Her whole truth. Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson opened up about motherhood, Dancing With the Stars and more in her latest book, Who Are You Following? Pursuing Jesus in a Social Media Obsessed World.
The Louisiana native and her siblings — John Luke Robertson, Rebecca Robertson, Willie Robertson Jr., Bella Robertson and Rowdy Robertson — rose to fame on the A&E reality series with their parents — Korie Robertson and Willie Robertson — and grandfather Phil Robertson. The series, which ran for 11 seasons, followed the family-owned Duck Commander business from 2012 to 2017.
As the family’s show grew more popular, the “WHOA That’s Good” podcast host branched off and was cast on season 19 of DWTS with pro partner Mark Ballas. Though she’d already had a taste of the spotlight, the ballroom dance competition wasn’t like anything she’d experienced before.
“Up until then, I felt like the attention wasn’t really on me; it was on my family. By the end of my eleven weeks on the show — when I placed runner-up — my life had changed so much, even though I didn’t feel like I had changed at all,” she wrote in her memoir, which hit shelves on Tuesday, February 1.
Sadie reached 1 million followers during the 2014 DWTS season, but her friends at home began to grow more distant. “They probably assumed none of it bothered me because I had all these followers and fame. But all of that fame meant nothing to me when I felt invisible to the ones I really cared about,” she recalled.
Social media provided Sadie with a different type of anxiety that made using the apps feel “like a dating relationship you stay in even though you know it is time to go,” she wrote. Some platforms, like Snapchat, became “an unnecessary temptation and distraction” — so she decided she no longer needed them.
“When I deleted Snapchat it felt like a big deal because everyone had it, but you know what? I have not missed out on anything,” she wrote. “In fact, I believe that because of my choice, I am a better person with a freer and purer mind. I did not want to continue conforming to the pattern of the world when that pattern was unhealthy for me.”
Christian Huff, Sadie’s now-husband, made the same social media choice before the couple had even crossed paths. The pair got engaged in June 2019 and tied the knot that November. Sadie felt “so thankful” to have found a partner with a similar point of view.
“I remember someone asking us, ‘If y’all didn’t have Snapchat when y’all started dating, how did y’all see each other?’ First off, this made me laugh because we literally just saw each other in real life as much as possible,” she recalled. “That’s what dating is all about — spending real time together learning about each other, not just sending hundreds of selfies throughout the day.”
The duo used FaceTime while they were dating long-distance and frequently spoke on the phone. However, that didn’t keep Sadie from feeling insecure — especially while looking at Christian’s Instagram profile.
Despite her worries, the couple found their happy ending and welcomed daughter Honey in May 2021. Becoming a mother was “an incredible honor,” Sadie wrote. “I look at her, and I don’t compare her to a single thing. She is perfect. It is so easy to believe this verse for her because I’ve been a part of the way He created her. Why is it so hard for me to believe that for myself?”
Before their little one arrived, the Live Fearless author exclusively told Us Weekly that she and her husband felt more connected than ever throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“We feel like we’ve been married for a year. That actually should count as five years because COVID years are like dog years. So it’s been incredible. It really has. We were very grateful that we had each other through this year,” she said in December 2020. “It’s taught us so much.”
She continued at the time: “When we were looking back at the year, what have we seen in each other? And just the truth is just how good of friends we have become and how good of friends we are to one another. And I think that’s so huge.”
Scroll down for the biggest revelations from Sadie’s book: