Before its cancellation in 2016, Duck Dynasty was a ratings juggernaut for A&E until the
patriarch of the duck call empire, Phil Robertson, made homophobic comments to GQ. Robertson
was suspended indefinitely by the network, but the show remained on the air for three
more seasons.
Then, it vanished from the airwaves.
But for a reality show known for backwoods beards and camouflage, the surprising breakout
star was Sadie Robertson, the then teenage daughter of Phil's son Willie Robertson.
Outspoken and steadfast regarding her faith, Sadie displayed remarkable poise and class.
But even that didn't shield her from the tabloids.
From controversial headlines to mysterious breakups, here's the untold truth of Sadie
Robertson.
Getting her app on
According to the Christian Post, after the release of her book, Live Fearless, Robertson
created a devotional for the YouVersion Bible app, to share the Bible passages which helped
the motivational speaker in overcoming her own anxiety.
Sadie said of the platform,
"You get this place where you get to read your Bible, you get to read truth, but then
you also get to form this community with the body of Christ."
So if you're a Christian looking to manage your anxiety with a bunch of other anxious
Christians, there's an app for that.
Serial dater
Just like any celebrity breakup, anyone who hits the skids with Sadie Robertson will be
seeing it all over the gossip blogs.
In 2016, she split from former high school quarterback, Blake Coward, and in a post on
her Live Original blog, she wrote:
"We would go through this unhealthy pattern of 'I hate you, I love you.
I hate that I love you.'
[...] We figured out the hard way that all it leaves you with is a lot of hurt, loneliness
and confusion."
Less than a year later, Sadie had moved on to former Texas A&M quarterback, Trevor Knight.
They broke up a month later.
Robertson told Us Weekly,
"Trevor is a great guy, but our schedules are just so busy right now.
He's in the middle of football season, and I'm about to start my tour, so the timing
just didn't work."
Most recently, it looks like she's ditched the quarterbacks in favor of the Hollywood
set.
Hey, Austin North!
A thing with Brett Eldredge?
In 2017, Sadie starred in country music star Brett Eldredge's video for "The Long Way."
He was 31 at the time, and found the teen to play his girlfriend by low-key creeping
her Instagram.
Eldredge told Certified Country,
"I had seen her social media and I just thought she had an amazing spirit.
[...] I thought, 'This is a girl that has so much heart.
This is the kind of girl you wanna take home and meet the fam.'"
Apparently, the chemistry between the two was so hot in the video that it started rumors
about the pair dating in real life.
But Eldredge told Taste of Country,
"She did an amazing job and somehow people thought we were dating for a while.
And it's like no, we're just good new friends."
Curing her eating disorder
Sadie was crowned runner-up on Dancing With The Stars in 2014, but with that success also
came struggle.
She told Hollywood Life,
"I had three and a half months of this intense training and also I'd come out and I have
this body.
[...] When that began to go, I think my confidence began to go.
[...] That's when the eating disorder started."
Luckily, Sadie found the cure after breaking up with Coward.
She said,
"I was like crying and I looked in the mirror and I literally couldn't even recognize myself
because I actually saw myself for who I am.
[...] I believe, for who God created me to be."
Fashion Week shade
Sadie walked 2013's New York Fashion Week runway to unveil her prom dress collection
for Sherri Hill, but the models she encountered weren't showing her the love.
Sadie claims her southern charm was met with not-so-passive-aggressiveness, writing on
her blog,
"They just looked at me like they had icicles in their eyes.
Without using words, they sent me a strong message: 'What are you doing here?'"
Intimidated at first, Sadie says she slowly came to the conclusion that it wasn't hate
being thrown her way, just, y'know...Fashion Week.
She added,
"They were pretty obsessed with their weight, so instead of having snacks or treats, they
smoked cigarettes and drank coffee.
[...] They seemed either sad or kind of angry.
They cared way too much about their outward appearance — and confidence is an inside
thing."
Harsh reality
Four years later, Sadie found herself orbiting the fashion industry yet again, unfortunately
with similar results.
After her fresh-faced shoot turned into a face full of makeup, she took to Facebook
to unleash her epic rant, writing,
"I showed up for a photoshoot that I had thought was going to be a natural no makeup photoshoot.
The director [...] said 'nope this girl does not have the face to pull off a no makeup
shoot'.
[...] I've had my stomach 'fat' pinched to make sure I knew which part I needed to get
rid of.
I've been told if I would lose 10 pounds then I may look like an actual model."
But Sadie then cooled off enough to bring her signature inspiration, writing,
"I believe EVERYONE has the face to pull off a 'no makeup shoot' because that is YOUR FACE.
The makeup is the extra.
It's fun, but when it becomes your everything that's when you begin to lose everything about
what makes you…YOU."
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