Newly found daughter of Phil Robertson speaks out, says God’s grace extended to her
"Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson recently learned that he has a 45-year-old daughter from an affair he had before he became Christian and he invited his daughter, Phyllis, to share about how she discovered he was her father on his popular podcast.
The 74-year-old and Phyllis were also joined by two of his sons, Al and Jase, and his wife Miss Kay on the latest episode of his BlazeTV podcast Unashamed With Phil Robertson.
“Phyllis, all I can tell you is: I’m glad you found me,” Phil told his long lost daughter during the podcast. “I'm glad I found you ... Welcome aboard.”
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Phil has always talked honestly about his wild past of using drugs and cheating on his wife, Miss Kay, whom he married when he was 17. Phyllis was a result of his past life, which he just discovered.
On Sunday’s episode, Phyllis had a chance to share about her life before learning through a DNA test, three years ago, that she and her siblings shared different fathers.
She explained that her genealogy results weren’t “matching up” with what she was previously told about her heritage. Her results revealed that she and her two siblings were actually “half-siblings.”
After taking a deeper look into her family tree, it led her to believe Phil was her dad. Phyllis then sent a letter to Jase and Al, which eventually led them to a paternity test that confirmed she was the “Duck Dynasty" star's daughter.
Phyllis admitted that she had heard of the “Duck Dynasty” show, which ran for five years, but had never seen it. She was a missionary during the time of the reality series’ success.
“It was not on our radar,” she said. However, she did watch a few episodes before officially meeting Phil but then decided to stop watching to avoid “preconceived ideas” of her who the family was.
When the father and daughter were finally brought together to meet and speak face to face for the first time, Phil told his family he wanted to speak with Phyllis privately.
“Everybody had warned me that he’s not very nurturing and be prepared,” Phyllis said her brother warned her. “I found you to be very nurturing. He grabbed me by the hands.”
“I put my hands on her face,” Phil recollected, and looked “in her eyes,” taking in the fact that he now had a daughter. They spoke for 45 minutes before joining her new family.
The family marveled at the name Phyllis’ mother gave her.
“What’s interesting is that mother named you, not telling you who your father is, but named you Phyllis,” Phil said, adding, “Very weird.”
Jase added, “This is turning into a Lifetime movie here.”
The Robertsons are all devout Christians and turns out that Phyllis has been one her entire life also, despite not being raised in the faith by her biological mother and family.
"You came out of a sinful situation but now that you're here, you say, 'I've been following Jesus for 45 years,'” Phil testified.
Phyllis interjected, "God's hand has been on my life all my life, and that grace that God was extending to you, saving you and changing you and your family, I believe that extended to me. I don't understand that exactly but God is mysterious and big and great and I just believe that that's what happened.”
The first daughter in the Robertsons group also talked about bonding with Miss Kay, who had been very accepting of her. Miss Kay said she was “just thrilled beyond belief” to have a stepdaughter because she always wanted a girl. Phyllis calls Miss Kay her “special mom.”
“What a gracious, kind, godly woman you are,” Phyllis said of her stepmother.
She described meeting her new, big family as “overwhelming” but never “awkward.” Instead, “it was just puzzle pieces clicking into place.”
Phil concluded the podcast by saying to Phyllis, "Girl, you’re the best thing that ever came out my past. Up until she showed up, I had nothing good to say about what happened before I repented. I just walled it off — the life of sin — and left it ... But I look up and here comes this girl out of the blur, out of the blue. I’m like 'Whoa.' If you never knew you had a daughter and 45 years she’s standing in front of you.”
