The Truth About Mike Holmes' Children
Mike Holmes, known to home improvement fans for more than a dozen TV shows like "Holmes on Homes," "Holmes Inspection," and "Holmes Family Effect," has mesmerized TV audiences for years. Most recently, he appeared on Season 2 of HGTV's "Rock the Block." However, Holmes isn't just a master of the construction game. He's also a devoted father to his three kids: Amanda, Mike Jr., and Sherry.
The construction business, along with his reality star career, keeps Holmes pretty busy, so it's a good thing that he runs a family business. "I would never see my kids if they didn't work with me," he admitted in an Instagram post. "That's the world of construction and filming."
While Sherry and Mike Jr. have become TV fixtures like their dad, Amanda maintains a more private life. That being said, there's still a lot you don't know about the more recognizable Sherry and Mike Jr., even if you've been following the Holmes family for years. There's quite a bit to learn about Mike Holmes' children for old and new fans alike.
Mike Holmes' kids weren't always rich and famous
While Mike Holmes and his family are well-known these days thanks to their reality star status, that wasn't always the case. Celebrity Net Worth estimates Holmes' net worth at $30 million so, even if his kids don't have quite as much money, it's almost certain that they're financially set and will likely inherit quite a bit from their dad one day.
It's a far cry from the way they were raised, however. Per The Cinemaholic, Holmes was only 19 years old when he married the mother of his children, Alexandra Lorex. The couple welcomed their first child, Amanda, just two years later. While Holmes ran his own successful construction business as a young dad, an economic recession in the '90s put the family in difficult financial straits, forcing Holmes to file for bankruptcy. Mike Holmes Jr. told "The Marc and Mandy Show: Celebrity Access" that he and his siblings "grew up very poor."
Holmes eventually was able to rebuild his company and branch out into television, amassing the fortune he and his family enjoy today.
Mike Holmes Jr. is following in his dad's footsteps
Part of the appeal of shows like "Holmes Family Effect" and "Holmes Family Rescue" is that they are a family effort — it's even in the name! Mike Holmes Jr. is following in his dad's footsteps in more ways than just his name, though, as he also has a successful career in construction of his own. The younger Mike told Times Colonist that he got his start in the family business at the tender age of 14, but he didn't immediately set out to make a career of it. As he told the outlet, he was just looking to make some money at a summer job.
Life had different plans for Mike, however, and that summer job working for his father turned into much more. "I fell in love with it," he said. Per his bio at the Make It Right website, his specialty is working with wood. It seems the younger Mike Holmes is good with his hands because he said on "The Marc and Mandy Show: Celebrity Access" that he "love[s] chopping wood," calling it "great exercise" and "therapeutic."
Mike Holmes' daughter, Sherry Holmes, never expected to pursue a career in construction
Like her brother, Sherry Holmes didn't think she would go into the family business. No one was more surprised by her career in construction than Sherry herself. While she obviously grew up exposed to the construction industry through her dad, construction was something she saw as a hobby rather than a career. As she explained to Storeys, on the weekends that the divorced Mike Holmes spent with his kids, "he would do building projects with [them]," such as building a treehouse.
It wasn't until Sherry appeared on "Holmes In New Orleans" to help with rebuilding efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that she started to think that maybe she could work in construction after all. Drawn to the project because she wanted to help, Sherry worked with a team that rebuilt a house in the city. "And by the time we left, all the other contractors tried to poach me from Mike's company," she said.
The experience proved to be life-changing for Sherry. "It was phenomenal," she told Times Colonist. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."
"Make It Right" is more than just a work mantra for Mike Holmes Jr.
"Holmes Makes It Right" was on the air from 2012 to 2013. The Holmes kids only made brief appearances on that series, but the words "make it right" still hold a special significance for Mike Holmes Jr., as it does for the whole family. The slogan "Make It Right" is a registered trademark, as well as the name of Holmes' website, but it's also a guarantee of his commitment to his work.
