Country singer Jessie James Decker and her husband, former NFL wide receiver Eric Decker, say the secret to their 12-year marriage is a strong foundation built on shared values.
“I think, you know, we had a strong foundation to begin with, and we’re aligned on all of our views of just life in general,” Jessie James Decker said during an interview with Fox News. “I think that you need to have that in your marriage. You need that foundation of being on the same page, you know?”
Eric Decker added, “I think, obviously, we’re rooted in our value system where we have four kids. We do love the community we raise our kids in. We take time to just be home and, in a sense, be with our family—that grounds us.”
The couple, who met through mutual friends in 2011 and married in 2013, have four children: Vivianne, 11; Eric “Bubby” Jr., 10; Forrest, 7; and Denver, 1. Jessie James Decker recalled that even after years together, a recent shared challenge gave them one of their most memorable moments as a couple.
After filming the competition series “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” the two found themselves with a layover in London.
“We went through something really hard together, and it really does bring you closer together,” Jessie James Decker said.
Eric Decker said the experience also gave him a deeper respect for his wife, noting that he saw “grit and tenacity” in her. “This is an environment we had not put ourselves in, so just to be able to kind of see her thrive in that was really special.”
The couple has long described their relationship as both a partnership and a friendship.
“We just like each other and we always have, and it continues to strengthen. I could not have picked a better partner to have kids with,” Jessie James Decker said in a 2017 interview with People. “We parent so well together, and besides parenting well, we both just are still madly in love with each other.”
Decker, 37, rose to prominence as a country-pop singer with her debut album “Jessie James” in 2009 and later gained a following through her reality television series “Eric & Jessie: Game On,” which chronicled her life with her husband during his NFL career.
She has since built a clothing line, released multiple albums, and authored three books—with her 2018 autobiography, “Just Jessie: My Guide to Love, Life, Family, and Food,” which became a New York Times bestseller.
Eric Decker, 38, spent eight seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans before retiring in 2018.
