By Whitney Johnson and Kristin Mattern
Pop singer Joy Enriquez and Grammy award-winning music producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins have been married for nearly a decade and have been blessed with three beautiful children: RJ, Heavenly and baby Hannah. In their new show House of Joy for NUVOtv, they bring their family into the spotlight as they work together to make Enriquez’s dream of having a hit single come true. “Nine years later, I still want a hit!” exclaims Enriquez. “I still want a song, and now I can say, ‘I gave you the kids, Rodney. We got married, and we’re working together as a family, but I still want to sing.’ That dream is still inside of me.”
House of Joy was not the first reality series that the twosome were approached about doing. “Rodney and I were asked to do a show when we first got married in 2004,” recalls Enriquez, “when Newlyweds came out with Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.” They chose to say no, however, deciding collectively with their parents that it wasn’t the best idea to have a reality show in the beginning of their marriage. “Rodney’s dad told us that we should take the first year to just spend time together. Now that we’ve been married for so long, three kids later, we felt like we were ready to show our family to the world.”
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The show features the whole family, including Enriquez’s parents, brother and sister, but Enriquez explains that it centers on music and her career “because that’s how Rodney and I met.” The star couple was first introduced in 1999 when the singer was sent to work with the legendary Jerkins, who was collaborating with Michael Jackson at the time. “We need you to get her a hit song just like you gave J. Lo,” she recalls the executives telling Jerkins. She jokes, “I spent two weeks in New Jersey trying to get a hit. Instead, Rodney took me to the movies, to his parent’s house, to parties — everything but a hit!”
Of course, working so closely with your partner is never easy. When they’re in the recording studio, as Jerkins explains, “If I say, ‘Do this over,’ she gets really offended. And if she tells me she doesn’t like a certain track, I get really offended. But we’re learning — we have a rhythm going now.”
The producer adds, “2014 is going to be our breakout album. It’ll be the breakout year for Joy!”
Knowing that Enriquez and Jerkins both have busy careers, it’s no surprise that balancing their professional lives and personal lives — especially since their new show merges the two — can certainly be challenging. Luckily, one of the executive producers of House of Joy is Patti Stanger, star of Millionaire Matchmaker. “She told us that we need to date! You don’t usually need a matchmaker to tell you that, but sometimes, when you have three kids, time gets away from you,” says Enriquez. “It’s so important that you spend quality time together — even if it’s just a few minutes looking into each other’s eyes and asking about each other’s day. We’re learning to communicate better.”
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The experience has also reminded them to hold their special family close to their hearts. “I sing to my children at the end of every episode,” explains Enriquez. “I talk with them and let them know that life can be crazy and have its ups and downs. But no matter what, we have each other.”
To find out more about the musically-talented couple, tune in to tonight’s premiere of House of Joy on NUVOtv at 10/9c!
