The Untold Truth Of HGTV's Mike Jackson & Egypt Sherrod

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Egypt Sherrod has been in the public eye since her late teens, thanks to her first career as a radio DJ in which she interviewed everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Oprah Winfrey. But she's now best known for her work in the housing market, whether it's showcasing her skills as an interior designer, running her own Atlanta-based realtor firm, or hosting the likes of "Property Virgins" and "Flipping Virgins" on home renovation network HGTV.

And in recent years, she's become just as renowned for her personal life as her professional. In 2022, her husband Mike Jackson also became a star thanks to their stints on "Rock the Block" and their reality show "Married to Real Estate," which has opened up their inner sanctum to the public even further. So, what do we know about their relationship? From their serendipitous beginnings and star-studded wedding to therapy sessions and thrill-seeking pursuits, here's a look at the power couple's untold truth. 

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson had several other jobs before becoming stars on America's premier home renovation network. The occasionally tragic couple plied their trade as DJs, albeit of very different types. While the former made her name talking on the radio for New York station WBLS 107.5, the latter got his start spinning the decks under the guise of "The Versatile DJ Fadelf."

"From the moment I knew what two turntables were, and the effect the right song could have on people, I was hooked," Jackson explained to Shoutout Atlanta about how he was drawn to the art form. The HGTV star was obviously a fast learner. By the age of 12, he'd DJ'd his first wedding!

"I was dedicated to the craft," Jackson added. "There wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't perfecting my skills, studying music and learning the technology." And when the pair, whose contrasting DJ skills also enabled their meet-cute, got married, Sherrod presented her new hubby with a turntable-shaped wedding cake.

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson didn't exactly make things easy for themselves when it came to getting together. In fact, the pair experienced several false starts before they finally realized they were meant to be.

Speaking to their home network, HGTV, Jackson explained that they first met at a New York nightclub where he was DJing. "I saw her backstage, and the light was literally only on her. From that moment on, I knew she was my wife. I told the security guard to let me back there, because I needed to talk to someone." However, the object of his affection believed that her future husband may be too much of a player to take seriously. And although she was undeniably attracted to him, she decided against connecting with him any further.

Several months later, the serendipitous pair happened across each other at the Big Apple's Puerto Rican Day parade, where they were appeared on separate floats. On this occasion, though, Jackson chose not to ask for Sherrod's phone number as he didn't want to suffer the pain of rejection in front of her friend. Luckily, it proved to be third time lucky.

It's fair to say that fate was on Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson's side. Having previously failed to connect during several previous encounters, the pair were once again thrown together by circumstances thanks to their career pivots into the real estate industry.

In another interview with HGTV (via People), Sherrod recalled how while flipping one particular house, she was given a referral to a local real estate broker. And wouldn't you know it, the man in question turned out to be familiar face Jackson. It was a welcome surprise, as having previously sworn off dating anyone in the showbiz industry, Sherrod realized spinning the decks wasn't his forte.

"So, I actually ended up saving her on a rooftop with her foot stuck in a hole cause she tried to do some DIY project, you know. So, I went from being the DJ to saving the day in construction," Jackson said. Referring to all their chance meetings, he added, "That's what's so amazing about it. Each time none of it was set up."

Things didn't exactly run smooth once Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod did eventually realize they were made for each other. Both parties had their fair share of emotional baggage from previous relationships, with the former's ex-wife throwing perhaps the biggest spanner in their works.

Indeed, one of the reasons the HGTV stars ended up postponing their wedding was to deal with the problems presented by the mom of Jackson's first child. "It affected our relationship in a big way," Sherrod revealed in an interview with the Oprah Winfrey Network's "Black Love." "He had to learn how to deal with her on terms where she wasn't dictating when and how and why he would behave, when he could see and when he could talk to their daughter."

Luckily, things became a lot more settled when Jackson and his former partner agreed to a custody order. In September 2010, he walked down the aisle for a second time at a country club in New Jersey. "I knew that I was marrying the right man," added Sherrod. "And I knew it was the right time."

As well as having to overcome problems with her partner's ex-wife, Egypt Sherrod also had to address her own past before feeling ready to tie the knot. In a joint interview with husband Mike Jackson for "Black Love," the "Flipping Virgins" host admitted that she'd been left emotionally scarred by several of her previous boyfriends.

