Brittany and Scott Jenkins have big dreams for a glamorous wedding and a grand house, but they only have the budget for one. Find out what they picked on Netflix’s new hit ‘Marriage or Mortgage’ in their exclusive interview with AfterBuzz TV!
Every princess needs a castle…and a fairytale wedding. But what happens when you can only afford one? You ask Netflix to help you decide, of course!
On Netflix’s latest hit Marriage or Mortgage, Nashville-based real estate agent Nichole Holmes and wedding planner Sarah Miller show couples like Brittany and Scott Jenkins dream homes and weddings they could have with their budget, giving them the chance to make one of their dreams come true.
“A wedding is very important to me,” Brittany said on the show. “It’s like the one time where you can be super extra and everyone gets to just celebrate your extraness, you know?”
Brittany, a pharmaceutical sales rep and model, is a self-proclaimed princess, and Scott is her Army prince. Scott has been deployed four times and is gearing up to deploy again, and before he does, the couple wants to lay down some roots either in a home or a marriage. On Marriage or Mortgage, they get the expert help to make the best choice.
“A flyer was actually sent to me and I was like, ‘Scott, we should just try!’ I mean, why not?” Brittany told AfterBuzz TV.
Behind the scenes of filming
The couple had big requests: either a glamorous, romantic wedding to celebrate their love, or a spacious home with high ceilings and a grand staircase fit for, well, a princess.
“They did a really good job of hiding stuff and making it so we were surprised,” Scott said of touring houses and wedding options. “We had no idea of anything that was going on throughout the process, so everything was genuine experiences every time we showed up to a house.”
Brittany says she and Scott already love touring houses in their free time, and the stops both Nichole and Sarah pulled out to impress them made deciding between a home or a wedding even harder.
“The way that Nichole incorporated little things that she gathered from us in the few minutes we talked in meetings was so crazy,” Brittany said. “And I called Sarah my fairy godmother. It was just the best day of my life.”
One particularly powerful moment in the episode was when Nichole took Brittany and Scott to an open plot of land. Meeting all of their needs for a dream home ended up being a bit of a challenge, so Nichole instead found land available just down the road from Brittany’s parents where they could build their forever home.
“My grandfather had just passed and that was really a huge driver for our decision because I know that’s what he would want me to do,” Brittany said. “Family has always been really important. So yes, a wedding is important, but the smarter decision long-term is to choose a home.”
Scott was also set to deploy a year and half from when they filmed the show in late 2019, so they ultimately chose to build their dream home.
Building their dream
“The building process was crazy, especially during Covid. There were a lot of hiccups; I definitely can’t say building a custom house is easy,” Brittany said. “But we got to pick out every single piece in this house: every single marble, every window sill, every toilet paper roll holder, everything.”
“It was exciting and we enjoyed the process,” Scott added. “But we’re glad it’s over!”
About eight months from breaking ground, Brittany and Scott were able to move into their home in July of 2020. They got all of their wishlist items, from a big garage for Scott to a grand staircase and chandelier for Brittany, all within minutes from her parents’ home. The couple says they love having family over regularly for game nights, and their favorite memory was their first Christmas there.
“I went in for Christmas,” Brittany said. “I love decorating our house for Christmas, especially the stairway. Oh my gosh, I had so much fun.”
“She did have a lot of fun,” Scott added. “We also got dressed up and we had our own onesies on.”
“And Scott made me this scavenger hunt through the house,” Brittany said. “It was so cool. Like he wrote down a riddle and I had to figure it out and then I would find a gift in a different room.”
Where are they now?
But that’s not the only thing 2020 brought the couple–they also got married! Scott is set to deploy soon, so they’re both happy they were able to have the wedding and house completed. Additionally, thanks to quarantine they’ve had lots of time to spend with each other.
“We’ve gotten a lot closer and it was nice for things to slow down because we did get to just enjoy each other right after we got married,” Brittany said.
While working from home, they’ve also been going to school. Brittany graduated with her MBA and started a new job, and Scott is set to graduate in May.
Above all, the couple are happy to be settled in their new home and had a great experience on the show.
“My heart is so full right now because I feel like my granddaddy is just smiling and it really meant so much to me that the show stayed true to our real story,” she said. “And honestly, going through this show really helped me grieve because it had just happened and I hadn’t talked about it, so that was the first time I had to talk about it.”
“I am very grateful for this experience and it is so amazing to be able to share our love story to the world..”
In fact, Brittany and Scott loved the show so much they still keep up with the producers, even naming their house plants after them!
To find out where the rest of the couples from Marriage or Mortgage are now, keep following AfterBuzz TV for interviews with the cast. You can stream all ten episodes on Netflix now.
