'Duck Dynasty' Star Jep Robertson Reveals He Was Sexually Abused at Age 6
Jep Robertson, who stars in the reality show "Duck Dynasty," has revealed that he was sexually abused by an older student when he was 6 years old.
Robertson told Entertainment Tonight that he has written about the molestation in his upcoming book, The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us About Faith, Family, and Forgiveness, which he co-authored with his wife, Jessica.
"I was 6, and it was on a school bus and it was an older girl," Jep said in the interview. "Back then the high school students would ride on the same bus as the grade school. There was this girl there that was just real mean. ... I don't know, but it was a lot of things took place — scary stuff. It was tough."
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The "Duck Dynasty" star, who is the son of Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Commander, revealed that the abuse forced him to miss many days at school.
"My mom always thought I was sick and there was definitely other reasons I didn't want to go to school. I think for a while I just tried to bury it so deep that I kind of forgot about it for a while. I think God put that on me for meeting someone like [my wife] Jessica, who went through some hard times herself, and I think it made our relationship stronger once we talked about it," Robertson added.
He admitted that he has never talked about the abuse openly with his parents. The reality show star said that he was embarrassed, and did not want his father and mother to think that he did anything wrong.
"It was just one of those things that happened, and I think it took me a long time to realize what had happened and how it affected me. Like I've said before, I don't think anything that happened to me made me do anything bad. I hear people say that," Robertson continued.
"I do think it affected the way I look at certain things. I was really scared of girls and just women in general, but I think God had a plan for that. I know it sounds weird but it's helped me now that I have a bunch of girls. I think it helps us really communicate with them on what's right and what's wrong — where you should be touched or not be touched. It's a tough thing to go through, but you just kind of live and go though it and make the most of it."
Robertson has also suffered from health problems, and back in October 2014 experienced a seizure during a hunting trip that landed him in the hospital and on life support for four days.
The "Duck Dynasty" star, who is the father of four children, had to be sedated and tied down to his hospital bed in order to receive treatment. After waking up he admitted that he thought he "was a gooner," but didn't remember what happened to him.
