‘Duck Dynasty’ Alum Bella Robertson Breaks Silence on Critics Saying She’s Too Young for Marriage

Bella Robertson, a member of the Duck Dynasty Robertson family, defended her decision to get married to fiance Jacob Mayo. The 18-year-old Robertson announced plans to get married in November after six months of dating, and critics said she was too young to tie the knot. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Robertson said the two have known each other for a while and noted that her parents, grandparents, and brother all married at 18 too.

“First off, we’ve been friends for a long time,” Robertson told ET. I think a lot of people want to say, like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’ve only been dating for six months.’ But we have known each other for so long. And since quarantine is like dog years, we’ve been in quarantine the whole time we’ve been dating and we’re together all the time.”

The two started dating when Mayo came back home from college to quarantine, which was a “big factor” in their relationship, Robertson explained. If the situation was different, Robertson said she did not know if she would have gotten engaged after just six months, especially if she had only just met the man she was engaged to. “But on top of that, in the south so many people get married so young,” Robertson explained. “Like, my parents got married at 18, my brother got married at 18, my grandparents married at 18. It’s very common around here, so it didn’t really shock me too much about my age.”

Robertson said Mayo’s proposal was not a complete surprise, but she was shocked by the ring he picked out. “I knew it was coming at some time soon, but I didn’t know exactly when,” she said, later noting that Mayo did ask her parents for permission to propose.

Mayo kept his meeting with her parents a secret, but Robertson’s mother, Korie Robertson, spoiled it. “The next day, my mom was like, ‘So did Jacob talk to you about our talk?’ And I was like, ‘No,’” Robertson told ET. “My mom thought that Jacob must have told me, so she ended up spilling the beans to me. I ended up finding out that way.” As for the wedding, the couple has only done a “little bit” of planning. Robertson is “living in the moment right now until Christmas I guess,” she said, adding that after Christmas, they will “really get on it.”

Robertson announced her engagement on Instagram on Nov. 27 by sharing a black and white photo of the couple. “I was thankful for you yesterday, I am thankful for you today, and now I get to be thankful for you for the rest of my life! I am blown away by God’s goodness and grace,” the former reality TV star wrote. “[Jacob Mayo] let’s get married!! I love you forever.”