Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty discovers long lost 45-year-old daughter from an extramarital affair

Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, a father of four boys, has just discovered he’s a father of five – thanks to a DNA test which has led to the discovery of a long lost daughter.

The 74-year-old patriarch admitted on Thursday that he recently learned he has a 45-year-old daughter from an affair he had in the Seventies, well after marrying his wife Kay in 1966. The pair are still married.

On his Unashamed podcast, the outwardly religious Robertson discussed the novel turn of events with his sons Jep, 42, Willie, 48, Jase, 50, and Al, 54, the last of whom explained that he had received a bombshell letter that started it all.

‘Basically, it was from a woman who said that by a DNA search, she thinks that [our] Dad might be her dad,’ Al, 54, said, identifying the 45-year-old woman by the name of Phyliss.

Al also said that he had at first ‘dismissed’ the letter as a wild claim, but Jase, 50, had also received a letter from the woman, claiming to be his sister.

‘We both concluded, this is not one of those frivolous things we’ve got,’ Jase said. 

‘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 agreed. ‘And I thought, even if it’s not dad, she needs to know it’s not dad.’

And when Phil – who’s admitted in the past to his philandering ways before devoting  himself to the church – commented on the matter, mentions of God were not far behind.

‘We know that in all things – in all things – even sin, God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose,’ he said, in a paraphrase from the bible.  

And when Phil agreed to take a DNA test, it was a ‘99.9 percent match,’ according to Al. 

The Robertsons’ story is just one of many accounts of long-lost family members coming to the fore thanks to the newfound trend of genetic and DNA research, with companies like 23andMe.

‘It’s a pretty cool explanation of redemption, reconciliation, love,’ Robertson said. ‘As it turns out, 45 years, you have a daughter that you don’t know about, and she has a father she doesn’t know about. 45 years that doesn’t sound like very long but you say, that’s a while. So finally, after all those years, we come together.’

The professional duck hunter added that his family has already met his daughter Phylliss, and that fans will get to hear her side of things on an upcoming episode of his Unashamed podcast.

‘It was super awesome, I was so excited,’ Jep said of finding out he has a big sister. 

He added that he had always wished he had a sister while growing up as the baby brother in a family of boys. 

‘It was like a dream come true.’

It should be noted that Phil’s daughter, Phyliss, most probably was named for him.

No information was readily available on Phyliss’s mother. 

The news of Phil’s long lost daughter comes after the family’s harrowing ordeal last month, when a gunman sprayed son Willie’s Louisiana estate with bullets in a drive-by shooting.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the shooter has been ordered to turn in all of his firearms and stay away from the younger Robertson’s estate for a minimum of two years. 

Duck Dynasty was an extremely popular A&E reality television program which ran for 11 seasons, from 2012 until 2017.

It followed Phil Robertson and his well-off Louisiana clan, known for their successful duck-hunting business. 

Prior to Duck Dynasty, Phil and his sons were featured on a hunting show for the Outdoor Channel titled Duck Commander, which ran for three seasons from 2009 until 2011.

Phil’s younger brother Si Robertson, 72, was also a popular character on Duck Dynasty, appearing in all 129 episodes.

Both Phil and Si were born in postwar Vivian, Louisiana.