HGTV STARS EGYPT SHERROD AND MIKE JACKSON ARE TWO OF A KIND!
HGTV’s “Married to Real Estate” husband-and wife team Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson came up with the idea for their hit show while they were on lockdown at their Atlanta-area home.
“COVID broke a lot of couples and reinforced others. We were the latter. It caused us to dig deep and focus, and brought us closer as a family,” Sherrod says. “Mike started to document our lives and the renovations we were doing while stuck in the house. When we watched the footage, we thought, ‘This could be a show!’”
So the duo created a sizzle reel from Jackson’s cellphone footage and submitted it to HGTV producers, whom Sherrod knew quite well from hosting 13 seasons of “Flipping Virgins” and “Property Virgins.”
“HGTV was ready for something that felt more authentic, less host-y and more like reality TV,” Sherrod says.
Their first show as a couple, “Married to Real Estate” follows Sherrod and Jackson as they renovate Atlanta homes for clients, including some in Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, and take on their own home projects. All three seasons are streaming now on Max.
The two met in New York during Sherrod’s previous life as a radio personality and Jackson’s as a DJ. Both full of side hustle, Sherrod was building her real estate brokerage business, now called Indigo Road Realty, and Jackson was establishing his career as a contractor at the same time. They married in 2010 after six years of dating, and moved to Atlanta in 2012.
“It was divine intervention. My wife couldn’t be with anyone else,” says Jackson about Sherrod’s needing a builder for a husband to fulfill her home-improvement requests. As of spring 2024, the laundry list of projects has included lime-washing the exterior red brick, changing windows, upgrading the front door to a modern one, renovating the basement and adding a four-car garage and a 1,900-square foot carriage house, which also serves as a workshop for Jackson to pursue his love of woodworking. Next stop: the kitchen.
In addition to the TV show, Sherrod and Jackson host “The Marriage and Money Podcast.” Sherrod also runs Indigo Road Design Group; launched Indigo Road Home Furnishings, a product line, in fall 2023; is a two-time book author and a speaker. Jackson co-owns Jackson Draper Renovations, a construction and home-improvement company, and also has written a book.
“We really enjoy the fact we get to do what we love with the person we love. It’s a roller-coaster ride sometimes; other times, it’s a riverboat ride,” Jackson says.
Sherrod and Jackson exude gratitude for their relationship, just as they do for their celebrity. Sherrod notes a recent visit to The Capital Grille in Buckhead where it seemed as if everyone in the restaurant shook their hands. In the ladies’ room that night, someone asked her if their youngest daughter, Harper, was now sleeping in her own bedroom—a storyline from Season 1. (She is.) “We like to call our fans ‘fams’ because they’re like family. When folks approach us, it’s more like your auntie giving you a hug. We feel appreciated without it being overbearing,” Jackson says.
The city of Atlanta gave them a proverbial hug in 2022, too, when it declared August 23 “Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson Day” in honor of their contributions to real estate and the community.
While their lives are anything but ordinary, the couple’s secret to maintaining normalcy within the family unit with their three daughters is to put the laptops away. “We have Simone who is 22 and working in New York; Kendall who is 12 and into sports; and 5-year-old Harper, our future president. The only way to make it work is to be fully present for all of their different needs. We want to set a good example as their mom and dad, and teach the kids to have balance,” Sherrod says.
The next chapter in the Sherrod- Jackson balance mobile will include spending weekends on their farm somewhere in Georgia or Tennessee. They’re currently on the hunt for the property. Sherrod loves to garden and looks forward to teaching their girls about agriculture. Jackson can’t wait for more time and experiences with the kids. “Experiences over materials. There’s nothing else we need,” Jackson says.
EGYPT SHERROD
indigoroadrealty.com
@egyptsherrod
MIKE JACKSON
jacksondraperrenovations.com
@djfadelf
PHOTO: Patrick Heagney
