Duck Dynasty Patriarch Phil Robertson Introduces the World to His Long-Lost Daughter Phyllis
Welcome to the Dynasty, Phyllis!
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson and his family introduced the world to his long-lost daughter Phyllis on Sunday's episode of the Unashamed podcast.
Phil and his sons Al, Jase, Willie and Jep shared the news of the new family member last week on the podcast, explaining that Phyllis, 45, reached out to Al and Jase, leading to a DNA test that confirmed she is Phil's daughter.
In the latest podcast, Phyllis tells her side of the story.
Phyllis explained that she discovered that she had a different father than her siblings after her son did a commercial DNA test to learn more about his ancestry. When he got the results back, both he and Phyllis noticed that they didn't correlate with what their family had always told them about their ethnicity.
So Phyllis and her siblings had DNA tests done, and she learned that they were her half siblings.
RELATED: Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Had an Affair and Just Discovered He Has an Adult Daughter
"A little digging, internet searches, looking through the site, and put together a family tree, so to speak. My husband helped me with it. We filled in a lot of blanks," Phyllis said, adding that she narrowed down her parentage to a few possibilities and thought to herself, "I think I know who this might be."
Phyllis decided to visit the Robertsons' church to deliver a letter revealing who she was — and happened to come during a day that Phil was preaching.
Unashamed With Phil Robertson Phyllis, Phil Robertson
"I was nervous," Phyllis admitted. "I sat out in the parking lot, thinking, am I really going to do this?"
But she was reassured once she made it inside and sat down for the service.
"I thought, how cool is it that the first time I'm seeing my dad, he's preaching the gospel?" Phyllis said of the first time she saw Phil. "That to me was like, that's a cool dad."
When Phyllis and Phil finally met for the first time, the reality star said he told his daughter, "Girl, you're the best thing that ever came out of my past."
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Phil Robertson
"Until she showed up, I had nothing good to say about what happened before I repented," Phil explained. "I had nothing good. I just walled it off."
Al and Phyllis agreed that despite the surprise of finding each other, there was never any "awkward" between the families.
"It was just like puzzle pieces clicking into place," Phyllis said. "It was like I've always known you, in a way."
Phyllis added that she's never watched the A&E show that made her newfound family famous — something that Jase joked will be "very helpful moving forward."
"I had no preconceived ideas, really. I tried to watch a couple episodes ... it felt like, you know, that's not what I want my first impression to be," Phyllis said.
Before the podcast episode ended, Phil pointed out the similarity in their names.
"What's interesting to me is that your mother named you, not telling you who your father is, but named you Phyllis," Phil said.
Jase joked, "[T]his is turning into a Lifetime movie, here."
"Phyllis, all I can tell you is, I'm glad you found me. I'm glad I found you," Phil added to his newfound child. "All I have to say is, welcome aboard."