"Even when we're done with the relationship, we still carry those bruises with us," Sherrod explained. "It wasn't until he called me out on my mess and told me, 'You are taking it out on me — everything from every other guy that did you wrong and you're gonna run Mr. Right off.'"

Sherrod subsequently acknowledged that she needed to change her ways if she was ever to make it down the aisle with the love of her life. And she sought out professional therapy to help. "Before we can prepare ourselves for the right man to enter our lives, we have to get our minds right, let go of our baggage," she explained about the mindset that allowed her and Jackson to finally say "I do."

Having previously postponed their wedding to iron out several personal issues, Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod eventually got hitched at New Jersey's West Mount Country Club in 2010. But the bride's determination to make it the event of the year nearly ruined the occasion.

"I turned into bridezilla," Sherrod later admitted to Essence about the big day. "I just wanted everything to be perfect. My mom shook some sense into me. She said, 'Say a prayer.'" Luckily, this brand of spiritual tough love worked, and the HGTV stars were able to enjoy the star-studded nuptials.

The guestlist included several famous pals including Coko of '90s R&B girlband and Q Parker of vocal harmony group 112. But the happy couple made them literally sing for their supper, with the former performing her own band's hit "Weak" during the reception and the latter soundtracking Sherrod's walk down the aisle by crooning "Here and Now" by Luther Vandross.

After giving birth to their first child together Kendall in 2012, Egypt Sherrod and her husband Mike Jackson were keen to further add to the family unit which also included the latter's all-grown-up daughter from a previous marriage Simone. Unfortunately, nature had other plans.

The HGTV stars spent the next five years trying to conceive without any luck. In order to combat the chronic pain she suffered from endometriosis, Sherrod was all set to undergo a recommended partial hysterectomy. But just before the operation was scheduled, she discovered that she was pregnant. "I give total glory to God on this one because He knew my heart and He knew how bad I wanted another child for years," she later told Essence.

"With the health issues, I thought I ran out of time," Sherrod went on to add. "When I went to the maternal fetal doctor, they'd say it was a geriatric pregnancy. I would giggle and laugh. Like, really? Am I the oldest person you've seen today? ... I did have a healthy pregnancy at the end of the day." In February 2019, the "Property Virgins" host welcomed daughter Harper into the world, and two weeks later, she uploaded an Instagram snap of the tot captioned, "This little angel has only been here for two weeks, but completes our family in so many ways."

In 2019, Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod welcomed their second daughter Harper into the world. Unfortunately, their parental bliss was soon cut short when the latter was rushed back into medical care with postpartum complications.

"When I got back home and laid down to go to sleep, it felt like I was drowning," Sherrod later explained to Essence. "I couldn't breathe." The host of "Married to Real Estate" — which has repeatedly been accused of being staged — went on to add that she'd suffered an overload of fluid to the lungs following her cesarean section and that if she hadn't returned to the hospital, she might have lost her life. "There's warnings everywhere saying you can experience this after a c-section, and no one at the hospital told me."

Luckily, Sherrod made a full physical recovery and was soon back home with her husband and two young girls. However, she did have to stick to a cardio diet and regularly get checked for cardiomyopathy, a condition common in her family. However, it took a little longer for the star to overcome another postpartum side effect: depression. "I didn't realize I had become a monster," she admitted to "Black Love" about how it affected the marriage that has always felt off somehow.

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson have been mixing business with pleasure ever since they first worked on a house renovation together back in the '00s. And with so much of their time spent on the professional side of their lives, the couple have to make an effort to maintain their personal.

"When you work together, especially for what we do, it's almost 24/7," Jackson admitted to Us Weekly in 2025. "We have to remind ourselves to turn it off before we get in the house, so we can focus on having a good meal or dealing with the kids," he added referring to their young daughters Harper and Kendall.

And often, the HGTV stars will have to get a little creative in how they create quality time. "It's hard for him to get away, so I'll bring lunch to him," Sherrod explained, acknowledging that the pair don't need to be swept off their feet or indulge in the height of luxury to enjoy each other's company. "We're really practical people."

As well as ensuring that they get to spend some quality time together, Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod have several other rules they believe help to maintain their healthy marriage. Communication, laughter, and flirtatious behavior are just a few they revealed to Us Weekly. But the most striking was that they no longer sleep in the same bedroom.

