Reality television star Jessica Robertson recently shared a bit of her testimony in an interview with Fox News. She spoke freely about the "baggage" that both she and Jep had in their past, and is thankful that they each came to know Christ. The couple now displays His goodness through their loving family to millions of "Duck Dynasty" viewers.
Jep first got to know Jessica through a group of friends who did Bible study together. Jep had come to Christ after battling with drugs and alcohol, and Jessica was growing in the Lord as well. "I was going through quite a lot when I met Jep ... being in that college age and environment. Just doing things that you don't want to live the rest of your life doing," Jessica says.
Jep actually baptized his future bride in April of 2001, and the two started dating that June. "One of the first things I noticed was how sweet he is and how kind he is to others ... I saw so much kindness, gentleness and self-control, all these great characteristics that you want in someone," Jessica says.
She soon fell in love with the entire Robertson family, who welcomed her with open arms - "They welcomed me in their home and they were so forgiving of anything I did in my past as a young girl," she says. Like many in the Robertson family, Jessica has found her identity in Christ. "I'm not perfect, like I said, I had baggage when I came to the family. Even as a Christian I fail," she says - "I'm not perfect, but that's not what being a Christian's about. That's why Jesus paid the price He did, because we can't be perfect, it's impossible. So I don't put myself above anybody else and neither does any other Robertson."
Jep and Jessica had a whirlwind romance, and were married after dating for less than six months. "We wanted the same things in life. We wanted to raise a family to love God and to love others. We communicated a lot about that while we were dating," says Jessica.
Though they were rich in love, Jep and Jessica began life together with very little money. "When Jep and I first married we got a little trailer, we never went on a honeymoon, I never had a wedding ring ... for the first seven or eight years we barely made ends meet," says Jessica.
Shortly after getting married, the young couple was expecting their first child. "We didn't even wait a whole year. We knew we wanted to start a family and wanted a large family," says Jessica - "We were blessed to get pregnant quickly. We have four healthy, wonderful kids that God has blessed us with."
Jep and Jessica are thinking about writing a book together about their testimonies - "We want to share with the world our love story and our love story for God, how He was so forgiving and how we can utilize these areas to hopefully help others and help our children," Jessica says.
Jessica and the rest of the Robertson women also plan to release "The Women of Duck Commander: Surprising Insights from the Women Behind the Beards About What Makes This Family Work" on April 1.
