’s most recent episode of DYSFUNCTION TO DYNASTY, Jep Robertson shared how his family helped him surrender his life to Christ and overcome his battle with drugs and alcohol.

“You find yourself needing the help of someone else when you’re stuck in the rut,” Jep’s brother Alan said. “But when one of our own was trapped in drugs and deception, they needed a family. This is my brother Jep, and this is his chapter in our journey from ‘Dysfunction to Dynasty.'”

Jep recalled his life as the youngest of the Robertson brothers and noted his parent’s faith and generosity even when they had little.

“Dad always told us, you know, a man should be able to provide for his family. And that includes food and everything else because he always told us at one point there was no such thing as a grocery store,” the DUCK DYNASTY star said. “I totally got picked on a ton by my brothers.”

“My dad actually, as he was getting duck call business started, he was a commercial fisherman,” Jep continued. “So wasn’t a lot of money, but we ate real good. I would go out as a kid and run the motor for my dad and as he picked up these big hoop nets and I would ride with my mom to the fish market, and sell fish, and that’s kind of how we made a living.”

Despite the modest income, Jep remembers his parent’s generosity was fueled by their faith in God.

“Here’s the thing, my parents took in so many like transient people they’d see on the side of the road, they’re like, ‘Y’all want something to eat?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re hungry,'” Jep said. “They’d pick them up, bring them down the river, feed them, let them stay a couple of days, give them a little money. And the thing was, my parents didn’t have a lot of money at the time but my dad just wanted to share Jesus with people and, you know, get them to heaven. So it didn’t matter what color your skin was, how bad your past is, they were just going to help people out.”

However, as a young man, Jep decided to go his own way to experience what the world had to offer.

“Later in life, when I got up to about 18, I met a couple of guys when I was right toward the end of my senior year. And, you know, they were doing stuff a little bit different and I just thought, you know, maybe I should just, you know, hang out with these guys some and just kind of experience what the world has to offer. And it got pretty ugly there,” Jep explained. “Lots of drug use, alcohol. I pretty much did anything that was put in front of me. I remember smoking a joint that was dipped in formaldehyde, they call it a ‘wet daddy.'”

“Taking pills, to be honest with you, I don’t know what all pills I took. I remember waking up, I had one leg in my truck door and it was on a gravel road, and I was all skin up, my arms, and I drove somewhere that night. And to this day I don’t know what I did that night,” he added. “And I hope I didn’t run over somebody. I don’t know. I knew at that point I was, I was really off the tracks. But the funny thing is, I didn’t stop. I got up the next day, where’s the drugs, where’s the alcohol? Let’s just keep going.”

Despite trying to hide his life outside the family from his parents, Jep’s brother Willie initiated a family intervention.

“One night I got drunk and went to the movies, and my brother Willie left a note in my truck and he said, ‘I know what you’ve been up to. We need to talk.’ I show up down at dad’s house at 8 in the morning. All my brothers’ trucks are there and I’m thinking, what are they all doing here?” Jep said. “And I go in the house and they’re all sitting around the couch looking at me.”

“Jason, Alan, Phil, and Willie were in the living room. I couldn’t even get in the living room, I couldn’t make myself even go in there,” Jep’s mother, Miss Kay, said.

“[Phil] said, ‘I just want you to know that we’ve come to a decision as a family, and it’s going to be either you are going to join us following God or you’re going to go on your own, and good luck to you in this world, but you’ll just be on your own. So there’s your two choices,'” Miss Kay added.

Something inside Jep broke.

“I just fell down on my knees and started crying and I said, ‘What took you all so long?'” Jep said.

Jep’s family intervened with honesty and love. They prayed for their son and brother to give up his sinful lifestyle and turn to Jesus.

“I want you to know that God loves you and we love you, but you just can’t live like that. And he said, ‘I know. I want to come back home,'” Miss Kay recalled.

“My brothers, they were all crying, and we, at one point, we just got in the middle of the room and just, all got down on our knees and just cried and just prayed to God to just thank you for… getting me out of this because I… I’m done living the way I’ve been living,” Jep added. “And I remember dad saying, ‘My prodigal son has returned,’ and it was just one of the best days of my life. And so he said, ‘I’m going to put you on house arrest. You cannot leave this house for three months, and you’ve got to duck hunt every single day.’

“I said, ‘All right, dad, I think I can do that.’ I think it took me just going out and experiencing some bad things to know what Jesus really did for me. I realized I need Jesus more than I need the next breath I take. I was so happy and elated that, you know, I was a child of God.”

 

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.