‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Korie Robertson on Her Faith, Family and 33-Year Marriage (EXCLUSIVE)

Korie Robertson is the first to tell you that she is blessed and grateful. As anyone who has watched the hit series Duck Dynasty on A&E knows, the Robertsons are a close-knit family unafraid to share their deep faith, unfailing patriotism and their love for each other. They also never shy away from some Louisiana fun—so needless to say, Memorial Day is a cause for celebration.

“Uncle Si is a veteran, and both of my granddads were veterans, so Memorial Day definitely means a lot to our family,” Korie tells Woman’s World as our cover girl (get your copy here!). “One of my favorite pictures of my granddad is with the American flag on Memorial Day with all the grandkids. I’m probably 8 or 9 at the time and we’re all saluting. We definitely learned to have a lot of respect for our country and particularly the men and women who served our country and have fought for our freedom.”

Korie also appreciates the sacrifices made by military families. “I know that it isn’t just the person who is in the service. It is a whole family effort,” she says. “Every single person who has a family member who served or has lost someone in service to our country is a true American hero.

“For our family, faith is important and I know our country is built on that. We are under God as a country and so I’m just thankful for every single person who served and just want to offer condolences for all those who have lost their lives in the service.”

Korie dishes on the return of ‘Duck Dynasty’ and its legacy

Faith and family are the cornerstones of the Robertson family’s lives and are a large part of Duck Dynasty: The Revival. The show follows the exploits of Korie’s husband, Willie Robertson, and their family as they run their successful Duck Commander business. 

Debuting on A&E in 2012, Duck Dynasty propelled the Robertson family into the spotlight, originally running through 2017. The Robertsons have been filming again this spring and will be back with new episodes of Duck Dynasty: The Revival, which start airing on May 28.

“We have this little comedy about our family and our duck call business that really impacted people in more ways than we could have even imagined. God did that,” she says. “People come up to us in tears and say that because of your show our family now prays together at a family meal or when my dad had cancer, it just brought us laughter and it meant so much to us. It really opened our eyes to the power of entertainment and how it moves people. That’s become a real prayer that what we do would be a light in the world and that it would be positive and uplifting and give people hope and joy.”

The power of family and fun in the Robertson household

When asked what brings her joy, Korie immediately responds, “Family! I love my family and I’m so grateful that we get to do life together. We have five generations all living in the same neighborhood. We know how blessed we are, and we don’t take it for granted, and now I have grandbabies,” she says with a smile. 

“I knew that having grandbabies would be fun, but I did not know it would be this much fun. It is such a joy!” she adds. “You get to relive those days with your kids that end up even better because you don’t have all the hard parts of it. You get to have the fun!”

The secret to Korie and Willie Robertson’s 33-year marriage

In addition to her grandkids, Korie’s 33-year marriage to Willie is another source of joy. “Willie always makes me laugh. He has a very good sense of humor,” she smiles. “We went salsa dancing the other night and it was really fun. I don’t think Willie did any of the moves the instructor taught us, but he made me laugh a lot and we had a good time.”

When asked for the secrets that help sustain their long union, Korie replies, “I would definitely say laugh together a lot and don’t forget to have fun together. That’s really important. Also, a lot of it is remembering your commitment and your mutual goals. We have this shared vision of being old people together and having great-great grandkids together, so when tough times come or there are times when you feel like you’re not on the same page, if you just remember your shared vision and what you’re both going for, I think that gives you hope and reminds you why you are in it together, the team that you are and the life that you are building together. Remember the commitment, laugh together, have fun together and don’t stop dating.”

 

Korie’s faith carries her through

Faith isn’t just important to Korie, it sustains her. “Knowing where I’m planted and who I am in Christ is what gives me strength,” she shares. “There’s a lot of scripture about being courageous and not having fear, and because I know the Lord, I know where my future lies. It allows me to walk with confidence. Every day when I wake up, I pray, ‘God, give me eyes to see and ears to hear what you have for me today, and help me to be open to learn.’ It’s a fresh start each morning.”

There’s a quote from Mother Teresa that Korie claims as her mantra: “She said, ‘God hasn’t called me to be successful, he’s called me to be faithful.’ I think about that a lot,” she says. “I’ve made it a mantra of ‘faithfulness over success,’ so it’s like it’s not on me to be successful or to figure out how to do it all right. It’s on me to be faithful, to get up every morning and live my life of faith and do the right thing and then the rest of it, that’s on God to do. So for me, faithfulness over success is my mantra.”