Jessica Samko Is Comfortable Being Single – Facts about Her Life

Jessica Samko came to prominence during her appearances on the reality show "Shipping Wars," which saw transporters with different sizes of vehicles competing to deliver unconventional loads.

Samko took part in two of the show's nine seasons. Her choice of vehicle was a Volvo long haul truck that enabled her to carry the most oversized loads and display a tough character. Before the show, she dropped her dream of working on a cruise liner and pursued her newfound love for trucks.

After the show, she returned to her life of trucking and still did what she loved in 2022. When she is not transporting goods across the country, Samko enjoys spending time with her family and dogs and enjoys rock concerts.

Jessica Samko Is a Big Fan of Rock

Samko is a native of New York State. She was born in Amsterdam on June 7, 1982. She describes herself as loyal, honest, and someone who values integrity. She also loves her family and cherishes her time with them. A peaceful drama-free life is one of her goals, and she enjoys a Heineken now and then.

One of her favorite things to do is listen to metal and rock music, and she enjoys going to concerts. However, Samko sometimes feels out of place at shows, but that does not bother her too much. She spoke about her fondness for live rock performances, saying:

“I love going to rock concerts. I love rock—I love the energy it gives me—but sometimes I don’t look like I fit in there either. Most of them have mohawks or 90 percent of their body covered in tattoos, and I’m just there on the side.”

Although she doesn't have too many tattoos or spot a mohawk, Samko has her fashion preferences. Her choice of clothes is Chuck Taylor and ripped jeans, and she emphasizes that she is what she is and does not pay much attention to what people think about her.

Jessica Samko Was in the Finals of a Beauty Contest

Samko has always been adventurous and dreamed of traveling the world from a young age. One of her first dream jobs was working on a cruise ship, enabling her to tour the world while working. However, an older Samko saw her plans change after she fell in love with a truck driver.

That relationship made her think that, rather than see the world from the high seas, maybe she was meant to see it from the cab of a semi. That experience kick-started her journey into the adventure of truck driving, which for her, is better than her childhood dream as she gets to do it with her boyfriend. She said:

"It's the best of both worlds. I get to see the country, I get to do a job that I love, and now I get to see everything with my boyfriend."

When Samko first got into truck driving around 2008, she worked for DMS, a logistics company run by Derek Smith, who had become her fiancé at that point. Her task was to take containers in and out of Port Newark, New Jersey.

Later, Samko founded JMS Transport and continued to drive her truck, a 2008 Volvo 780. She hauled almost anything that needed to be transported between California and New York, a distance of 2902 miles or over 43 hours of driving.

While driving trucks, Samko has experienced many things, some good and some bad. When asked about her unique experiences as a woman trucker, she replied that she had been followed by some creepy men, including on one occasion in California when she thought a guy had followed her for hours.

Moreover, Samko is an animal lover and travels with her two dogs in her tractor. Hence, whenever she sees an animal dead on the side of the road or stray dogs at truck stops, it breaks her heart. She conceded that she was not prepared to see such unpleasant sites before she got on her truck-driving journey.

Before Samko appeared in "Shipping Wars," she participated in Overdrive's Most Beautiful contest, an establishment that recognizes the beauty of lady truckers. Samko was recognized as one of the finalists after her fiancé registered her for the event without her knowledge and told her about it after.

Jessica Was in Several Quirky Situations during the Filming of "Shipping Wars"

Samko's popularity grew extensively after her appearance in "Shipping wars." She made a whopping total of 38 appearances in seasons 6 and 7 of the reality show, making her more than worthy of the name title "reality star" in the mold of fellow reality personalities such as Mama June and Taye Diggs' girlfriend, Apryl Jones.

Dubbed "The Road Warrior" on the show, Samko raced to outdo her competition by carrying oversized and generally bizarre loads. That adventure has been described as a bit more stressful as being followed around by camera crews can be pressurizing.

The pressure was visible in her change of behavior and character while on the show compared to what she is in real life. In "Shipping Wars," she is seen as a tough, foul-mouthed, and harsh woman, but that is not what she thinks of herself when relaxed in familiar territory. She explained:

"I think my friends would say I'm more of a goofy friendly type, but I definitely can swear with the best of them. That doesn't mean I'm hard-hearted, though."

Jessica Samko's Life after Participation in "Shipping Wars"

After the show, Jessica continued to work as a trucker, proving her love for her job. While still appearing on the show, she would return to her day job of hauling containers whenever they were not shooting.

As of 2022, Samko was still doing what she loved the most--trucking--despite all the fame and fortune gained from her days as a reality show personality. In April last year, she got full-time status at UPS after a ten-month wait, which usually takes years for many drivers to achieve.

However, some areas of her life have changed. For example, in 2014, Samko had a fiancé but reported that she was happily single in 2022. She even added that she has never been happier.

When she is not trucking, Jessica puts much of her focus on her family, whom she enjoys spending time with. Additionally, her dogs have a special place in her heart, and it bothers her whenever she has to leave them.