Inside Jessie James Decker's Sweet Relationship With Her Mom
Jessie James Decker is one busy woman. Once known for her E! reality show "Eric & Jessie: Game On" alongside her football player husband, Decker now juggles a country music career, a fashion brand named Kittenish, and two New York Times best-selling books — "Just Jessie" and the cookbook "Just Feed Me." When she has time away from her celebrity life, Decker devotes her attention to raising her three children.
You could say this busy lifestyle runs in the family. Decker's mother, Karen Parker, also knows a thing or two about juggling work and parenting. Parker revealed on the "Get Real With Caroline Hobby" podcast that she spent time in front of the cameras for the QVC and PBS networks while raising her three children including Decker, her firstborn. These days, she balances authoring her own cookbooks, babysitting her grandchildren, and keeping the spark alive with her husband, Steve Parker.
Decker and Parker may have a lot in common, but that's not the only reason they share a sweet and special mother-daughter relationship.
Jessie James Decker calls her mom when in trouble
Though Karen Parker has a jam-packed schedule, just like her daughter, she's always there to answer the phone when Jessie James Decker needs someone to talk to. Decker told "Taste of Country" that she's leaned on her mom for encouragement and advice both before and after having kids. When life gets crazy, Decker knows her mother is the best person to call, saying, "Oh, when things get crazy, my mom gets that frantic phone call ... She always knows what to say and has a way of putting everything in perspective. She encourages me, no matter what."
Parker echoed this during her "Get Real With Caroline Hobby" podcast interview and said that she often gets phone calls from Decker when she's in need of advice for her busy life. Without her mother's support, Decker may not be as strong as she is today. The country singer talked about her mom on "The Motherly Podcast" and how she helped Decker through bullying and getting kicked out of choir at school.
Jessie James Decker and mom Karen Parker bond over fashion
Jessie James Decker clearly has an eye for fashion as the founder and designer of the clothing brand Kittenish. But when in doubt, she still looks to mom Karen Parker for style inspiration. In fact, Decker took inspiration from her mother when designing a recent collection for her clothing line. In an Instagram post from September 2021, Decker wrote, "My beautiful mama has always loved [Kittenish] pieces... [but] she didn't feel comfortable wearing them. Her question was always 'why so many cropped shirts Jess?' So I listened and here we are. My mom is a classy lady and she wanted to create a collection that would fit everyone and make everyone feel beautiful!"
The two also went clothes shopping in celebration of Decker's 34th birthday. Mama Parker discussed the day in an Instagram caption and how her "heart was full" after she and Decker, along with Decker's sister Sydney Rae James, picked out and modeled clothes for each other.
Long before designing clothes and going shopping together, Decker admired her mother's sense of style. When asked about her favorite memory of her mom from childhood, Decker looked back on a time she was at the grocery store with Parker, who was dressed in cut-off jeans that revealed her tanned legs, Birkenstocks, and a white t-shirt. Decker explained that this memory reminds her that beauty and personal style is best when natural and effortless.
Karen Parker helped Jessie James Decker get healthy
Jessie James Decker's mother, Karen Parker, has built a reputation as a cookbook writer, and her first cookbook was actually meant for Decker. Parker told podcast host Caroline Hobby that she came up with the idea for her cookbook "Recipes For My Daughters" when Decker first got engaged to Eric Decker. Parker wanted to create a special gift for Decker, who had been asking for family recipes.
When Decker needs health-conscious meals, however, she steps away from the comfort food recipes passed down from her mom. Through baby weight and gaining some pounds during quarantine, Decker told E! that she was looking for a food plan that would give her more energy while shedding a little extra weight. Ultimately, she chose the South Beach Diet, inspired by Parker, who had tried the diet when Decker was younger. Decker explained, "I just felt like, 'Okay, if Mom did it and we're the same, this will work for me." Along with a regular workout routine, the former reality star says the diet program is helping her get fit and regain her stamina to get through long days.
The motherly love runs in the family
Jessie James Decker is super close with her mother Karen Parker, and at the core of their friendship is genuine motherly love. Parker may have developed her maternal side by being surrounded by women as a child. Speaking on "Get Real With Caroline Hobby," Parker indicated that her father died when she was just five years old, and after, she went on to live in the projects with her mother and four siblings. Her mother was dedicated to providing for her five children, working night shifts to earn money. While her mother was busy working, Parker was in the care of her grandmother, who she called her "saving grace." She explained how influential her grandmother was in her family: "I think my grandmother was given her path... so that she could give me mine and so that I could be there for my children in the way that I felt they needed."
The multigenerational love has clearly been received by Decker, who now passes down her own motherly love to her children. On "The Motherly Podcast," Decker noted that becoming a mother has helped her love her mom in a whole new way, saying, "I see her with my children and... it makes me feel so good to see your parents love your baby so much... I feel like I'm really good to my babies and love them really well because she taught me how to love."