A True Love Story

Family-owned small businesses currently account for 64% of the U.S. gross domestic product, and husband and wife teams run 1.4 million businesses worldwide. We sat down with Christina Sledge who, along with her husband Edward, is a part that number. They not only run a company together but they have decided to share their love story and journey with the world.

Married couple of twenty-two years, Edward and Christina Sledge wrote and published their memoir, The Story of Christina and I and Our Marriage: An Essay last year. The high school sweethearts met in Brooklyn, NY. Their romance was predestined from the start since they were both born in the same hospital and their families lived within blocks of each other. Their memoir is about triumph over tragedy.

Edward lived through early trauma as a child. His mother suffered with mental illness and committed suicide while holding Edward as an infant. He lived in poverty, his father suffered from alcoholism, and he was surrounded by drug use and crime. His stepmother suffered from breast cancer and died when Edward was 14 and then his father died when he was 22.

Christina was born to teenage parents and was born 3lbs 1 ounce premature. Christina and her family later grieved her brother's death after being killed by gun violence. They got engaged when Edward was a soldier in the U.S. Army while Christina was a senior at Temple University. They eloped two months later and have been married for twenty-two years. Both persevered and became a first-generation high college graduates. They were also the first to obtain master's degrees in their families.

Christina holds an undergraduate degree from Temple University and a graduate degree from The George Washington University. Edward holds an undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University and a graduate degree from Towson University. Edward and Christina founded their company, Sledge House Media in 2021 to publish their own books and to share the untold stories of the average person through films, and TV Series. Collectively, they have published several books and one short film together with many more on the way in 2022.

•Do you believe in love at first sight? 

Christina: I do believe in love at first sight. However, funny enough, my husband and I did not fall in love at first sight. We met and then had an opportunity to know each other, and our love blossomed from there.

 •Do you feel that dating now is harder than when you were dating? If so why. How do you feel about online dating? 

Christina: I have been married for twenty-two years so I have been out of the dating scene for that long. However, I imagine it might be more difficult especially with dating apps and social media to really get to know someone. I do not have experience with online dating. However, I do know couples that have met on Match.com and have successful happy marriages. 

•What advice would you give young women who are looking for love?

Christina: I recommend being open to people that may not check all the boxes on your “list” because you may exclude someone that can be a wonderful person for you. My husband didn’t initially check all the boxes on my list but, he checked more than 70% of my checklist. I am happy that I kept an open mind because I would have missed out on the love of my life.

•We often hear the term “relationship goals” In your opinion what are some goals that couples should have in a marriage?

Christina: You should each have individual goals for your growth professionally and personally. You should also have financial, spiritual, and family goals that you share as a couple. It’s important to grow together and support each other in achieving your goals individually and together. Also, you should have a goal to have open and honest communication. Finally, trust should be held as a top priority to maintain within your relationship for it to be successful.

•What is it like working side by side with your husband in business?

Christina: Most days are easy when we are on the same page with the next direction for our company. On other days we both learned that we have to be open to hearing each other’s point of view to fully understand our differing perspectives. We do not always agree but, we learned to compromise and negotiate. We also learned our strengths in the business and allow each other to thrive in our strengths. I have learned a great deal about my husband by working with him. He surprises me every day with his ability to learn and adapt to change.

Be sure to connect with this amazing couple and their brand online.