Interviews with Eric Decker, Jessie James on new reality series

Barb Oates

13 years ago

August 2013 Eric Decker interview, Jessie James interview for “Eric and Jessie: Game On,” a new E! series beginning Sept. 29 at 10pm ET

Following his breakout year with the Denver Broncos, Eric Decker is now grabbing headlines off the field as well, for his stunning good looks and sexy new wife, country singer Jessie James. Similar to Khloé and Lamar or Kendra and Hank, E! cameras follow the couple as they prepare for their nuptials while juggling the pressures of their careers, moving into their 12,000-square-foot Denver dream home and planning their wedding in Eric & Jessie: Game On beginning Sept. 29 at 10pm ET on E!

Decker confesses that he does anticipate some pushback from his Denver Broncos teammates on doing a reality series. “I drag a couple teammates in it just so they can get teased with me,” he laughs. “For the most part everybody was encouraging. They know that this isn’t going to distract me or pull me away from football.”

There are some clips in the series that feature Decker with teammates Demaryius Thomas and Wesley Woodyard, which give a glimpse into the offseason workout regimes and what fans don’t see. But guys are guys and he’s not going to walk away unscathed when it comes to some ribbing.

“Obviously when you’re in a locker room with 15 other guys they’re going to try and take jokes at you and stuff,” Decker admits.

But he’s pretty generous in providing them material for teasing, from having saved his dog’s testicles [“Well, Jake. He’s my first pet dog that I had. As a man you never want to take another man’s balls, so in memory of his manhood I kept them for my office.”] to his self-confessed OCD.

“The OCD — it’s more like being very organized and particular about certain things. Like she’ll leave clothes all over the bathroom floor and I’m like, ‘Can you please just pick them up and put them in your closet or hang them up?’ That’s what bothers me. I like to keep everything organized. I even color-coordinate my closet. I just have that OCD. And she’s so ADD — she’ll be talking about one thing and all of a sudden she’ll be in a different room doing something different, on the guitar or on the phone. She’s all over the place. I think we balance each other out.”

As for Jessie, she says viewers will see the real deal when it comes to her career. “I’m struggling. I’m leaving a label. I’m trying to find another while still trying to make a record and balance my life. You’re really going to see the behind the scenes of what it’s like to be an artist. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies. It’s a really, really hard career and I’m going to show ya.”

One thing the series does expose that fans will enjoy is the devilishly playful side of Jessie. “I am such a prankster. I just love doing it. One day I’d love to do a prankster show,” Jessie says, when questioned about one of her pranks shown in the series. “This wasn’t on the show but [the other day] I put lip plumper — and you know when a girl puts lip plumper it makes your lips sting really, really bad, right? Well, I put some on Eric. I was like, ‘Babe you need to put some lip balm on. Your lips are really, really chapped.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I put it on his lips and five seconds later he’s like, ‘My lips are stinging! They are numb! What is wrong with me?’ Like freaked out. It was hilarious. I do stuff like that all the time.”

Determining whether to open their lives to reality cameras and criticism did take some time. The couple went back and forth before committing to the series. “After we deciding we wanted to be with E! and that this would be our home, we felt way more comfortable with the idea,” Jessie explains. “We love the network. We leave the network on at our house constantly. We didn’t want it to be some trash show with drama, throwing things and being mean to one another because that’s not real life and we’re not like that. We are really happy people and we really are madly in love with one other so we just wanted to showcase that and how we juggle both of our careers. It’s pretty realistic with what’s going on, there’s really nothing fake about the show, and that’s really what we wanted to make sure happened.”

The pilot was filmed earlier this year and actual shooting of the series took place over May and June, giving Decker enough time prior to the start of football so it would not interfere. Throughout the series viewers will see the couple as they prepare for their wedding, move into their new home, and interact with friends, colleagues and family. The series culminates with the actual wedding.

Aside from their entertaining personalities, the couple does think viewers will relate and truly appreciate seeing people who are working hard to accomplish their dreams.

“A lot of people say you can’t accomplish something or you can’t live out your dream or that it’s too hard,” Decker says. “A message to a lot of young kids is that you can live your dream and you can find someone who makes you happy, and it’s a balancing act as well. It’s not always great. You are going to have struggles and tough times and that’s something that everyone goes through and people can relate to. [I hope viewers] take away that we are a fun loving couple that people aspire to be.”

Jessie chimes in, agreeing with Eric, but adding: “And we’re normal! That’s what I want people to see, too. You’re not going to see me on the show decked out in makeup and Louis Vuittons all the time. We are really normal. You’ll see me half the time with no makeup in the kitchen cooking dinner. We’re just normal people and are madly in love and we just happen to have pretty cool jobs. We just wanted to share that with people. We thought it would be a fun adventure.”

And, the adventure begins with Eric & Jessie: Game On on E! Sundays at 10pm ET beginning Sept 29.