as its sister show, Selling Sunset. So yes, you need to watch it right now.

Netflix’s newest binge-worthy real estate show follows the all-Black female brokerage at Allure Reality in Tampa, Florida. There are big houses and even bigger fights, breakups, layoffs, short tempers, side eyes, Beyoncé–sort of, real friendships, and a lot of love. All of the sellers are led by mother, mogul, former military vet, and HBIC, Sharelle Rosado. Allure Reality is her brainchild—“If I'm going to be a real estate agent, I'm going to be the best. I'm not going to settle as an agent. I'm going to become a broker. And if I’m going to be a broker, I'm going to have a luxury brokerage,” she tells ELLE.com—and her sellers are her family. (Some are “aunties” and some “nieces,” as top seller and messy millennial of the group, Anne-Sophie would say.)

Selling Tampa shows you all sides of Sharelle, not just who she is at work. She’s tender with her children; playful with her partner, NFL wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco, (yes, she’s seen his dating show The Ultimate Catch); and deeply empathetic and honest with the women of Allure. She might be a bit headstrong at times, but she isn’t afraid of criticism. Rosado welcomes feedback and difficult conversations, telling ELLE, “Communication is the key. You have to communicate.” So no, she’s not afraid of a little confrontation, and trust me when I say there is plenty.

But as petty as some of these women can be, you can tell they care. They’re grown women who work hard, talk shit, and cash those commission checks. You need to have both ambition and thick skin to keep up with this group. There’s a chance you might get left out of a marketing photo, get called out of your name, get told you dress like a grandmother, or even get fired. Sure, they constantly drag each other, but they always bounce right back. And under Rosado’s leadership, these women really do thrive.

ELLEsat down with Rosado to talk Selling Tampa drama, what the hell escrow even means, and the power of manifesting both your métier and your man. Sorry, spoilers ahead.

A lot of people admittedly do not know what escrow is. Honestly, I don't even know what it is. Do you mind explaining what escrow is for the people?

Once you go up on the contract, it's basically an earnest money deposit. So basically I find this house, I really like it. I'm a serious buyer. Let's say the house costs $300,000. I have three days to make a $3,000 deposit to a title company. That's showing that I am serious about this property. And if at any point that I renege or pull back, then the owner gets to keep the $3,000 because now you have wasted time. Or if you fail to do your due diligence and pass your inspection period or financial period, then to make up, that seller keeps that money. If you did everything you needed to do and closed on time, it goes back towards your close. They say, "we're in escrow" in California. We say "we're under contract."

You have no idea how many people will thank you for that. Did you watch Selling Sunset? And if so, did you have a favorite seller?

I loved the show. I love Christine, even though she's the “villain.” I mean, we're Libra sisters. I love her style, she's amazing. I love Chrishelle. I love all of them, the ladies bring something different to the table.

I love that you put villain in quotes because I will say I also love me some Christine. She's a little messy, but like what is life without a little mess?

Exactly.

I'm not sure if you've watched it back yet, but have you heard the chaotic music in the show?

I love the music. For every dramatic scene, it was perfect. It was definitely like boss bitch-type music.

Royalties aside, pick a song that would be the anthem of Selling Tampa.

Rick Ross, “Ima Boss.”

Why was it so important for you to start this woman of color powerhouse brokerage?

I feel like I had a vision of me getting into luxury [realty] and if I can do it, other women can do it. [Women] that looked like me or looked like my mom, looked like my daughter. So the thing about it is you have to lead by example. And the only way we can show is by doing it. People are looking at us. Let's lead by example. So that's what I did.

How was that process? How long were you working toward that goal?

Well, it happened overnight, honestly. I'm the type of person that once it comes to my mind, I'm in. I'm for it. I'm going to execute. I don't care what it is. Nobody's going to stop me. I've been like that since I was a child. If I'm going to be a real estate agent, I'm going to be the best. I'm not going to settle as an agent. I'm going to become a broker. And if I’m going to be a broker, I'm going to have a luxury brokerage.

Yes. Speaking truths of power. I love that. We are manifesting.

Manifesting!

As we go into the new year, what are you manifesting right now?

I haven't even thought about the new year. I'm so focused on everything that's going on right now and the baby coming. I mean, I knew for the new year I wanted my brokerage up and running, but I have started that already.

Right! The show ended with your pregnancy announcement. Did your son actually ask Siri what a pregnancy test was?

Yes. [laughs] He asks Siri everything. He loves to go to Jump Zone. If I tell him it's closed, "Siri, is Jump Zone closed?" "Siri, call them." He's been here before.

Congratulations again. How far along are you?

Thank you. I am 35 weeks pregnant [as of December 9th] and she can come any day after Christmas.

A Christmas baby! That's so exciting for you both. I grew up in the heyday of reality dating shows. So I have to ask, did you watch The Ultimate Catch?

I was pissed because I wasn't on that! [laughs] The crazy thing about it, Chad has always been my celebrity crush. Growing up, even when I was young in the military, I was like, oh my goodness. If you describe the perfect man, it was always Chad. Never in my life did I think that we would be together today. I used to tease my friends, that's my future ex-husband. Because in the military you say your future ex…Manifestation.

