Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson Detail Hardships Ahead of “Married to Real Estate”’s Cancellation (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson get candid about the success of their home reno series, Married to Real Estate, and its cancellation on HGTV

• The couple reflect on the hardships they experienced during season 4, leading up to the end of the show’s run

• Sherrod and Jackson also look ahead at what’s next for them as they figure out their next steps

For Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, Married to Real Estate was a show born out of a moment of ingenuity.

With a camera phone in their hands, the couple found a way to take life at home — a balance of raising their daughters and running a real estate business out of Georgia — and turn it into a hit renovation series that first launched in 2022, ran for four seasons on HGTV and even earned a 2025 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Instructional/How-To Program.

“I don’t even know what we were filming five, six years ago,” Sherrod, 48, exclusively tells PEOPLE as the couple open up for the first (and what they say is “probably only”) time about their experience with the series and its unexpected cancellation over the summer. “Then fast forward to what it actually became, I think what we’re most proud of is just the possibility of what that showed people, in terms of what you can create, what you can do when you don’t wait.”

Not only are they happy with the designs they produced and the friendships and community they developed, but they’re also “proud of this impact and influence we have had,” Jackson says, noting that fans have reached out to them to say that they’ve taken on careers in the renovation and real estate space, or watched the show with their families “because of the transparency and vulnerability” seen on screen.

Going off of that, Sherrod adds, “There were some obstacles that we faced as a family and as television hosts in that, historically, there had not been a show with an African American family on HGTV that had gone more than one season.”

So, of course, it came as a surprise to them both when they learned of Married to Real Estate‘s fate — especially while on a much-needed vacation through the Mediterranean — in June, something they first posted about on Instagram amid a number of changes to the HGTV lineup at the time. “We came back on this amazing high and I lie to you not, we were still at the airport loading our bags in our car when management and the agency called us to tell us about the show,” Sherrod says.

“It was insane. But, literally, Mike and I looked at each other and burst out laughing because it was like, ‘What are the chances of us coming back from vacation the second time and getting this kind of news?'” she continues, referring to a prior trip to Costa Rica for their 14th wedding anniversary when they learned that their original production team had been cleared out.

After that, “one of the first things we said is maybe we shouldn’t go on vacation anymore. Every time we went on vacation, we would get mollywhopped with something,” the realtor quips.

While Jackson says he “immediately went into positive mode” and Sherrod says that they “just kind of laughed and joked” about it right after learning of the news, it was not like it came without any “disappointment or hurt” — especially for Sherrod, who has had a history on the network, first appearing on Property Virgins before going onto Flipping Virgins. As a couple, they both have since appeared on shows, like Brother vs. Brother, Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge and Rock the Block, which they won in season 4.

Of Married to Real Estate’s cancellation, HGTV shared in a statement with PEOPLE: “While it is never an easy conversation to share that a show has run its course and will be coming to an end, HGTV has the utmost respect for and enjoyed working with Egypt and Mike on Married to Real Estate for 4 seasons.”

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Although Sherrod and Jackson have now come to a place of acceptance about the end of Married to Real Estate, in June, they did hint at a “disheartening” chain of events that preceded it.

“We don’t want to trample on anybody. However, we kind of knew something was happening,” Sherrod says now, explaining that “season 4 just felt very different.” And that’s when they experienced some hardships during production that led them to question things at the time.

With changes to the production team, there was a noticeable shift behind the scenes. “We weren’t listened to and it felt like [we were] not necessarily respected the same. But they were all different players — not one single person from season 1, 2 or 3 was left,” Sherrod says, claiming that “at many points we felt mowed over.”

Adding to that, Jackson says, “There were moments where you forgot, ‘Wait, we’re the executive producers.’ We’re like, ‘Everyone has a say, but it’s been kind of reversed.’ It was like, ‘Wait, isn’t this our show, our business, our house, our kids, our story, our marriage?’ “

With a new showrunner and changes to the team came delays in the production itself. “It threw us into dark weeks… That means production shuts down,” Sherrod says. “For us, this is our business and our reputation.” Not only that, but they wanted to make sure their “clients were still okay and happy because no one had been communicating with them. So we spent our own money in many causes just to ensure the work was done and it was done right.”

Those delays eventually led to season 4 taking “almost double the amount of time” to complete, with the return of Married to Real Estate not premiering in its typical January time slot. “Our audience is used to seeing us in January on a certain day of the week, at a certain time,” Sherrod says, explaining it felt like a “roller coaster” as they waited to find out when they would eventually air on HGTV.

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For Jackson, those changes to the time slots meant an impact to the viewers. “For folks to question, ‘Are you coming back?’ That’s going to affect your ratings. So that mixed with everything else that was going on, it was like, ‘What is happening right now?’ ” he says.

Adding to the chaos were rumors about their marriage. “From a fan standpoint, another monkey wrench in it all was false articles flying all over the place about us separating,” Jackson says. “We were like, ‘Where’s this coming from? Because we’re still deeply in love and having fun and traveling.’ So you’ve got all the exec changes, you don’t know what time slot and then you’ve got the fans reading articles that aren’t true.”

While they are certainly no stranger to TV or things that can happen on set, Sherrod and Jackson were confused when they felt like they didn’t have the support of HGTV, which they considered family. “What was odd and surprising was when we weren’t getting advocacy or phone calls back or responses to emails to show that we had some level of support,” Sherrod says.

However, she does note that she and her husband were not aware that HGTV’s head of content, Loren Ruch, had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia before later dying at 55 years old in June. “I understand why that could not be disclosed. It still saddens me. We went to his memorial and it’s just heartbreaking,” Sherrod says.

“But at the same time, when you’re in a storm, you just need a life raft, somebody to help us figure out what is happening,” she continues. “But we didn’t feel that we had that advocacy. So that would be the biggest regret amidst so many victories, amidst so many things that we are grateful for.”

Simply put, “that is how a hit show gets canceled,” Sherrod says.

While their run on HGTV may have come to an end, the world of Married to Real Estate is not over — at least not in its current form.

“For us, being able to do Married to Real Estate was the full 360 of our family and our businesses. So we don’t wanna go back to like a templated show just to say we’re on TV,” Sherrod says, explaining that “we just gonna sit still for a minute and either create, which is what’s happening now, either create the next phase for us or just not come back to TV.”

“The reality is that linear television is starting to shrink,” the TV personality continues, noting that since the show has ended they have been able to really digest the current media landscape and look at where they can take the brand next. Oh yes, that’s right, “Married to Real Estate, I own the trademark,” she says proudly, meaning that they can still do whatever they want with it as they figure out how to move forward.

Of course, they still have all their other projects, including Indigo Road Realty, which is a real estate brokerage, design firm and construction company, as well as home furnishings that consumers can buy online and their podcast, Marriage and Money. “Everything you saw on TV is real,” Sherrod notes, adding later, “This is just the beginning of our entire saga, so this had to happen. We want everybody to be okay with it and just continue to tune in for what’s next.”

Looking back on it all, Sherrod says, “It was an amazing roller coaster ride. We have no regrets, we lead with love and we leave with love.”

And to their fans they want to leave on a positive note — as well as warning. “We would love to say to everybody thank you for those who loved us and our little Jackson family and have been there to support and watch us all along the way,” Sherrod says, while Jackson adds, “And know that if it did not come from us personally, it didn’t come from us.”

“This is the first and probably the only interview that we will do about this, so anything else [fans] read online that had quotes around it did not come from us,” Sherrod concludes.

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