How many kids do Dave and Jenny Marrs have?'Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano' stars waited 602 days to adopt daughter
GREVE IN CHIANTI, ITALY: Jenny and Dave Marrs, the HGTV stars, have a bustling household with five children. Their family includes 12-year-old twin boys, Nathan and Ben, 11-year-old Sylvie, 9-year-old Charlotte, and the youngest, 4-year-old Luke.
Deep in their hearts, the 'Fixer to Fabulous' couple, always had felt a "calling" to adopt. They started looking at different programs globally approximately seven years ago and are now blessed with the addition of their daughter Sylvie, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to PEOPLE magazine, the couple motivated by the global orphan crisis felt they "both had it in [their] hearts that it was something [they] wanted to do" to expand their family through adoption. "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 shared. "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.
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‘Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano’ stars Dave and Jenny Marrs faced issues during Sylvie's adoption
Jenny and Dave embarked on the journey to adopt Sylvie from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. The couple came across Sylvie's adoption profile online on Nov. 12, 2012, and immediately knew she was the one. By August 2013, all the necessary paperwork was settled, and Sylvie became their legal child. Initially, they hoped to bring Sylvie home within the next month, but their plans faced a significant hurdle.
Following their visit to Sylvie in August, the Congolese government shutdown in the subsequent month. This shutdown had a profound impact as it meant that adopted children couldn't leave the country due to the suspension of exit letters, which are essential for a child to depart. This turn of events initiated a challenging and "devastating" journey for Jenny and Dave to bring Sylvie back home.
The Congolese government suspended exit letters, crucial for adopted children to leave the country, leading to a temporary halt in the adoption process.
Fortunately, on July 8, 2014, Sylvie's foster mother received permission to fly her to America. After over 600 days since they first identified Sylvie as the one and initiated the adoption process, Jenny and Dave joyfully welcomed their new daughter home at the age of 2.
Jenny became pregnant while adoption of daughter was still “underway”
Amid the challenging waiting period to adopt Sylvie, Jenny Marrs discovered that she was pregnant with their now-9-year-old daughter, She was facing a high-risk pregnancy with Charlotte. In light of this, Dave assumed the primary role in the efforts to bring Sylvie home, as he was the only one able to travel back and forth to Africa during this time. During the temporary halt in their adoption process, the couple were really tensed.
Jenny vividly recalls the moment to PEOPLE magazine when they finally received the news that they could bring back their daughter, saying, "I remember exactly where I was when we found out. I'll never forget when we found out and were waiting." The constant anticipation, refreshing emails, and waiting for the news of Sylvie's return were emotionally challenging for Jenny. When they finally received the news, it was a crushing blow, especially since they had left her a month before with uncertain timelines.
‘Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano’ hosts Dave and Jenny Marrs daughter took time to adjust to "trees" and "warm baths"
The transition for Sylvie, though inevitable, was challenging for the little girl to grasp.
Jenny and Dave vividly remember her initial fears, such as her terror of trees during their first walk, as she had never encountered them before. Dave recalled a specific memory of giving Sylvie a bath upon her arrival home and how she initially "freaked out" during the bath, having never experienced warm water before. However, as she gradually realized that the warm water "felt good," she began to relax and adapt to her new environment.
The couple understood that Sylvie had been taken from everything she'd ever known, and everything in her new surroundings seemed unfamiliar. Despite the hardships of the initial adjustment, the Marrs family persisted in their commitment to Sylvie's well-being and integration into her new life.
'Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano' premieres on Tuesday, March 12 at 8 pm ET.