To Mike Jr., though, the words extend far beyond construction. "Make It Right" isn't just a professional philosophy, it's a personal one. As he explained to Kobo, his attitude is "everything you do in life, you do it right." Mike explained that his dad brought up his kids to adhere to this value and that it carries over in all aspects of his life. "If I'm cooking dinner, I'm going to do it right. I put the effort into my marriage to get it right," he said. "It just means putting your heart into everything you do."
Sherry Holmes is "terrified of public speaking"
While it might be hard to believe of a TV star, Sherry Holmes isn't comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. In fact, she hates it. "I'm terrified of public speaking," she admitted to Storeys, explaining that her fear of public speaking stems from being "super shy."
However, according to Holmes, being a celebrity has forced her to step out of her shell a little bit as her stardom, as well as her work with organizations such as Habitat For Humanity GTA, has meant that she has to give speeches and interact with fans. She told Storeys that "all of this has taught [her] not to be as afraid." Sherry added that shyness aside, she does genuinely enjoy getting to meet people who want to pick her brain about contracting. "It's just so cool to see people who actually care," she explained. "And to see the impact I'm making."
Mike Holmes Jr. is smashing stereotypes about trade workers, as he loves books
Many stereotypes about skilled trades exist, including that they're for men and that they're "dirty." USA Today noted that these jobs often carry a stigma, with people assuming that, since they don't require a college degree, they're somehow less prestigious.
The Holmes kids are smashing those stereotypes, though. Sherry is crushing the construction business, proving women can do anything, and Mike Jr. is attacking the idea that contractors are less educated and can't be intellectual types. In fact, the reality star is something of a bookworm, telling Kobo he's into some pretty surprising reads, including the popular romance series "Outlander." Other favorites include "Dark Matter" and "The Broken Earth," as well as Stephen King's books.
Mike is even thinking of writing a book of his own. Well, Maybe. "My wife and I have talked about it and we have a few ideas," he said. "She's a much better writer than I am, so I might ask her to ghostwrite it for me."
Sherry Holmes has tried her hand at several different trades
Not only is learning a trade a viable career option, but it's also one that can be a lot of fun — Sherry Holmes has a deep appreciation for this hands-on work. Though she may have found her own career in construction, she has pursued other trades for size, including hairdressing, makeup, pottery, welding, and baking, with varying degrees of success. "I'm a terrible baker but I've tried," she told Storeys.
Though she may not be trading in her hard hat for an apron anytime soon, her skill set is still pretty impressive for someone whose goal was once to avoid having a career altogether and earn just enough money to indulge her globetrotting dreams. Then again, trying out all those different trades is true to type for Sherry. "I can't do just one thing because I get bored," she admitted to Times Colonist.
Mike Holmes Jr. originally planned on a very different career
While Mike Holmes Jr. is making a name for himself by following his dad into the construction business, growing up, it wasn't something he aspired to do. In fact, he was pretty set against going into construction, saying on "The Marc and Mandy Show: Celebrity Access" that his real dream was to be a firefighter. Once he decided against that, he "tried contracting and ... trades" and the rest is history.
At the end of the day, Mike said on the show, he "wanted to help people" and he's doing just that as a contractor. He's also using his contracting skills to give back to the community, notes his bio at the Make It Right website. In addition to working alongside his dad, Mike Jr. works with a number of organizations, including Humanity's GTA Young Professionals Build, to spur on "the next generation in the skilled trades."
Sherry Holmes has encountered sexism in the construction industry
Sherry Holmes serves up some serious girl power working alongside her dad and brother, but getting to this point of her career hasn't been easy. Sherry has had to endure a lot of sexism to get where she is today, starting with middle school, when she wanted to take shop — and did — but was still required to take half a semester of home economics because she was a girl. She told Storeys that, as part of her home economics class, she had to "make nylon babies and cook."
Sherry said on the Make It Right website that she has often felt she's had "to work harder to prove" herself, but that she is also excited "to break down the walls of sexism in the industry."
