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JoJo Fletcher Exclusive: How She Went From ‘Bachelorette’ to Big-Time House Flipper

If you had a rose for every bachelor or bachelorette who appeared on ABC’s never-ending reality TV franchise and then vanished into oblivion, you could easily open a flower shop. A big one!  Jojo Fletcher, however, is a colorful exception.

Fletcher was a real estate developer before she was the bubbly and beloved runner-up on the 20th season of “The Bachelor,” with Ben Higgins. After missing out on the ring, she starred on the 12th season of “The Bachelorette,” and gave her final rose to former NFL quarterback Jordan Rodgers (brother to superstar QB Aaron Rodgers), to whom she is currently engaged.

She has 2.2 million followers on Instagram, the most of any contestant ever on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” And she’s putting that following to good use.

As soon as the show was over, she went right back to her native Dallas and became involved in the wonderful world of house flipping. She took her fiancé with her, and they’re working as a team.

“It’s nice to have free help around,” she says with a laugh.

We caught up with her recently during National Painting Week, an event sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. She joined  employees and volunteers nationwide to use donated paint to spruce up community centers, schools, historic landmarks, and other spaces.

Fletcher also created four trend-forward color palettes with the aim of helping DIYers more confidently select colors.

In our exclusive interview with Fletcher, we learned how she got her start in real estate and her uncanny ties to Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Q: You’re only 27! How did you get involved in real estate development before you were on the ‘Bachelor’ in 2015?

A: I actually started when I was in college. I developed and put plans together for a new residential build on my college campus. After we built it, my girlfriends and I moved in.

Q: You built a student living facility when you were in college?

A: Yes, at Baylor.

My girlfriends and I wanted to live in a cute house on campus. But there wasn’t anything like that there. As I was growing up, my parents—both physicians—dabbled in real estate development as a hobby. When we were younger, we bought this run-down apartment complex, and we renovated it from the ground up.

So I went to my parents and I said, ‘Listen, if you guys are looking for another property to take on, I think we should do it on my campus.’ My mom urged me to put the plans together and meet with an architect. So I put my head down, found all the right people, and got the project ready to go and built it—and I lived in it for two years.

Then after I graduated, I took over that project from my parents and built a second one on my own.

Q: Baylor is in Waco, TX, where Chip and Joanna Gaines went to school, and where ‘Fixer Upper’ is based. Did they inspire you?

A: Well, they weren’t as big when I was there. But I think what they’ve done with Waco is unbelievable. They’ve helped change that place, and it’s great.

Q: Now you’re living in Dallas. Any flip projects going on?

A: I’m working on one that is a ground-up project. I mean, this is the worst house I have ever taken on—it had been abandoned and vandalized. Jordan and I are actually in Los Angeles for several months right now, but we’ve gone back and forth between L.A. and Dallas to work on the flip. Now we’re probably going to have to move into it, because we don’t have a place to live when we return to Dallas.

Q: Ever had any not-so-wonderful mishaps or mistakes while renovating?

A: I’ve definitely made a lot of mistakes, and I’ve learned from them. But the first house that I ever bought was as is, and I thought that’s totally fine. But when I got the keys, I find out that the people were hoarders and they left every single piece of clothing and furniture.

I mean, things were stacked to the ceiling in this house! And I had no idea, because I didn’t take a tour. It took Jordan and I two-and-a-half weeks just to clear it out. We filled up 10 dumpsters with garbage. So, I’d encourage buyers to clarify what “as is” means before buying a house.

Q: This sounds like a made-for-TV situation. Is there a house-flipping series of your own in the cards?

A: I don’t know. I love what I do—I’m really passionate about it. If there was a way I could share this passion with people, I’d be open to it.

Q: What is your design opinion of the ‘Bachelor’ mansion?

A: Well, it’s funny. They redo the mansion every season. I can’t even remember what it was like on my season of “The Bachelor,” because I seem to suffer from a little bit of amnesia when it comes to that season.

To be honest, you’re not thinking about the wall colors, you’re not thinking about the furniture. You’re just so stressed and so anxious, and you have no idea what you’ve just gotten yourself into. But whoever does it, the design of the house, they do a really great job and they use really great colors.

Q: You were able to come up with your own color palettes with Sherwin-Williams. What was your inspiration?

A: That was fun for me to do. I think a lot of people play it safe with colors, because when you’re remodeling a home, you usually go with the classics and the natural colors. But I really wanted to make some color palettes that had some excitement to them. I love color, and I’d encourage people not to be afraid of using it.

For each of these palettes, I went with a color scheme that I see in my daily life, or that I’ve seen when I’ve traveled. The first one is Bohemian Adventure. When I went to Fiji [for the show] I saw a lot of these colors; so this is an adventurous, fun, and spicy palette.

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