The Sweet Stories Of How These HGTV Stars Met Their Partners
Just as much as we enjoy watching an inspiring home renovation story, we also enjoy hearing how a perfect love story unfolded. It turns out, behind the scenes, many of the couples we see hosting our favorite HGTV shows have had the most adorable meet-cutes with their partners. Some of these stories were ones of love at first sight, while others needed a bit of assistance from the universe constantly pushing them together again and again and making them realize that they were the perfect match.
When "Home Town" stars Ben and Erin Napier were always running into each other on their college campus, for example, they quickly came to the conclusion they were meant to be. "[Six] days later we decided we would get married," Erin explained of their love story on Instagram.
From falling for the woman working at a clothing store to seeing sparks fly with the guy pumping gas at the car across from you, here are some of the sweetest stories of how a few of our favorite HGTV stars met their partners slash television co-stars.
Cole & Chelsea DeBauer
Before "Down Home Fab" ever aired on HGTV, "Teen Mom 2" star Chelsea DeBauer was headed down to a gas station in South Dakota. There, she locked eyes with a stranger at the pump right across from her car — who happened to be Cole DeBauer. Though they never spoke, the universe truly seemed to be pushing them together. As they each drove away from the gas station, they realized that they lived in the same direction as they continued to pass each other on the highway. "I'd drive by and peek [over] and then she'd drive by and look," Cole told HGTV.
Chelsea immediately knew that there was something special about him. "I went home to my friend and I was like, 'I just saw the guy I'm going to marry at the gas station, but we didn't talk,'" Chelsea explained during an interview with Us Weekly.
It turns out, Cole was thinking the exact same thing. A few days later, she received a message from him on Facebook, and the two HGTV stars have been inseparable ever since.
Brian & Mika Kleinschmidt
"100 Day Dream Home" stars Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt didn't start dating until adulthood, but their meet-cute goes all the way back to their high school days. Due to her dad's military job, Mika had just moved to a brand new school for her senior year. There, she was focused solely on schoolwork and her upcoming graduation, but a classmate named Brian had his eyes set on something completely different that year: her. "I was gaga over her," he admitted during an exclusive interview with The List. "I could not even talk around her in high school. I was crazy for her."
Mika, on the other hand, had absolutely no interest in dating anyone at the time. "I invited her to lunch every day," Brian explained. "And she said, 'I'd rather sit alone.'"
Even while this future HGTV star was focused on her own grades, she still took the time to help Brian out with his schoolwork. "Even in high school, she used to type my papers, because I didn't know how to type," he told us. "And to this day, she still does all the paperwork."
Mike Jackson & Egypt Sherrod
Long before Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod ever stepped foot on the set of an HGTV show, they were both radio DJs. It was while they were both working on a show in a nightclub one evening that they met for the very first time. "And I saw her backstage and the light was literally only on her," Jackson told HGTV. "From that moment on, I knew she was my wife." When he did eventually approach her that evening, he explained how their meeting was meant to be, but "at that time, I didn't date in entertainment," Sherrod said in an exclusive interview with The List.
Six months later, their paths crossed again when they were both performing in a parade in New York City. Then again when Sherrod began flipping a house. When she called upon a contractor to help her complete the project, Jackson walked in, as he happened to have shifted to having a career in the housing industry. "We kind of fell in love through that renovation," Sherrod told us.
Today, HGTV fans can see them open about balancing both their personal and working relationships in their series "Married to Real Estate."
Nate Berkus & Jeremiah Brent
The stars of "The Nate and Jeremiah Home Project" had always been told they would be perfect for each other, even though they had never met before. It was their mutual friend, celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, who finally set them up, and during their first date, the two HGTV stars realized that everyone was right: They really were perfect for each other. "My mother said to me, when Jeremiah and I met, 'The light is back in your eyes,'" Nate Berkus reminisced during an interview with People. "And I remember thinking to myself, I know. You're right. I know."
During that day together, the two knew within minutes that they would end up together. Their first date included antique shopping — the perfect place for two interior designers to bond with one another. "And it never ended," Jeremiah Brent shared on his YouTube channel.
