Exec Made Her Future Husband Fill Out an Application to Date Her. All His References Said the Same Thing (Exclusive)
Exec Made Her Future Husband Fill Out an Application to Date Her. All His References Said the Same Thing (Exclusive)
Greta BjornsonSun, May 17, 2026 at 6:15 PM UTC
0
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard and Craig Drinkard; 'Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It, and Give It Away'
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard; Harvard Business Review Press
-
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard details the start of her successful 29-year marriage in her new book, Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It, and Give It Away
Sharif-Drinkard, now the Senior Vice President for Business affairs at ABC News, asked her future husband to fill out an application and provide references before they started dating
She hopes that her own business book proves that power comes from strong connections in someone's personal life, much like her own relationship
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard was on a relationship hiatus when her future husband walked into her life.
It was 1996, and the law student had moved back home to Harlem to help out her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer, and her sister, who was still in school.
At her aunt's insistence, she left to attend a business conference in New Jersey, where she was introduced to Craig Drinkard, the man who would become not only her partner in love and life, but also the father of her two children.
But first, he had to put in an application to date her — with references.
Craif Drinkard and Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard pose for a selfie
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
Sharif-Drinkard, now 54 and the Senior Vice President for Business affairs at ABC News, details the beginning of her relationship with Drinkard, now 59, in the sixth chapter of her new book, Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It, and Give It Away.
She tells PEOPLE she was originally discouraged from including the chapter because it deviated from her book's broader message about power in business and beyond, but she stood firm, knowing how much emphasis people place on marriage and relationships.
"We misunderstand how to navigate these relationships from a perspective of the power that we hold personally," she says.
The cover of 'Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It, and Give It Away'
Credit: Harvard Business Review Press
"I wanted to write the book that I had never seen," she says. "While it's about relationships, it's also about how we hold our power in all spaces and what we do with that power, and how we use it to elevate other people, and hopefully ourselves."
Sharif-Drinkard writes in her book that Drinkard eventually became her "cheerleader," "coach" and "collaborator" — but the two started out strictly platonic.
After meeting at the conference, Drinkard asked Sharif-Drinkard if he could give her a call sometime, insisting he was only interested in a potential "program" the two could work on together. In less than a week, he joined her family for dinner at their home in Harlem, and continued to return, keeping her mom company and helping her younger sister with homework.
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard and Craig Drinkard
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
When Drinkard did eventually broach the subject of dating, Sharif-Drinkard had one request: fill out application to be in a relationship with her.
Sharif-Drinkard tells PEOPLE the idea was inspired by broader life experiences.
"We spend all this time in our lives doing applications for colleges, to get into the best school we want to get into, for jobs, internships, all the things that we think are really important in our own lives to get us to the next level," she says.
"And somehow we failed to ask some of the tough questions up front or to even understand what we're getting into in relationships," she adds. "And so I thought, you know what, if he's serious, then he'll do this application and if he's not, that's perfect."
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard and Craig Drinkard on their wedding day, Sept. 20, 1997
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
Sharif-Drinkard asked him to submit a current résumé, as well as a mission statement and a paragraph about his earning potential. But that wasn't all. She also requested that he share his future career plans and write a personal essay, and provide three references who could speak to his character — all of which she wanted within a two week deadline.
Drinkard followed through, submitting the materials in person in a manilla envelope right on time.
For the record, Sharif-Drinkard remembers her future husband's references speaking highly of his willingness to help.
"People would say, he's the guy that I call at any time of the night when I'm in a pinch, anything that happens," she says. "He is the kind of guy who cares."
Advertisement
Craig Drinkard and Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard attending the 60th Anniversary of the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
"That stood out to me because it said that he was a person who was giving, but more importantly, he understood that it wasn't just about him," she adds.
In a twist, Drinkard requested that she answer some questions for him, too, including her views on religion, how she handled money and how many children she wanted to have.
Of course, he also requested three references.
The process clearly worked out in their favor. They've now been married for 29 years and share two daughters, ages 20 and 22.
Sharif-Drinkard pregnant with their second child nearly eight years after they got married
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
Sharif-Drinkard tells PEOPLE her relationship continues to work because she and her husband put in the effort early on and truly took the time to establish what was most important to them.
"One thing we promised each other early on was that —we had our own list of agreements. We said, 'You know what? We're never going to take each other for granted,' " she says.
She also say she's never been interested in traditional gender roles in marriage, which she and Drinkard discussed early on. "We do what we can do based upon our schedules, what's going on, where we're at," she says, noting that dinner responsibilities fall to whoever gets home first that evening.
"That's actually one of the things that we really like about our relationship, that we understand that we're all gonna just lift and carry the load together," she says.
Drinkard receiving his Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Drew University in 2025
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
While Drinkard remains an important pillar in Sharif-Drinkard's success, she says the support between them is mutual.
When he was unable to finish college because of losing his financial aid, Sharif-Drinkard says she never wanted to "push" him to go back to school. Instead, she asked if it was something he would be interested in — and it was.
Then she made it her mission to support him through both the completion of his undergrad degree and later, his MBA.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Her advice to others seeking stronger relationships — even platonic ones — is to learn how to better relate to others "on a human level."
She also advises young people to talk to one another more off of social media, and be more open about meeting a partner in places they wouldn't expect.
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard and Craig Drinkard attending the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association
Credit: Courtesy of Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard
"You find the person typically when you're not looking for them so much, but when you're living life to your fullest and you're enjoying yourself," Sharif-Drinkard says. "We have to be complete in ourselves first."
She adds, "You cannot find the right kind of person that you're going to fully appreciate if you're not ready for that person, right?"
Power Reimagined: My Mission to Get It, Grow It, and Give It Away is now available for purchase.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
