Korie Robertson Talks God’s Plan in Son’s Adoption with Birth Mom
By Movieguide® Contributor
DUCK DYNASTY star Korie Robertson shared her son Will’s adoption story on a recent episode of the “Whoa That’s Good” podcast.
Robertson was joined by Will’s birth mother, Emily Kemp, to discuss what adoption meant for her.
Kemp began, “I was 19 years old, signing up to go into the United States Army and I did in February of 2001. It was great, and I loved it. However, I had some medical issues. I was seeing doctors about shin splints, and so they granted me a 30-day convalescent leave to come back home here in West Monroe.”
However, when Kemp returned home, she discovered her life had changed forever.
“I found out that somebody was moving inside,” she said.
“I began telling my mother that and she said ‘Hmm, might be dealing with a situation here.’ So sure enough I went to Life Choices in Monroe, Louisiana. They confirmed my pregnancy with a normal pregnancy test and then also with an ultrasound. I was five months pregnant. So, I had gone through all of that rigorous training, pregnant. And normally when you start doing things like that, you’ll lose the baby, but no, he stuck in there with me,” she continued.
Kemp was honorably discharged from the military and given the option to go back if she wanted to. But she knew she needed to figure out how to best care for her baby.
“I got home and I was roughing it,” she expressed. “I ended up going to a maternity home and decided to give him up for adoption because abortion was just not in my brain. But I had no home, I had nowhere to go, I had no money, and you know you’re scared.”
After Kemp contacted the adoption agency, she began praying that a godly family would adopt her son.
“That’s when I started praying fervently,” she emphasized. “I was praying, ‘God, give him a place to go. Give him somebody that’s going to love him and going to be able to provide for him the way that I couldn’t.’”
“The biggest thing is that I wanted him to be able to have more than I ever did,” she added.
“I decided I’m not going to choose to see him, so I chose not to see his face,” Kemp said about Will’s birth. “I didn’t hold him, I didn’t touch him, I didn’t see his face because I knew if I did he would come home with me and that was not going to be great for either of us. I just told God to give him kisses for me, and I’m going to just keep going. And I just kept going.”
Will initially joined the Robertson family as a foster child, and the Robertsons, who wanted to expand their family, were grateful for the opportunity to provide a stable, loving home for a child in need.
Not only did his adoption impact their family, but as the Robertsons shared Will’s story through DUCK DYNASTY, they raised awareness about adoption and foster care, encouraging other families to consider welcoming children into their homes through those avenues.
Movieguide® previously reported on Robertson:
DUCK DYNASTY’s Korie Robertson is reflecting on what it’s like to watch her children grow up and enter new phases of their lives in a touching Instagram post.
“This season of life is full of new chapters!” she captioned a photo of herself with son Willie. “Now that I have a few more years behind me, it seems like the end of your teens and early 20’s are full of really short chapters…new school, new semester, new city, new roomate, new friends, a new major, new apartment, new job, new city, perhaps marriage, another move, maybe kids…all of this happens in a relatively short period of your life. It’s kind of crazy actually!”
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