Duck Dynasty: The Revival is officially underway, but not all of the Robertson family members are back for the new version of the A&E series. While the show centers around Willie Robertson, Korie Robertson, and their children, Jase Robertson and Jep Robertson are not part of the revival (so far).
Scroll down for a refresher on Jep’s health issues and to find out what he’s up to now. Plus, why he’s not in the first season of the family’s new reality show.
What happened to Jep Robertson?
In October 2014, Jep had a seizure while deer hunting in Louisiana. He was in a remote area of the woods when he collapsed. “I just crumpled to the ground and they said I had a seizure for like five minutes,” he told ABC News just days later. “I thought I was a goner.”
It took nearly two hours for the ambulance to arrive because Jep was so far out in the woods, his wife, Jessica Robertson, explained. Upon arrival to the hospital, he was sedated and kept on a ventilator for four days. When he woke up, he had no idea what had happened or why he was hospitalized.
“They think it was mix between meningitis and encephalitis,” Robertson explained. “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.”
Why is Jep Robertson not in Duck Dynasty: The Revival?
Jep and Jase’s absence simply has to do with the fact that they’re not involved with Duck Commander anymore, and the show centers around the Duck Commander business and offices.
“My mom [Korie] actually runs a lot of things up here at Duck Commander,” Sadie Robertson told Taste of Country. “I have my all of my podcast and Live Original team work out of Duck Commander. My brother, John Luke, works for my mom’s production company at Duck Commander. My sister [Bella] manages the whole Duck Commander store, so the next generation works here.”
While Willie is “semi-retired” now, the show features him figuring out this next portion of his life. But some other familiar faces will be back for Season 2, Sadie promised. “Season 2 we are actually already filming,” she teased. “There’s more cast members from the original show on Season 2.”
What is Jep Robertson doing now?
In 2017, Jep and Jessica moved from Louisiana to Texas so he could start his food truck business. The original Duck Dynasty came to an end in 2017, so it was the perfect time for Jep to start this new chapter of his life.
However, the couple eventually moved back to Louisiana, although they still have land in Texas. “Having property at @legendstexas Comanche Moon Ranches has been such a blessing,” they wrote on Facebook in August 2024. “We call it our little piece of Texas heaven. Whether we’re heading out there to enjoy the outdoors, hunt, fish, play pickle ball or just hang out with our dear friends, we have so much fun making memories there.”
Jep’s food truck business appears to have closed in 2020. He and Jessica wrote a children’s book, Dear Valor, which they released in July 2024. They welcomed their first grandchild in February.
Duck Dynasty: The Revival, Sundays, 9/8c, A&E