'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson has revealed that he has a 45-year-old daughter he did not know about from an affair that he had.
The news came out during an episode of his 'Unashamed' podcast on Thursday. The former reality TV star, who shares four adult sons-- Jase, Willie, Jep and Alan-- with his wife Marsha Kay, recounted how he learned about his unknown 45-year-old daughter.
It was Al who first heard from a woman named Phyliss, who sent him a letter saying a DNA test suggested Phil was her father, Today reported. He initially doubted the validity of the claim but, after giving it some thought, realized there may be truth to it.
Phil has previously admitted to having affairs before converting to Christianity in the 1970s and it is possible that he fathered a child he did not know about. With this in mind, Al said he started "looking at it a little more deeply," when he realized "there might be something to this."
He decided to tell Phil about the letter.
"I started thinking, there's a 45-year-old woman out there who doesn't know who her dad is, and she's looking," Al said. "And I thought, even if it's not dad, she needs to know it's not dad."
Phil took a DNA test, which matched him to Phyliss with a 99.9% certainty, and immediately contacted her. Since then, the family has welcomed Phyliss with open arms-- including Kay.
"I was so excited," Jep Robertson said. "It was to me like a dream come true."
Al said he heard the first conversation between Phyliss and his mom and it was "neat" because she had always wanted a daughter.
"Let's be honest, if a lot of women get news 45 years later there's a child they didn't know (their husband) had, it could not go well," he said.
Phil added that his wife had always told him someone from his past would surface.
"Miss Kay over the entire 45 years warned me, or at least alerted me. She said someone will come out of your past, that wild ride of living,'' he said. "I said, 'You think?' She said, 'I think it would probably be a son, but in this case she said, 'I'm so glad it's a girl.'"