How Mike Holmes' Divorce Impacted His Relationship With His Children
Canadian television personality Mike Holmes is a businessman and professional contractor who ventured into the entertainment world with his home improvement show "Holmes on Homes." His success with the series has led to several other shows, including "Homes Inspection," "Best of Holmes on Homes," and "Holmes Makes It Right" (via Heightline).
Holmes is also a private man who keeps much of his personal life to himself, making his fans even more curious about the home improvement genius. Despite his private nature, we know that he owes the mastery of his craft to his father, who began teaching him the ropes when he was 6 (via TV Overmind). He also became an entrepreneur at a young age. At 19 years old, he brought together his first contracting crew, and at 21, he had already started his own home renovation company.
Although Celebrity Net Worth reports that the television sensation has a net worth of $30 million, accrued from his reality shows and books on home renovation, Holmes is not just after the money and loves to give back to his community. According to TV Overmind, Holmes began The Holmes Foundation to provide homeowners in need with major renovations. He was inspired after working on a house that had been renovated so poorly, it needed to be completely gutted.
When he isn't busy working, Holmes is a family man and father to three grown children. Read on to see how his divorce affected his relationship with his kids.
Mike Holmes is close to his kids
Mike Holmes married his teenage sweetheart, Alexandra Lorex, in 1982 when he was 19. Together, they had three children — Amanda, Sherry, and Mike Jr. — before Holmes turned 25. The marriage would only last 11 years, however, and Holmes and Lorex divorced in 1993. According to Heightline, many factors contributed to the couples' split, including a nasty recession in Canada in the '90s that brought with it enormous financial stress. Holmes sadly lost some of his businesses and properties during the recession. If that wasn't enough, Holmes' parents both died within a short period time of one another, adding even more strain to Holmes' emotional health and, as a result, the health of their marriage.
Despite the divorce, Holmes did not become less involved in his children's lives. He continued to take his role as a parent seriously and retained close relationships with all three of them. He saw them every other weekend and even included them in his shows (via TV Overmind).
Holmes' eldest child, Amanda, chose to retreat into the background after making a couple appearances on her father's shows. Sherry was also uninterested in Holmes' profession, but is now a part of the family's collaboration with Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation (via The Cinemaholic). Mike Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and often works alongside his dad.
As for Holmes' love life, he is currently in a long-term relationship with former model Anna Zappia.