Doubling Down With the Derricos star Deon Derrico shared a telling message following news of his divorce from Karen Derrico.
“When you have nothing else in this world as long as you have your great health, and family nothing else really matters!” Deon, 53, captioned an Instagram post on Tuesday, June 18, sharing a photo with his family. Deon and Karen, 44, share 14 kids: Darian, 18, Derrick, 13, twins Dallas and Denver, 12, quintuplets Deonee, Daician, Daiten, Deniko and Dariz, 10, twins Diez and Dior, 6, and triplets Dawsyn, De’Aren and Dyver, 4.
The photo was uploaded shortly before a new episode of Doubling Down With the Derricos aired on Wednesday, which showed Deon and Karen speaking candidly about their relationship issues. Karen suffered a medical emergency during the episode, which led to heartfelt admissions from Deon.
“My thing is, baby, you think about how today went, none of this other crap matters,” Deon told his wife after she collapsed during a family vacation. “The stress of the house, painting, the flooring, you wanting Darian to go to college, none of that mattered while you were on that ground today.”
Karen’s health issue was ruled as altitude sickness and dehydration after she was examined by paramedics.
“We just need our family and our health,” Deon continued. “[When] we go back home, you know, we’re going back to the house that has all these challenges and issues. But it’s like our reality is, no matter what we can get through it. I cannot do this without you.”
Deon and Karen confirmed their divorce in a statement shared with Us Weekly on Saturday, June 15.
“Together, we remain unified in the parenting of our 14 beautiful children — their well-being is our priority,” the reality stars explained. “We thank everyone for their understanding and support as we move forward for the good of our family.”
The couple, who got married in 2005, filed for divorce on June 4. Their split was approved by a judge two days later. Deon and Karen will reportedly split custody of their minor children.
Deon, Karen and their large brood made their reality TV debut in 2020 when Doubling Down With the Derricos premiered on TLC. Ahead of their divorce, the Derricos told Us exclusively they hadn’t ruled out having more children.
“We have not shut the factory down, and I can’t tell you when we will, to be honest,” Deon said in February 2022. “From my perspective, I just have that empty nester fear. I want to always have a child, a baby, in the house with us. That’s how I feel.”
