Getty Images"/>"Duck Dynasty" star Jep Robertson has opened up about his earlier struggles with drugs and alcohol and revealed he only turned his life around after his father, Phil Robertson, put him on "house arrest" for three months and encouraged him to re-dedicate his life to Christ.
Speaking at the Salvation Army Banquet in Kerrville, Texas, Jep, husband of Jessica and the youngest son of Phil and Kay Robertson, said that in high school, he was the "spokesman" for YOLO -- the idea that "you only live once."
"As a senior in high school, I hung out with what I thought were 'cool' friends and started with the alcohol and the drugs," he said. "But my father said, 'You also can die from this.' But I thought I could handle it. Then at one point I drove home one night and fell out of my truck, passed out on the ground. But thankfully I didn't kill anyone that night getting home."
It wasn't until his devout Christian family had an intervention with him that he began to turn his life around: "My family put me on house arrest for three months at home," he recalled. "And I studied my faith all over again. And I realized I'd been counting on my father's faith and just being able to say, 'I'm with him,'" Jep said.
The "Duck Dynasty" star, who along with Jessica, wrote "The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God. What Honesty and Pain Taught Us About Faith, Family, and Forgiveness," said Phil referred to him as his "prodigal son."
Jep said his parent's marriage - they tied the knot in 1966 -- has inspired his own 15-year marriage. In fact, he said his favorite episode of A&E's "Duck Dynasty" was when his parents chose to be remarried on the show.
Now that he and his wife have five children of their own, Jep says he tries to model his life after his father: "I try to spend as much quality time as possible with my children and talk to them about faith," he said.
Jep encouraged others whose faith needs to be restored to remember that God is waiting for them -- arms wide open.
"God's ready, He's always ready," Jep said. "So you're ready. Get on your knees and let God have it."
Jep, who has previously revealed he was sexually abused by an older girl as a child, has also suffered from health problems, and back in October 2014 experienced a seizure during a hunting trip that landed him in the hospital and on life support for four days.
The "Duck Dynasty" star had to be sedated and tied down to his hospital bed in order to receive treatment. After waking up he admitted that he thought he "was a gooner," but didn't remember what happened to him.
Jep, Jessica and their children also star in the "Duck Dynasty" spinoff, "Jep & Jessica: Growing the Dynasty", on A&E.
