Who Is Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson's Ex-Fiancée? All About Sharelle Rosado

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Sharelle Rosado Instagram

Former NFL star andDancing with the Starsalum Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson is a “free man.”

In October 2024, Sharelle Rosado announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she and Johnson hadcalled off their engagement.

The retired wide receiverproposed to Rosadoin January 2023. Johnson and Rosado first met via Instagram and went public with their romance in November 2020. The following year, the couple announced they were expecting their first child together. Their daughter, Serenity, was born in January 2022.

So who is Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s ex-fiancée? From her time serving in the U.S. Army to her prosperous real estate career, here is everything to know about Sharelle Rosado.

She’s a successful real estate broker

Prince Williams/ Getty

Rosado is the CEO of Tampa-based real estate brokerage Allure Realty. She founded the firm, which focuses on the luxury market in Tampa Bay, Florida, Miami and Charlotte, in 2019.

She also starred inNetflix’sSelling Tampa,a spinoff series of the popular showSelling Sunset.The reality show followed an all-Black, all-female cast of Allure agents, and aired for one season in 2021.

“Sharelle has big plans for her brokerageand won’t let anyone or anything get in the way of making her dreams a reality,” Netflix said in a statement announcing the series.

She’s a United States Army veteran

Sharelle Rosado Instagram

Prior to starting her career as a realtor, Rosado served in the United States Army. After giving birth to her first daughter as a high school senior, Rosado lost her track scholarship and enlisted in the Army without telling her family.

“I wanted a better life for my daughter,” she said of her decision to join the military in a 2021 episode ofI Am Woman.

Wanting to advance quickly, Rosado became a paratrooper and pursued a path in HR. She served for 13 years and completed two deployments to Afghanistan before becoming medically retired.

“Being in the military, it’s always taught me to have bearings. I incorporate my military bearings into Allure. They know I’m the boss and I don’t tolerate anything,” Rosado told PEOPLE. “If it gets out of hand, I don’t even have to raise my voice. I give them a look and that stern voice comes on. They know it’s a time and a place for everything.”

She pitchedSelling Tampain a DM

Netflix

Rosado’s Netflix show,Selling Tampa, started out with an Instagram DM. “I thought it was time to turn the spotlight on us and began contacting various people I knew in the television industry to see if they were interested,” she toldGlamour UKin 2021. “I began following them on social media too and decided to slide into the DM’s ofSelling Sunset’s executive producer Adam DiVello. The rest is history.”

The spinoff wasteasedin a trailer for season 4 ofSelling Sunsetand premiered in December 2021.

She met Johnson on Instagram

Just likeSelling Tampabegan with a DM, so did her relationship with Johnson. The real estate broker revealed on an episode ofI Am Womanthat she took the initiative to reach out to Johnson. “He was always a crush of mine. For years. Sexy, tall, chocolate,” she said. “I slid into his DMs and he responded like two seconds later,” she elaborated.

After exchanging numbers, the two struck up a friendship, but eventually, she stopped talking to him. They later rekindled their connection in 2020.

She is a mom

Chad Johnson Instagram

Rosado has three children from prior relationships and shares a daughter namedSerenity “Hurricane” Paula, who was born on Jan. 2, 2022, with Johnson.

“I always wanted a big family,” Rosado told PEOPLE, “so I think with this last one, she’s just the perfect number to finish it off.”

She and Johnson called off their engagement in 2024

The former Cincinnati Bengal proposed to Rosadoon Jan. 7, 2023, with an oval cut, 7 1/2-carat engagement ring.

“I’m honestly shocked! I’m at a loss for words. This was absolutely beautiful and to see my family and friends here to celebrate our love, that really did it for me,” Rosado told PEOPLE at the time. “He is definitely not a planner, so for him to pull this off for me is so amazing. Just the thought he put into this and having our family and friends here to witness says a lot.”

Rosado announced her split from Johnson on X (formerly Twitter) in October 2024.

“Chad and I are no longer together. He is a free man ladies,” she wrote in a brief post.

Johnson supported her career

Jose Devillegas/Getty

When the trailer forSelling Tampapremiered in November 2021, Johnson shared it onTwitter, jokingly writing, “I manifested the life I’ve always dreamed of & that’s becoming a stay at home dad.”

Rosado revealed that while many people assume Johnson supports her financially, her own career was the driving force that helped her become wealthy. “I see a lot of — on the blogs — ‘Oh, she’s a gold digger,’ or, ‘she’s just there for the bag,’ " she said onI Am Woman. “Little do they know, I had my bag before I met him.”

During an episode of Johnson’s podcast,Nightcap, the former football star jokingly complained about having to sign a prenup.

“I found a good one, but I’m having a small issue. [She] had the nerve to bring me papers to sign a prenup,” Johnson said with a laugh. “This woman has provided me with the ability to be a stay-at-home dad. I’m trying to get out of signing this prenup. If she leave, I need half. I want to sustain the same lifestyle.”

She wants to help other female veterans

While Rosado was prepared to reveal parts of her personal life onSelling Tampa,she had also decided there were elements of her home life that would not be featured in the show — namely, her relationship with Johnson.

“Being in that world, you have to open up. You have to become an open book. I was ready for all that,” she told PEOPLE in August 2021. “I think I was born for this. I have a story to tell. "

Rosado elaborated: “I feel like it’s going to help somebody out there, some teenager that went through what I went through. Some female veteran that went through what I went through. I’m telling the story and it’s going to help benefit a lot of people. This is only the beginning.”

She and Johnson attended several high-profile events

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Sharelle Rosado attend the 13th annual NFL Honors on February 08, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller/Getty

Ethan Miller/Getty

Rosado and Johnson walked the red carpet together on several occasions.

In February 2024, they attended the NFL Honors in Las Vegas. Rosado turned heads in a skintight black gown, while Johnson looked ultra-chic in a black velvet suit.

source: people.com