The good news is that things are changing. While construction is still a male-dominated industry, Sherry said she's seeing more women enter the field. "I don't think they had the knowledge [before] and were aware that it was something that they could, you know, run with and be great at," she told Ving.
These are the skills Mike Holmes Jr. would like to pick up
Mike Holmes Jr. is a skilled woodworker and an avid reader, and he clearly adheres to the idea that you learn something new every day. There's still a lot that he'd like to learn, although he might need to carve out some time to pick up those potential new hobbies as he's a pretty busy person, what with being a TV star and all.
As he told Kobo, he's interested in learning how to play the guitar and speak French. He explained that his wife has family in Switzerland and Quebec, and he wants to learn the romance language so he can "communicate with them a little better." As Mike put it, "It's never too late to try something new." One way he recommends for people to find a new hobby is to "[pick] up a book in something you find interesting," saying that this "can lead you to your passion."
Sherry Holmes is all about inspiring the next generation
Sherry Holmes may have struggled to find her path in construction, but she's determined that others don't have to go through the same. She's committed to showing people that it's a great job that isn't only limited to men. She works with Skills Canada and Skills Ontario, two organizations that "are trying to get the next generation into trades," as she told Storeys.
Sherry doesn't want to see young people just enter construction, but trades in general, and part of that is leading by example. Sherry has clearly had incredible success working in a skilled trade, and her path has made her a bonafide celebrity. Still, she's very aware that people often look down on those in her field, viewing them "as the bottom of the barrel." She added, "People assume we didn't go to school. Don't make money."
It isn't just her love for her profession that makes her want to serve as a mentor for the next generation of tradespeople, though. She explained that she was inspired by her dad, whose "whole goal in life is to educate people." This, she said, is why she is "just trying to make a difference."
Why didn't Sherry Holmes change her name when she got married?
Sherry Holmes married her husband, Blake Steed, in December 2018 and welcomed their first child, Cali Kay Holmes Steed, four months later. In an Instagram post commemorating their first wedding anniversary, Sherry revealed that the couple had been together for five years before tying the knot, but that they had known each other for even longer and had been friends for nearly a decade.
Sherry and her husband have built a life together, but she has a pretty good reason for not taking on her husband's name after they got hitched. While, of course, women don't need to justify not changing their names after marriage, Sherry's decision to remain a Holmes after her marriage goes beyond feminism. "Why change from a house to a horse?" she joked in an interview with Storeys. We can't argue with that logic!
Only one of Mike Holmes' children tries to keep out of the spotlight
While Sherry and Mike Jr. are well-known to viewers, Mike Holmes has another child that you don't hear much about. His oldest child, Amanda Holmes, hasn't followed in the reality show footsteps of her younger siblings. She doesn't even have any public social media profiles, making it difficult for fans of the Holmes family to know what her life is like.
We do, however, get occasional glimpses into Amanda's life, courtesy of her more famous relatives. In 2017, Holmes posted a photo on Instagram of his daughters kissing him on the cheek. In the caption, he revealed that his Amanda "prefers to work with [the family] behind the scenes" but made it clear that he's "proud of the woman" his oldest child grew into. He also revealed that she's a mom to two kids, Emily and Wyatt.
Why does Amanda keep such a low profile? As Holmes once told Times Colonist, "She refuses to get the attention."
This is what Mike Holmes thinks of his kids following in his footsteps
Mike Holmes is clearly proud of all three of his children. With his younger children, Mike Jr. and Sherry, following him into construction, and oldest daughter Amanda also working for the family business in a less public role, Holmes' construction empire has turned into a dynasty. How does he feel about his kids following in his footsteps?
He's thrilled, as he told Times Colonist. He called Sherry "a tiling pro," saying that "she's better than other guys that have been tiling for years." Holmes also praised his daughter's creativity, saying that she's constantly experimenting with her craft as well as "different ways to make the job easier, better."
It's Mike Jr. who seems to be poised to take over for Holmes one day, though. Holmes applauded his only son for being "humble" and having "a good heart." He added, "I love working with my kids, watching them build on what they know and get better every day."