I saw pals blown up as paratrooper in Afghanistan – now I sell posh pads on Netflix’s Selling Tampa says Sharelle Rosado

I saw pals blown up as paratrooper in Afghanistan – now I sell posh pads on Netflix’s Selling Tampa says Sharelle Rosado

FOR years her dreams were haunted by harrowing memories of comrades’ bodies being blown up in war torn Afghanistan.

But life has taken a very unexpected turn for Sharelle Rosado, 33, who stars in the new Selling Sunset spin-off, Selling Tampa, on Netflix.

Now her days are filled with multi-million dollar Florida mansions and bickering estate agents – and preparing for the birth of her fourth child.

Sharelle is a former paratrooper who did two tours of Afghanistan in 2009 and 2011, before medically retiring from the military.

In an exclusive chat with The Sun, she said: “Going to war isn’t something anyone wants to do.

“You see things that aren’t normal, like people being blown up and killed in other ways for their country.

“You’re somewhere that is so different culturally from back home and it’s hard.

“So many people come back with PTSD, as I did.”

Sharelle joined the military in 2007 after losing an athletic scholarship to go to university when she fell pregnant in her final year of school.

She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the first black female paratroopers when she joined 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, juggling her military career with bringing up her young family.

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She said: “I wanted to be promoted fast and Airbourne school was the way to do it.

“I didn’t do any research into what I would be asked to do. I just knew I wanted to be the best at any cost.

“Within three weeks of going, I was jumping out of planes.”

Sharelle struggled with being away from her children during the extensive trips she undertook for work.

It became even more difficult as the Taliban and other insurgents began using more IEDs against Western forces.

She said: “It was a horrid experience waking up not knowing if you were going to make it back home to your family.

“Every day for 365 days is a lot. It puts a lot on you as a person.”

Sexual assault

During one of her tours, Sharelle claims she was sexually assaulted by another soldier, which she struggled to deal with.

But she believes the US Army is changing for the better in the way it deals with such incidents.

She said: “Back then it wasn’t talked about a lot. It was swept under the rug.

It was a horrid experience waking up not knowing if you were going to make it back home to your family

Sharelle Rosado

“But I think that the military now is doing a great job.

“Sadly it had to happen to a lot of service members but I definitely feel it’s getting better and dealt with.”

Sharelle’s decision to swap the army for selling posh homes may come as a surprise to some, but she is adamant that her past experience has made her business savvy.

She got her broker’s licence in 2019, allowing her to open up her luxury real estate brokerage, Allure Realty.

She said: “Having that military background – even though there were some bad times, there were great times – it taught me how to be a strong leader.

“I learnt how to deal with problems and have different courses of actions when the first course of action doesn’t go your way.

“I’ve taken all that and used it to help me structure my business and that’s how I got where I am in just three years.”

Having that military background… it taught me how to be a strong leader

Sharelle Rosado

Selling Tampa follows Sharelle and her all-female crew of agents – Anne-Sophie Petit, Tennille Moore, Juawana Williams, Alexis Williams, Karla Giorgio, Colony Reeves and Rena Frazier – who are also all ethnic minority.

Sharelle hopes that the show will demonstrate how black women can succeed and come together as a family.

She said: “I want to break the stereotype, especially for minority women, that just because you see a reality show with a group of black women – it’s not all about fighting.

“We know how to come together. We get business done and we can sell luxury real estate.”

Selling Sunset pals

And it’s not just her own staff that support her. The entire cast of hit show Selling Sunset have reached out to offer advice.

All the way from Jason Oppenheim to the newest agents Emma Hernan and Vanessa Villela, each one has given Sharelle their number in case she needs anything.

But they’d better watch out, as Sharelle – who is expecting a baby girl with her fiancé, ex-NFL player Chad Johnson – is coming for their real estate crown.

“Watch this space,” she said. “Fingers crossed we get to do more of the show.”