Jason Yarros Is the Unsung Hero Behind Bestselling Author Rebecca Yarros

The Gist:

• We explore the life of bestselling author Rebecca Yarros and introduce her husband, Army veteran Jason Yarros.
• Jason's military service, including deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, influenced their decision to leave the Army after 22 years.
• The couple has six children and Jason supports Rebecca's writing career.

One of the best things about TikTok is its dedicated bookworm fanbase on BookTok, where we can learn about new authors and series. Author Rebecca Yarros rose in fame thanks to her TikTok presence, where she promoted her new adult fantasy series, the Empyrean series. The first book, Fourth Wing, released in April 2023, and now, just seven months later, the sequel Iron Flame is here.

The Empyrean series is Rebecca’s fifth major series, after the Fight & Glory series, the In Luv duet, the Legacy series, and The Renegades trilogy. She incorporates elements of fantasy, romance, and her own experience with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. But by the way, Rebecca writes about love, we need to know more about her husband.

Rebecca has spoken openly about her husband, Jason, who served in the United States Army for over 22 years. He was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq during the wars in the Middle East, but by 2019, Rebecca and Jason decided that his time in the Army would come to an end.

Jason was offered $105,000 to enlist for another three years, but his multiple deployments had taken a toll on his marriage. Jason was first deployed when their eldest son was just five-and-a-half weeks old. When he was deployed a second time, their second eldest son asked if he got to be the man of the house this time, which led the oldest son to respond, “Nope, that's been my job since I was six weeks old.”

The normalcy of a nearly absent father would eventually cause Rebecca to write an open letter to the Army. Both her parents served in the Army, so Rebecca was familiar with the lifestyle of being an Army wife. At first, there was an “air of excitement” as she played the “shiny, wear-the-unit-sweatshirt” Army wife. But after an 18-year war with multiple deployments, it didn’t make sense for their family anymore.

While Rebecca makes money through her books, which she started writing while Jason was deployed, their first priority was raising a family. Together, they have six kids, the third of whom started his freshman year at California State University in August 2023. Rebecca posted a sweet tribute to him on Instagram to commemorate the big moment, “I hope this time is everything you want it to be, and I can’t wait to see what you make of it. Work hard. Play hard. Love harder, my son.”

Rebecca and Jason spend plenty of time together now that he’s no longer in the Army — they travel together, read together, and raise their big family together. Jason also gets to read Rebecca’s books before they come out, she loves to share them with him and pay close attention to his reactions.

On Jason’s birthday on June 8, 2023, she wrote and shared, “Happy birthday to this guy. My best friend. The love of my life. The best father a woman could ever ask for her kids. The guy who flew a thousand miles today just to have dinner with me while I’m in edits. The Apache pilot. The Zamboni driver. He’s brilliant and tough, and kind, and so damned funny, and I am the luckiest of women to call him mine. Happy Birthday, Jason! There’s a little bit of you in every hero I write.”

Wouldn’t it be beautiful to inspire an author’s heroes? That’s Rebecca’s life. Although she was worried divorce could knock at their doorstep if Jason continued his time in the Army, they both seem happier than ever.