NEW ORLEANS – On July 2, 2023, relationship expert and coach Beverley Andre sat down with stars of the HGTV show Married to Real Estate, Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, and hip-hop legend Styles P and his wife Adjua Styles to speak about Black love beyond social media and how couples can stay together despite digital distractions during 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture. The panel delved into the qualities needed to develop and sustain a long-lasting relationship from couples who have stood the test of time, as they have been married for decades.
The Sherrods started as business partners first and then got married in 2010. Creators of ‘Farmacy for Life’ hip-hop’s first health food store, Styles P, and his wife married in 1995. They recently joined WE TV’s hit show Marriage Bootcamp in 2020 to strengthen their marriage and tackle the lack of romance, infidelity, and communication. When asked about the decision to join the reality show a few years back, Adjua Styles responded, “We wanted to be ourselves, show our journey, and get therapy.” Styles P said, “We’ve been together for about 27-28 years. She [Adjua Styles] is much smarter than me, so I have some catching up to realize I needed therapy. We’re big on people. We love black couples, especially in music. And in our work life, what we do is important, promoting black love,” he revealed.
Given that both couples are open about the ups and downs of their relationships on television, the next question was to explore how they navigate social media, especially in the age of oversharing. Andre asked them both about how the partners work together to set boundaries about what they share with the world about their relationship. Adjua answered, “Interestingly enough, when we did Marriage Boot Camp, that was one of our conflicts. Before we did the show, we agreed to certain boundaries, but we were more transparent than we expected. But for the most part, I feel social media and TV can heighten relationship issues.”
Styles P added, “I take social media out of our marriage. I believe in boundaries. There’s a lot of negativity on social media. For a person who doesn’t feel good about themselves, it’s easy for them to go on someone’s page and tear down what they don’t like. So, for our marriage, I don’t take social media into mind; I just think of the boundaries of our relationship.”
Styles also gave some great advice for younger couples who want to protect their marriage and not let the outside world in. “People don’t get in if you don’t let them,” he stated.
He added, “If you’re in a relationship, you’ll have trials and tribulations, but that’s part of life. However, having a strong significant other is why you don’t fall into what the trolls on social media say because they don’t live in your home. I would tell the young couples to get through what they’re going through together and lean on each other. My wife complements all my weaknesses.”