Tragic Details About The Cast Of Duck Dynasty

This article contains references to child abuse, sexual abuse, mental health issues, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

Renowned for beards that would put the hirsute members of ZZ Top to shame, ultra-conservative views on everything from abortions to the LGBTQ community, and, of course, their ability to shoot defenseless little aquatic birds, the "Duck Dynasty" family were one of the most tabloid-friendly to emerge from the reality television pool of the 2010s.

Hailing from the Louisiana city of West Monroe, the Robertson clan enjoyed a five-year run on A&E, drawing a record-breaking 11.8 million viewers for their fourth season opener in 2013. And thanks to their phenomenal success, several TV spinoffs, a big-screen movie, and a fortune estimated to be somewhere around the $400 million mark soon followed.

But things haven't always been hunky dory for parents Phil and Kay, their sons Jase, Jep, and Willie, and the various extended members of their famous family. From substance abuse battles and marriage problems to medical issues and near-death experiences, here's a look at 14 tragedies that have befallen the world's most famous duck hunters.

In one of many shocking revelations made in the 2014 book "The Women of Duck Commander: Surprising Insights from the Women Behind the Beards About What Makes This Family Work," Lisa Robertson opened up about the sexual abuse she suffered from the age of seven. And a drug-addicted extended member of her family was the man responsible.

Lisa, who's married to Alan Robertson, wrote, "Unfortunately, that person lived with my grandparents, so I had to see him often. Because I spent so much time at my grandparents' house, I was easy prey for him. My earliest memory of being molested was at the age of seven when he started to do things to me, things that made me feel bad and dirty."

Sadly, Lisa continued to be molested until she was in her teens, and she didn't tell her mom and dad until becoming a parent herself. But the reality TV star now hopes that by discussing the issue in public, she can help others: "I want all abuse survivors to know they have hope. They can have hope for complete healing, hope for great relationships, and hope for a wonderful life, free from the lingering effects of the trauma they have suffered."

"Duck Dynasty" matriarch Kay Robertson is renowned for her love of dogs. But one of her canine friends left her needing medical attention when it took a chunk of her lip off during a middle-of-the-night accident.

While appearing on the podcast "Unashamed," husband Phil Robertson revealed that Kay was bitten by their pet Bobo after she attempted to give him a goodnight kiss. "I said, 'Move that rag a minute,'" the reality TV star stated about the moment he was woken up by his blood-stained wife. "She takes the rag off her face, and I'm looking at her top lip, [it] was split in two, about a quarter of an inch. That's a big cut. Her bottom lip, over on the right side, there was just a chunk gone. Bleeding profusely is an understatement."

Kay apparently believed that Bobo was fully awake when she tried to give him some affection. But the dog, who was in the middle of a nap, got so startled that he instinctively lunged toward her. "I know my dad well," son Jase Robertson chimed in. "I thought, 'If my dad drove my mom to the hospital, this is bad.' This is the same guy who, if you don't have a body part detached or you're not bleeding profusely, he's like, 'Oh, you're alright.”' Luckily, after medics stitched up her lip, Kay made a full recovery.

Jessica and Jep Robertson certainly didn't appear to hold anything back in their joint memoir, "The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God." While the latter discussed his porn addiction and being molested as a child, the former also revealed that she once suffered from an eating disorder.

"I think a lot of girls struggle with that," Jessica said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I wouldn't eat anything with fat in it. I would go as far as getting powdered skim milk because it had fat in it." But in the book itself, the reality TV star explained that the situation was a little more extreme.

"I started drastically cutting back on calories and working out harder and harder," Jessica wrote. "I used a calculator to track the calories I ate and sometimes made a meal out of just a few marshmallows or a bowl of low calorie cereal." This concerning behavior began in her teens when she first met her youth pastor, an older man responsible for another traumatic chapter in her life.

