The Truth About The Fixer To Fabulous Adoption Story
Home renovation shows are some of the most popular programs airing on television right now. Fans just cannot get enough of all the programming HGTV and other networks are pumping out. According to Southern Living, the reason fans love these shows so much is psychological. Dr. Gail Saltz, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine said, "Watching home renovations satisfies both the voyeuristic urges normal to humans and enhances their own fantasy life about their own home" (via Apartment Therapy).
When it comes to home renovation shows, HGTV's "Fixer to Fabulous" has become an absolute fan favorite. The show, which premiered in 2019, set the stage for the renovation super-couple Jenny and Dave Marrs (via Heavy). While fans have enjoyed their fixer-upper content, they've also fallen in love with the family itself — as well as their pet llama!
Now, the couple has opened up about the ups and downs of their recent adoption journey, and fans have gotten an even closer glimpse into the struggles this family has faced in order to grow their family.
The Marrs family always wanted to adopt
The Marrs duo always wanted to adopt children. They shared with People that they both had it in their hearts to adopt and it was something they had always been passionate about doing. However, the process didn't end up being as easy as they had hoped.
The couple adopted their daughter Sylvie, now 7 years old, from the Republic of Congo. "It felt a little overwhelming when we started to learn about the need and all the kids without a family, but you can only do what you can do," Jenny told the publication. "We thought, 'We'll focus on one and see.' So even though it felt like 'This isn't really making much of a difference,' we know that we did. We made a difference for our child and our daughter."
The process of bringing Sylvie to the United States was challenged when the Republic of Congo's government shut down (via House Beautiful). Therefore, the couple ended up having to wait much longer than anticipated to get her home.
Bringing their daughter to the United States was harder than they imagined
Due to the Republic of Congo's government shutting down, getting children out of the country was nearly impossible — even children who had already been adopted (via House Beautiful). They required exit letters to leave the country, but with the government shut down, these letters were no longer available. As a result, the family had to wait 602 days before their daughter Sylvie was finally brought to the United States.
Surprisingly, during that process, Jenny became pregnant with their daughter, Charlotte. Due to the pregnancy being high-risk, the responsibility of figuring out the logistics to bring Sylvie home fell on Dave, but they were ultimately able to pull it off. Dave would travel back and forth to Africa in hopes of getting their daughter home.
It all paid off in the end. "The emotion of it was really similar to the birth of our bio children — that first time holding them," she gushed, per People. "I get emotional thinking about it, 'cause it was just really special."
Now, Dave and Jenny are parents to five children: twin boys Nathan and Ben, Sylvie, Charlotte, and their youngest, Luke. That's one big and happy family!