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As Sadie Robertson dances her way into America’s hearts on Dancing With the Stars, learn more about her famous parents of the Duck Dynasty.
They can be frequently spotted in the audience cheering on their daughter, who’s performing with Mark Ballas.
1. They Met in 3rd Grade
Korie wrote a piece for Guideposts, where she said that her future mother-in-law, Miss Kay, was the camp cook at Camp Ch-Yo-Ca one summer and her boys went for free.
In an interview with Ask Men, Willie told the couple’s sweet story:
Korie and I met at a summer youth camp. I was in the fourth grade; she was in the third grade. We were on a hike and I asked her to hold hands. We went to different schools — I was in public and she was in private — but we’d see each other in the Christian youth group during the year.
They married a year after high school, when Willie was 19, and Korie was 18. They even went to college together.
In the same interview, Willie discussed the benefits of marrying young:
I would recommend getting married young. That way you don’t have all the baggage. All our memories are together. Everything we have, we built together.
At 17, Sadie does have a boyfriend, Blake Coward, who she’s been dating for 10 months.
In an interview with Just Jared, Sadie said, “‘My boyfriend lives in Alabama, so Papaw Phil has only met him a couple of times. The first time, the only thing he said to Blake all day was, ‘You hurt her, I’ll hurt you. I’m watching you like a hawk, and I’ll break your legs if you do anything to her.’”
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2. They Made a Cameo in ‘God’s Not Dead’
In the 2014 religious film, the couple make an appearance.
They play themselves in a scene where a reporter ask them about their faith.
In the movie, when asked how they feel when people say they are offended by the family-prayer time on their show, he said:
We’re not trying to offend anybody. As far as my praying to Jesus, my life and my whole eternity belongs to God. The money, fame, success, temporary. Even life is temporary. Jesus, that’s eternal.
3. They Have 5 Kids, But Only 3 Are Biological
Their tight-knit clan includes John Luke, Sadie, Willie Jr., Bella, and Rebecca, an exchange student from Taiwan whom the family took in as a foster child.
Besides Rebecca, Willie Jr. is also not a biological child. Willie and Korie adopted him when he was five weeks old.
In Touch Weekly asked Willie if he would ever adopt again. He answered:
Sure. There are plenty of kids who need homes. That’s why we’re all here. We have adopted children and we have natural children … and there’s no difference between them.
Speaking at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Angels in Adoption Gala in Washington, D.C, Korie said,
From the moment we found out about [Will], he was ours. I swear, I had labor pains the night before I went and picked him up at the foster home he was living at. He’s our child, just like our biological children.
4. They Met Obama
The reality stars were invited to the State of the Union address this year.
In the clip above, when Jimmy Kimmel asked Willie how they got asked to the event, Willie explained that Congressman Vance McAllister invited him, as they were friends before he was elected.
“It was very strange,” Willie said, referring to the many people who clamored to have photos taken with the reality TV couple. Lots of the questions they got involved Uncle Si, a fan favorite on their show.
“Believe it or not, I happened to run into the President,” he continued. Obama saw the reality star in the hallway and exclaimed, “Willie! What’s up?” He stopped and conversed with the bearded star, and even joked about his casual outfit, which included his signature American-flag bandana.
As the CEO of Duck Commander, Willie’s net worth is an estimated 20 million. After the State of the Union, the couple went to dinner with a group of politicians and Willie left a $5,000 tip.
5. He Serenaded Her
The Robertsons supported the Christian movie The Song, which is inspired by the Bible’s Song of Solomon. It is a love story which focuses on music.
“I want to encourage you to grab your spouse and go check out The Song. It is an incredible movie. Korie and I watched it — and we loved it. So do yourself a favor and go see it,” he told the Inquisitr.
In the promo clip above, Willie is asked to create a song for his wife- on the spot- and he gladly obliged.