section_path: Personal life
section_name: Personal life
paragraph_text: Personal life
  
  Robertson and Marsha "Miss Kay" Carroway began dating in 1964 as "high school sweethearts." The couple were married in 1966. Despite early troubles in their marriage due to Robertson's "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle," a 2013 editorial published by Yahoo! TV correspondent Kelly Woo described the Robertsons' union as a "long-standing, rock-solid marriage." Their first son, Alan, was born while they were attending college.
  
  Robertson was a devout Christian, a member of and elder at the White's Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, and was outspoken about his beliefs. He had various personal problems in his 20s including excessive alcohol drinking, causing a separation in the marriage for a period and he credited a subsequent religious awakening for his having been able to overcome the problems. Robertson opposed abortion and called it a violation of the Declaration of Independence. He frequently spoke about the issue during public appearances. In 2013, alongside joint author Mark Schlabach, Robertson published a memoir titled Happy, Happy, Happy.
  
  In a 2013 special House of Representatives election, Robertson made a television commercial endorsing Vance McAllister, a Republican candidate for the Robertson family's home district, Louisiana's 5th congressional district. McAllister, who had never held political office, defeated the thought-to-be frontrunner, state senator Neil Riser. Many attributed the strength of McAllister's come-from-behind victory to the Robertson endorsement. In 2016, Phil Robertson endorsed Ted Cruz for president. As Cruz dropped out of the race, Robertson, while in Cannes, France, endorsed Donald Trump for president. In 2017 Alabama US Senate special election, he endorsed Roy Moore.
  
  In either December 2016 or January 2017, after Ben Carson stepped down from being chairman of American Legacy Center's "Fight for the Court" project, Robertson filled the vacancy. On May 28, 2020, it was revealed that Robertson had learned he had a daughter named Phyllis from an affair in the 1970s. In 2024, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
  
  Robertson and Marsha "Miss Kay" Carroway began dating in 1964 as "high school sweethearts." The couple were married in 1966. Despite early troubles in their marriage due to Robertson's "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle," a 2013 editorial published by Yahoo! TV correspondent Kelly Woo described the Robertsons' union as a "long-standing, rock-solid marriage." Their first son, Alan, was born while they were attending college.
  
  Robertson was a devout Christian, a member of and elder at the White's Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, and was outspoken about his beliefs. He had various personal problems in his 20s including excessive alcohol drinking, causing a separation in the marriage for a period and he credited a subsequent religious awakening for his having been able to overcome the problems. Robertson opposed abortion and called it a violation of the Declaration of Independence. He frequently spoke about the issue during public appearances. In 2013, alongside joint author Mark Schlabach, Robertson published a memoir titled Happy, Happy, Happy.
  
  In a 2013 special House of Representatives election, Robertson made a television commercial endorsing Vance McAllister, a Republican candidate for the Robertson family's home district, Louisiana's 5th congressional district. McAllister, who had never held political office, defeated the thought-to-be frontrunner, state senator Neil Riser. Many attributed the strength of McAllister's come-from-behind victory to the Robertson endorsement. In 2016, Phil Robertson endorsed Ted Cruz for president. As Cruz dropped out of the race, Robertson, while in Cannes, France, endorsed Donald Trump for president. In 2017 Alabama US Senate special election, he endorsed Roy Moore.
  
  In either December 2016 or January 2017, after Ben Carson stepped down from being chairman of American Legacy Center's "Fight for the Court" project, Robertson filled the vacancy. On May 28, 2020, it was revealed that Robertson had learned he had a daughter named Phyllis from an affair in the 1970s. In 2024, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.