The "Duck Dynasty" clan has never been afraid to talk about the times when patriarch Phil Robertson was anything but a clean-living, God-fearing member of society. If you've seen "The Blind," the faith-based film that draws upon his real life, for example, then you'll already know he once threw his wife and young kids out of their shared home during one particularly drunken session.

In an interview with Christian Headlines, Alan Robertson confirmed that this certainly wasn't a case of artistic license: "They really nailed the key moment scene when he kicked us out. It was raining, we were in our pajamas, we were scared, and Mom was crying. And so it was just, you know, this huge emotional moment."

Alan, who has also had to deal with several substance abuse issues of his own, also spoke (via the Christian Post) about his dad's troubles while the pair were preaching at a Saddleback Church meeting in 2013: "My father unfortunately fell in love with alcohol and he began running with a group of people that took our lives as a young family down a bad road. For the first 10 years of my life, for my brothers and me, it was very difficult."

In 2001, Jessica Robertson walked down the aisle with the baby of the "Duck Dynasty" family. But Jep Robertson wasn't the first man that she'd exchanged vows with. Yes, the reality star had previously been married to her youth pastor.

In her shared memoir, "The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God," Jessica revealed how she'd essentially been groomed by her first husband, with the unnamed man in question disclosing that he had romantic feelings for her as she approached her high school senior year. The A&E favorite admitted to feeling "unsure and scared" at the time, but was actively encouraged to pursue the situation: "I also started to feel that I should be in love with him even though I wasn't in love with him. Everyone said I was the luckiest girl in the world to have snagged him."

Jessica ended up marrying the pastor at the age of just 18, a development she's so far kept secret from her four children: Lily, Merritt, Priscilla, and River. But within a year, the pair headed for the divorce courts. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she explained, "Not that I was depressed all the time, but I just was unhappy. And so leaving the marriage was my choice — the blame was totally on me but yeah after that I just felt kind of hopeless."

In 2023, Mia Robertson, the daughter of "Duck Dynasty" stars Missy and Jase Robertson, had to undergo surgery for her cleft lip and palate. Remarkably, this was the young adult's 15th such procedure since she was welcomed into the world 20 years earlier.

Shortly before she went into the hospital, Mia posted on Instagram, "I wish I could say that I get used to my surgeries, but I never do. Tomorrow was supposed to be my first day of my sophomore year of college, but the Lord had other plans. Instead of waking up in my new dorm room, headed to my new classes, I'll be headed into a month of pain and weakness."

Nearly a decade previously, Missy told the Christian Post that she believes that her daughter's birth defect, which reportedly affects one in every 1600 newborns, is all part of God's plan: "Looking back, especially over the last couple of years, we definitely see reasons for Him allowing us to go through this and allowing Mia to go through the pain and the challenges that she has in her life. She wants to help other people. To me, that speaks not only about a greatness about her, as an individual, but about the greatness of our God to see something in a child, long before she was born, that could help influence people and to bring them closer to Him. Who am I to question that about Him?"

In 2014, Jep Robertson suffered a near-death experience when he collapsed during a hunting expedition in Louisiana. The reality TV star, who was out shooting deer, not ducks, with friends at the time, suffered a seizure. And because of his remote location, it took nearly two hours for the ambulance to arrive and give him the necessary medical attention.

"I reached to get my bow and that's kind of the last I remember," Robertson told ABC News at his Monroe home. "I just crumpled to the ground and they said I had a seizure for like five minutes. I thought I was a goner ... The time I remember is Thursday — waking up Thursday, looking around, asking Jess, 'What are we doing in the hospital?' I had no idea what had happened four days before."

Despite extensive medical tests, doctors were unable to pinpoint exactly what caused the "Duck Dynasty" star's condition. Robertson said, "They think it was mix between meningitis and encephalitis. For the last month, I've mispronounced words and I didn't know why I did it, but I think it was leading up to the seizure."

If you or anyone you know needs help with mental health, substance abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, or an eating disorder, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

• The National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).