HGTV personality Jenny Marrs shared an emotional Instagram post about adopting her 13-year-old daughter, Sylvie.
According to TV Insider, Jenny took to Instagram on July 8 to reflect on adopting her daughter 11 years earlier. Her post included a photo and a video showing Jenny and her husband, Dave Marrs, meeting Sylvie for the first time.
In the caption, Jenny shared that she doesn’t have much information about Sylvie’s “earliest, most formative years” in her birth country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Yet, what I DO know is on this day, 11 years ago, I bore witness to a miracle. An honest to goodness God-sized, Red-Sea-parting kind of miracle,” the Fixer to Fabulous star wrote.
Jenny further explained the challenges she and Dave faced throughout Sylvie’s adoption process.
“602 days of waiting, 602 days of praying and pleading and calling Congressmen and Senators and flying over the sea to beg the US Embassy to help. Emails and letters and phone calls with no traction toward getting her home left us depleted,” Jenny’s caption stated. “Make no mistake – a battle took place to bring our daughter home. The exhale that took place when she was placed back into my arms on US soil was echoed in heaven. The spiritual battle that I couldn’t see during those long days and nights was finally over.”
Jenny also shared deep gratitude and emotion for Sylvie in the caption of her Instagram post.
She wrote:
“I post this photo every year on this day to remember. I never want to forget the way the Lord fought on our behalf. The things He has in store for Sylvie must certainly leave the enemy shaking in fear or else he wouldn’t have worked so tirelessly to keep her from us,” continued the mother of five. It’s hard to believe eleven years have passed since this day when our family was finally under the same roof. HAPPY FAMILY DAY, SYLVIE-LOO!! You are deeply loved and wanted and cherished. We are the lucky ones, my girl. 🤍”
Jenny then closed her emotional post by sharing her heartfelt condolences for those affected by the devastating Texas floods, specifically mentioning the families of the Camp Mystic campers. Her compassion was evident in the thoughtful, sensitive manner in which she expressed her feelings.
She wrote:
“As I post this, this year, I do so through tears. I know how desperately I wanted to hold my girl again in those years of waiting and, today, I can only think of the mommas in Texas who will only do so on the other side of Eternity,” wrote Jenny. “My heart grieves for them so deeply and I post this with so much love and sensitivity. I hold the joy of this day with the reality of grief earthside. I cling to the promise, ‘He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.’ (Rev 21:4a NLT).”
Earlier in January 2025, Jenny and her husband Dave spoke openly with TV Insider, giving fans a candid look at their family life, sharing updates about their five children—Sylvie (13), Nathan (15), Ben (15), Charlotte (12), and Luke (6).
Jenny revealed that as their older children have grown, they’ve become increasingly hesitant to appear on their HGTV show, Fixer to Fabulous. She explained that this has been a gradual change, becoming particularly noticeable in recent months. Jenny elaborated, noting, “As the big kids get older, they really shy away more so than ever from the cameras. It has been going on for a while now, but really this year they don’t want to have anything to do with cameras, particularly after school and long days. I think you’ll see the big kids not involved anymore. If they want to be part of the show, that’s up to them. We never would push that on them.”
Understanding and supportive of their children’s feelings, Jenny and Dave made the intentional decision to limit the number of HGTV episodes they film. This choice allows them to prioritize quality family time, placing the needs and wishes of their children above the demands of their public careers.