"We have rediscovered the power of having our own personal space," Sherrod explained. "He can go to sleep when he wants, snore as loud as he wants, play whatever he wants on TV." The interior designer also expressed her joy at being able to get some fan-assisted shuteye without any pushback, as well as lighting candles and playing Solfeggio frequencies, a pattern of unique sounds that helps with relaxation, stress, and overall wellbeing.

"We love [doing] that and then coming [back] together with a little rat-a-tat-tat," Sherrod added. Although it might seem an unusual arrangement for some, the act of sleeping separately is reportedly growing between long-term partners. In 2023, an American Academy of Sleep Medicine study discovered that more than a third of the country's couples do so on a regular basis.

While guesting on podcast "Girl Stop Playing" in 2023, Egypt Sherrod revealed that seven years into her relationship with Mike Jackson, she realized that things desperately needed to change: "I fell out of this space of just wanting to make him happy, and more about making myself happy." And the couple relied on professional therapy to help them overcome this tricky period.

"What we were doing was talking at one another and not to one another," Sherrod divulged. "We were hearing, but not listening." This wasn't the first time that the HGTV star had admitted to problems in her marriage. During an appearance at the Black Love Summit in 2019, she disclosed that her and Jackson's sex life had taken a significant downturn since becoming parents.

"Not understanding what was going on was more frustrating than anything because I could feel there was a wall being put up," Sherrod said, referring to the lack of communication between the pair. Luckily, the therapy sessions appeared to do the trick, "It was just about being there and being a shoulder to lean on," Jackson acknowledged. "Being a listening ear, being able to understand, and helping where I can to be there for her. I think most of the time we just want someone who hears us and sees what we are going through."

While Egypt Sherrod has been a fixture on our screens since the early 2010s thanks to her hosting spots on the likes of "Property Virgins," "Flipping Virgins," and "Urban Oasis," her husband Mike Jackson is still pretty new to the TV game. In fact, he only got his start thanks to the pandemic.

In an interview with HGTV, Sherrod explained that being cooped up indoors for months on end got both of their creative juices flowing. "Being sort of shut in together, and we're both running our respective businesses from the kitchen counter, and we have our kids in virtual school at the other end. It was a little bit of a zoo here, but we were getting it done, and then Mike said, 'Well, let's film this.'"

Having entertained their social media followers with their attempts to combine their personal and professional lives, the couple figured that they could also entertain more traditional media, too. "Our management said, 'Y'all really have something here, you should shoot a sizzle reel,'" explained Sherrod. "So we did that and sent it to HGTV, and they loved it." In 2022, the multi-taskers were given their own oft-challenging show, "Married to Real Estate," and the rest is reality TV history.

Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod certainly aren't scared of oversharing when it comes to their relationship. While discussing the ups and downs they've experienced in their marriage at the 2019 Black Love Summit in Atlanta, talk quickly turned to their sex life. And it turns out that one-half of the pair, in particular, likes to keep things spicy.

Jackson was more than happy to reveal that when it comes to bedroom action, variety is key. And he appears to particularly enjoy his wife sporting various different wigs and personas. However, the DJ also claims that there's nothing sexier than Sherrod simply being herself.

"For me, it wasn't the wigs and everything that turned me on," Jackson told the panel. "It was the fact that she was so tuned in with her feminine side, her womanity even more that she was comfortable in her skin. That was the sexy part. It's not just about the man. If the woman is not in the mood, it's not fun for the man."

Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod have plenty of other things to keep them busy when they're not renovating houses or appearing on reality TV. The latter has written an NAACP Image Award-nominated book, "Keep Calm . . . It's Just Real Estate: Your No-Stress Guide to Buying a Home," for example, while the former still has one foot in the music world as a DJ. And perhaps surprisingly, they're also adrenaline-chasing thrill-seekers, too.

Indeed, turns out that the pair enjoy nothing more than extreme sports, whether it's climbing rocks or throwing themselves out of an airplane. In fact, Sherrod discovered that she was pregnant with daughter Kendall just a few hours after going skydiving.

"It was crazy, because when I jumped out of the plane, I started feeling queasy and I thought it was the air pressure," Sherrod wrote on her blog about the life-changing day in question. However, while on solid ground shortly after, the "Married to Real Estate" star found out that she'd, in fact, had been suffering from morning sickness.