Former North Carolina Army National Guardsman Jared Bowman will never forget coming back from a one-week stay at an AirBnB and being stunned at the amazing transformation of his home, thanks to the TV show “Military Makeover with Montel.”
“It’s a night-and-day difference,” Bowman said of the makeover of his family’s home in Statesville, North Carolina. “We are so thankful for the lengths that people went to to make this happen in a week.”
The Bowman family, including wife Sydney and their four young daughters, will be featured in the upcoming season of the show hosted by Montel Williams, a Navy and Marine Corps veteran who hosted “The Montel Williams Show” for 17 years until 2008.
“Military Makeover with Montel” is all about giving back to those who’ve served and sacrificed, Williams said.
“I really enjoy the fact that I get to interact with our veterans that did so much to support us all,” Williams said. “A lot of our service members, especially those who are injured, seem to have this resilience of the need to continue to support, as much as they can, our nation.”
That includes the 35-year-old Bowman, who nearly two years ago suffered a debilitating injury during a training jump.
A 2009 graduate of North Carolina State University, Bowman said he joined the National Guard in 2016 so he could “help protect those who can’t protect themselves.”
He did his advanced individual training as a geospatial imagery intelligence analyst at Fort Huachuca in Arizona and deployed to the Middle East with the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team in support of Operation Spartan Shield from 2019 to 2020, according to his bio.
Bowman’s back injury, consisting of two broken vertebrae, happened in June 2022. Despite that, he continued to serve, earning a promotion to staff sergeant and returning to his battalion.
His injury, however, led to the development of arthritis and degenerative discs. Nowadays, he takes medication daily and receives injections regularly to help alleviate the pain, and has received support for PTSD, depression and anxiety through the Cohen Military Family Clinic.
As for how he’s doing now, “there’s good days and bad days,” he says.
Williams said he was impressed at Bowman’s resilience and described his family as “extremely loving and caring people who support each other and have each other’s back through thick and thin.”
“He’s a great guy, and his wife is a very, very caring mother and supportive wife,” Williams added. “They are a great couple.”
The Bowmans met through Bowman’s sister, who got to know Sydney during Bible study in college. The couple’s daughters are Donna, 7, Lucy, 5, Anne, 3, and Evelynne, 2. Bowman works for his father, who owns a financial planning company.
“Dad and I have always been close, and I am thankful for it,” he said.
The family ended up on “Military Makeover with Montel” after a friend who works for Purple Heart Homes, the TV show’s official nonprofit partner, approached Bowman late last summer.
“I thought nothing would come of it,” Bowman said. When the couple was told in late October they would be the recipients of the home makeover, “I fell out of the sky,” he recalled.
Dating back to 1963, the Bowmans’ home was badly in need of a new roof and bathroom upgrades — and the makeover addressed that and a whole lot more. Bowman said he’s especially grateful to have a new bed, because he no longer wakes up in pain at night.
“The improvement in sleep has been fantastic.”
Williams credited the work of the show’s team, which includes co-hosts Art Edmonds and designer Jennifer Bertrand.
“They literally go in and do the heavy lifting,” Williams said. “I enjoy having conversations with the family to recognize what the veterans have been through and what the family has been through.”
Besides the “brick and mortar” makeover, the show intentionally highlights the essential contribution made by local organizations and the community at large, Williams added.
Indeed, his home’s metamorphosis was a large-scale effort featuring hundreds of local volunteers, including members of the Bowmans’ church, Western Avenue Baptist Church, and the F3 (fitness, fellowship and faith) men’s group, Bowman said.
“There were companies that donated material and labor, and companies that allowed their employees to come help as volunteers,” Bowman said. “The way the community rallied around us, it was inspiring and humbling, and it means the world to our family.”
Having been the recipient of such “an invaluable gift,” the family intends to repay that by always being welcoming and hospitable to the community, Bowman says.
“We want to share it with others, and we want to make sure Statesville knows that.”
The “Military Makeover with Montel” season featuring the Bowmans will be broadcast in four episodes (each airing twice) on Lifetime TV at 7:30 am ET/PT on March 8 and March 14, March 15 and March 21, March 22 and March 28, and March 29 and April 4.