And then you slid in his DMs, right?

Oh yeah. He was walking and his walk is just so sexy. Oh my goodness. I love it. And I just sent heart eyes and then like, not even two seconds later he responded back. I never had this feeling before, like I almost shitted on myself. The nervousness, the butterflies. It was crazy. I tell him this story all the time. I was so fucking nervous. At that moment I was like, oh my goodness, like this is real? I had to refresh the screen and make sure it was still there.

I’m curious, how are you and Rena after she said she wanted to start her own brokerage?

Well, Rebellious Rena, is what I call her. People have different personalities. I can't force them to do things the way I would do them. So as a leader, you just have to learn how to deal with that person. And with Rena, I understand how she operates. I understand how she moves. Our biggest thing is, “as long as you communicate.” And if she wants to go off on her own, I support her. Fully. I'm not going to allow that to come between us. But I do tell her this: Don't question my charges. Because I bring the table to the table. I bring the whole table. So I don't question you about your commission and how much you charge, your retainer fee. Don't question me about my brokerage.

How has your military background influenced your work as a broker?

So in the military, I was a senior non-commission officer. I had soldiers under me. And of course you don't start off being the perfect leader. You learn from experience from being a soldier and having good leaders and bad leaders. When you're that soldier, you're like, I know what to take from this leader once I become a leader and I know what not to take.Once I become a leader I don't want my soldiers to feel how I feel. Just having that experience and then becoming a senior non-commission officer in the military, I wanted to make sure they were taken care of but still discipline them and know that I'm in charge. And same with being a mom. Communication is the key. You have to communicate. And learning that from the military, I feel like is what helped my brokerage.

What do you think makes a good leader?

Communication, listening, having a value set, and respect. Respect for each person. Those are keys to being a good leader. And leading by example.

I have to say, I love the tension between Juawana and Colony.

It's so funny.

And they both know when they're being a little petty and I think that's—

“Do you want me to put you on her calendar?” [Laughs]

What did you think about that moment? I was cracking up. I was like, you know you didn't have to say that.

Juawana, she be serious, but people think she be playing. But she doesn't think that is shade when she's doing what she's doing. They’re so unproblematic, both Colony and Juawana. They don't like drama at all. They like to stay away from drama. But seeing two people who stay away from drama going at it is so hilarious. I love them. They're both great people. But at the end of the day, when it comes to who I would put in charge, it's just Juawana has more experience and she's more mature. Colony's still in her partying days and she's trying to find the perfect husband. So I don't want to take up too much of her time and energy. She understands.

That's fair. When you are close with everybody, it makes it hard to be a manager because you have to manage.

Right. And that's another thing I learned in the military, you have to put your feelings aside, business first. So when I make decisions in the office, I communicate with them and let them know why I made the decision. I look at who can bring the most to the table.

How do you feel about the nickname “the nieces” versus “the aunties”?

But they dress like the grandmas. [Laughs] I love them. I'm joking. They're amazing. It's a good thing you live your life. We'll be fine, us aunties.

Something I thought was a really beautiful moment was when Juawana opened up to you all in Miami about her divorce, which is obviously a very sensitive subject. Why do you think it was such an emotional moment for everyone at that table?

If you ask every woman at that table or within our brokerage, on the outside looking in, who is your favorite couple? We would say Juawana and Bryan. But it was emotional because you never know what's going on behind closed doors. And the fact that Juawana came out and told these ladies, don't settle. If someone's not meeting your expectations, don't settle. And that's very powerful because as women, especially as minority women, we're taught to continue to try to work through it. And if you continue to work through it and it doesn't get better, you still stay. Growing up, my mom did the same thing. She was in an abusive relationship and we saw it. She picked up everything, left everything behind and took us and started all over. So, just seeing that. It just gave me chills.

That’s powerful. Speaking of your mother, how is she doing now?

You know, she's still going through her moments. She lost it all [when her house burned down]. So it's stuff that you can't buy back. Memories you can't buy back, but overall, she's getting better. That's my best friend. She's a very spiritual woman. She prays over to me, gives me scriptures to read. But she's doing great. Actually, the house is going to be ready to move in before Christmas.

Amazing. Thank you for sharing that difficult, intimate moment. Good to know she’s safe and the house is coming. What are most people looking for in a Tampa home?

A lot of people who relocate, they love the weather. We're a lot of retirees that come in. They don't like the cold. They just want to be by the water. And the taxes are very low in Florida. We're the Sunshine State, who doesn't want to be in Florida?

What is your favorite part about Tampa?

My favorite part about Tampa is the food, I love to eat, and the water. Just the atmosphere. I love it. I've been in Tampa since 2013 and just seen it grow from 2013 to now. It has grown tremendously and I'm just loving every bit of it.

If or when we get Selling Tampa season 2, what could we maybe expect to see from you and the girls?

Who knows! Maybe I'll put somebody else in charge and maybe you'll see me in Miami. Let's pray that we get season 2 first.

Let's pray. I need it.

Maybe Juawana will be the broker associate.

I need to see how the girls would react to that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.