After that, the two teamed up and never looked back.
Ben & Erin Napier
"Home Town" stars Ben and Erin Napier's love story all began at a McDonald's in Mississippi in 2004. Though their initial encounter was something that Erin describes as "brief," the two attended the same college, so she was constantly seeing him walk around campus after they met. There was just something special about him that Erin always admired from afar. "He made anyone he spoke to feel like they were special, he sat with the person eating alone," she wrote on Instagram. "And because of that, I loved him before I even knew him."
It turns out, Ben had always noticed Erin whenever she was out walking, too. "I remember seeing Erin the first week of school," he once reminisced during an interview with People. "She was walking across the student union, and she had a pixie haircut. I didn't know what a pixie cut was at the time, but I knew I liked it."
The two began dating shortly after and eventually tied the knot four years later before HGTV came calling.
Tarek El Moussa & Heather Rae Young
Out of all the fish in the sea, Heather Rae Young found her perfect match while she was out sailing. She was enjoying her time on deck when she spotted someone she knew. "By chance the boat I was on was parked next to Tarek's boat, and my friend just happened to be on Tarek's boat, and I jumped over to say hi to her," she explained to her fans on Instagram. "And Tarek turned around and introduced himself." After that, their conversation never stopped.
Crazy enough, "Flip or Flop" and "Flipping 101" star Tarek El Moussa had had his sights set on her for quite a while. In fact, Young revealed to People that he had once sent her a message on Instagram asking her out before the two met on that fateful day in the bay. "I knew the second [I] saw her I had to know her!" El Moussa wrote on Instagram. "I just felt it in my core and her smile was contagious."
Less than one week after their first date, the now-stars of "The Flipping El Moussas" moved in with each other before tying the knot during their special wedding episode on HGTV in 2021.
Eric & Lindsey Bennett
HGTV stars Eric and Lindsey Bennett bonded over real estate from the very start of their relationship. In 2006, Lindsey was interviewing for a job at a restaurant in Wisconsin when Eric walked in. He happened to know the man who was speaking with her and stopped by to say hi. However, this simple greeting started a much deeper conversation with this woman he had just met instead. "That very first night we met over at the Draft House, we sat and talked real estate," Eric recalled during an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal. "Not, 'Where did you grow up?, How many kids do you want to have?,' none of that."
The conversation started a powerful working relationship that also evolved into a romantic one. "Since Eric met me we've been pretty full throttle ever since," Lindsey told The Desert Sun. In fact, "we did that first flip together within a month of knowing each other."
Six months later, they moved to Palm Springs together and, shortly after, began shooting a series that fans now know as "Desert Flippers."
Drew Scott & Linda Phan
"Property Brothers" star Drew Scott met his missus while attending Toronto Fashion Week in 2010. "I saw her across the room, this beautiful woman," he reminisced to his brother during an episode on HGTV. "I saw her smile. She's holding this giant piece of pizza."
Though it was love at first sight for Scott, it was a few months before the two went out on their first date — something that Linda Phan has previously described to People as "the longest first date ever." The two enjoyed some sushi and hot chocolate before hitting up a karaoke bar, which is where Phan officially fell head over heels for the Property Brother as he sang The Lonely Island's single "I'm on a Boat."
As fans of their HGTV special "Property Brothers at Home: Drew's Honeymoon House" know, this duo has always had a sense of humor. In fact, the evening that they met during Toronto Fashion Week, "She was wearing a big cop badge and giving out tickets for 'bad' fashion," Scott told People.
Ken & Anita Corsini
"Flip or Flop Atlanta" star Anita Corsini has her college study group to thank for introducing her to her co-star and husband. Whenever she called up her study buddy back in the day, his apartment roommate Ken Corsini would always answer the phone instead. "I was diligent in making sure I picked up the phone first, so I could get a few minutes of 'phone flirting' in before passing the phone over to my roommate," the HGTV star explained during an interview with the network.
Eventually, Anita agreed to set aside studying for one evening and go out with him. "He, of course, is tall, dark, and handsome, but he was also very funny, knew how to have a good time, and shared my values," she said.
The two spent their first date picking strawberries just outside of Atlanta, which Anita baked into a shortcake for Ken that same evening — and they have been inseparable ever since. Fans can say it was love at first bite.
Andy & Ashley Williams
"Flip or Flop Fort Worth" stars Andy and Ashley Williams were serving their country halfway around the world when they first met. Andy was in the U.S. Marines and Ashley was in the Army when they both happened to be in Baghdad, Iraq.
Ashley was busy training for a physical fitness test at the gym when Andy approached her for the very first time. "I was sitting on the leg machine and Andy came up to me and said, 'Hey, do you need a personal trainer?'," she recalled during an interview with Good Housekeeping.
Even though she denied his request, he continued to hit the gym whenever she was around just so he could talk to her. Throughout these conversations, the two became very close during their time overseas. "Ashley had a beautiful smile and curious look," Andy told HGTV. "For a moment I forgot I was in Baghdad."
Mike & Jenn Todryk
When "No Demo Reno" star Jenn Todryk met her husband Mike in 2010, he was out looking for a suit to wear to his brother's wedding. The shop he happened to walk into that day was where she was working, and she spent the afternoon helping him pick out the perfect outfit. "This pretty redhead was going back and forth between the stock room," Mike recalled during an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "I spent $1,000 more than I planned to. We were laughing right off the bat."
Mike asked her out to lunch that same day, and exactly one year after that, they tied the knot during a destination wedding in Mexico. "Best part – it only took one hour to plan my wedding upon arriving in Mexico," Jenn shared on her blog The Rambling Redhead – which is much less time than a typical home renovation on the show!
Though the HGTV star has since waved goodbye to working in a men's clothing store, she and her husband now own a coffee shop in addition to starring in their HGTV series.
Bristol & Aubrey Marunde
"Flip or Flop Vegas" stars Bristol and Aubrey Marunde have always connected through their love of home construction. After meeting up with mutual friends at a UFC fight in Las Vegas in 2009, Bristol began telling Aubrey all about how he was in the process of buying a house. The two continued their conversation over a coffee date and quickly knew there was something special between them. "We decided right then and there that we wanted to settle down and be together," Bristol said during an interview with the network.
Aubrey, who was a real estate agent at the time, ended up helping Bristol purchase his home. "Bristol was looking to buy a house, and I found the first house for him. He decided, hey, let's try to fix this up and see where it goes so we did," she explained during an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The two began flipping their very first houses together in the Las Vegas area that same year, before being discovered by HGTV through their Instagram accounts.
Brett & Jasmine Roth
While future HGTV star Jasmine Roth was studying entrepreneurship at Northeastern University in Boston, she was searching for a roommate. She finally found that special someone who needed someone to live with, too. He was a student named Brett — who she had no idea would soon become her husband. In fact, they both were dating other people at the time.
It wasn't until Jasmine's grandmother visited one evening that they realized that they were actually a pretty perfect match. "My grandma told me later that she leaned over to my mom and said, 'He's the one,'" Roth recalled during an interview with Country Living.
By the end of that year, the two of them became an official couple and eventually tied the knot in Utah in 2013. "We didn't move in to live together forever," the "Hidden Potential" and "Help! I Wrecked My House" star shared. "But it just kind of happened."
Dave & Jenny Marrs
"Fixer to Fabulous" stars Dave and Jenny Marrs have always been working together — long before they were both introduced to the world on HGTV. In fact, they met each other at a corporate job in 2002 they secured right out of college before jumping into the home renovation industry together. "I did the corporate world for two years, which was enough. It allowed me to meet Jenny," Dave shared during an interview with AY Magazine. "But I just got sick of it."
After that was when the couple officially decided that they would make a career out of renovating houses in Arkansas, where Dave's father was also in the construction business. "When I said I'm going to start building again, Jenny took a big leap of faith and said we'll try Arkansas for a couple of years," the HGTV star shared – and if that's not true love, we don't know what is!