The Most Controversial Stars In HGTV History

Launched in 1994, Home and Garden Television continues to captivate millions of viewers around the world with a diverse lineup of programming that spans real estate hunting, home renovation, interior design, and competitions. In fact, according to the U.S. Television Program and Network Ratings, HGTV is currently the nation's ninth most watched channel. Nevertheless, beneath the enduring network's wholesome, white-picket-fence reputation for satisfying, cheerful, and family-friendly content lies a chaotic reality riddled with moral scandals, legal battles, and personal drama.

From faulty house flips to extramarital affairs, misappropriation of funds, homophobic activism, racial remarks, and sexual misconduct, there has been no shortage of controversies surrounding HGTV personalities over the years. Regardless of whether they turned out to be unsubstantiated allegations or verified facts, all those issues gained media attention and compromised polished images — sometimes even resulting in firings or show cancellations.

Let's look back at some of those inappropriate or shocking moments that HGTV probably wishes everyone would forget, from Chip and Joanna Gaines to the Benham Twins, Carter Oosterhouse, and Meridith Baer.

Headquartered in Waco, Texas, Chip and Joanna Gaines have built a lifestyle and media empire under their Magnolia brand. As TV hosts and producers, they now work at the Magnolia Network, but they had a five-year run on HGTV with their home-renovation show "Fixer Upper" (and its multiple spin-offs). Nevertheless, beyond their goofy on-screen moments and idealized family, they have faced backlash over legal disputes and questionable beliefs and practices. There may even be trouble in paradise.

In 2016, BuzzFeed revealed that the couple's Antioch Community Church preached against same-sex marriage and supported "conversion" therapy. The Gaineses didn't directly address the issue, but following protests from viewers, HGTV stated, "We don't discriminate against members of the LGBT community in any of our shows. HGTV is proud to have a crystal clear, consistent record of including people from all walks of life in its series." In parallel, the Gaineses upset longtime Waco residents by driving more tourists to the peaceful community, which led to increased rent and property values.

Then, in 2017, John Lewis and Richard Clark, Chip's former partners in Magnolia Realty, sued him for $1 million because he had pressured them into underselling their shares. They accused him of not revealing that "Fixer Upper" had been greenlit — which would increase their company's value.

Fast-forward to 2018, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the couple violated safety regulations about lead paint for 33 properties on "Fixer Upper." The Gaineses eventually settled with a $40,000 fine.

Christina Haack has dealt with numerous scandals over the years, some of which also involved one of her former husbands, Tarek El Moussa. Both HGTV personalities rose to fame in the reality show "Flip or Flop," which featured them renovating and reselling properties in Southern California for 10 seasons until 2022. In May 2016, after seven years of marriage, the couple had a heated argument that resulted in El Moussa storming out of their house with a gun and his concerned, tearful wife calling the police on him, fearing a suicide attempt. Eleven deputies and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene, causing quite a commotion. The altercation was later linked to Haack's alleged affair with their former pool contractor, Gary Anderson, and the couple separated in December 2016. El Moussa then developed an alcohol addiction that landed him in rehab, and Haack moved on to Ant Anstead. Pressured by the network, the pair continued to work together to protect their image, finances, and children.

The following year, they endorsed "Success Path," a series of real estate seminars focused on house flipping. Attendees, thinking the stars would be present, felt duped and labeled the courses worthless, resulting in legal action from the Federal Trade Commission.

In 2021, El Moussa and Haack made headlines once more. Amid tensions between the latter and his then-fiancée, "Selling Sunset" star Heather Rae Young, he blew up on set and berated Haack in front of the crew.

Home renovation, historic preservation expert, and frequent keynote speaker Nicole Curtis rose to stardom as the host of "Rehab Addict." Focusing on condemned historic properties in Minneapolis and Detroit, the hit show premiered on the DIY Network in 2010 and moved to HGTV's prime-time slots beginning in 2014, earning her a Women's Image Network Award nomination for outstanding actress in a reality series in 2015. On February 8, 2026, she said to her fans on Instagram, "Your love took me from a struggling mommy working odd jobs in Craigslist to a real estate mogul whose voice (more than face) gets recognized all over the world."

Her joy and gratitude were short-lived, though. On February 11, days before a new episode was set to air, Radar Online released an old clip of her dropping the "N word" over a difficult renovation. The footage then captured her looking horrified and begging the crew present to delete the slur. Following the backlash, HGTV axed Curtis for inappropriate behavior, canceled the show, and pulled it from all platforms. In a statement sent to Variety, the network said, "Not only is language like this hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners, and employees — it does not align with the values of HGTV."

Curtis' team issued an apology on her behalf, describing that moment as "a slip" and blaming it on exhaustion (via The Detroit News). She then took to Instagram to accuse the person behind the footage release of blackmail, claiming she had refused to meet their demands.

In 2019 and 2020, luxury interior designer Alison Victoria and contractor Donovan Eckhardt collaborated on "Windy City Rehab," which focused on the acquisition and restoration of historic homes in Chicago while emphasizing the preservation of original architectural elements. Nonetheless, the hit remodel show became one of HGTV's messiest scandals. Angry locals and city officials complained about its worksites regarding permit violations, garbage, safety hazards, and noise pollution. Victoria and Eckhardt were barred from filing new permit applications, and the latter's contractor license was suspended for 45 days.

Their partnership suffered a bigger blow when they faced lawsuits from buyers for consumer fraud and sloppy makeovers on those million-dollar homes. For instance, on December 30, 2019, James and Anna Morrissey, who had bought a 4,000-square-foot property on Lincoln Square for $1.36 million, sued the hosts (and related businesses) over defective window installation, leakage from the roof and upstairs bathroom, and emotional distress.

The situation between the hosts deteriorated when Season 2 of "Windy City Rehab" revealed that most of the budget for a delayed renovation had been transferred to Eckhardt's company behind Victoria's back. "For so long, I was letting [him] run all the budgets, do all the bank draws, deal with the bank accounts, and I was just designing," Victoria said at the time (via People). "It's been shocking." Eckhardt later sued HGTV's parent company, Discovery Inc., for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and trade libel.

Author and interior designer Jenny Marrs and contractor Dave Marrs, who have been married since 2005 and are parents to five children, are best known for hosting "Fixer to Fabulous." The popular, Daytime Emmy-nominated HGTV show, which centers on the renovation and restoration of historic homes in Bentonville, Arkansas, premiered in 2019 and is still ongoing at the time of this writing. Nevertheless, the couple has faced legal problems within the state involving alleged mediocre workmanship, incomplete tasks, and operations without proper licenses and permits.

In 2021, Bella Vista, Arkansas, homeowners Tyler and Dana Craddock accused Marrs Construction and Marrs Developing for failing to properly complete their house renovations and sued both companies for at least $75,000. In March 2022, the judge dismissed the case, stating (via Kark), "The court finds that the plaintiffs have settled their claims and fully released the defendants from any and all claims the plaintiffs may have against them."

The Marrses were also involved in a legal scandal that garnered even more public and media attention. In February 2023, Bentonville couple Matthew and Sarah McGrath sued Dave's Jupiter Rentals and Marrs Construction companies regarding their $559,000 property. They claimed some of the repairs were subpar or incomplete, resulting in additional costs for their kitchen sink, back deck, garage windows, and bedroom hardwood floors. The case was settled in January 2025, just days before it went to trial.

HGTV has collaborated with several sets of twin hosts, like Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis, Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott, and David Benham and Jason Benham. In 2014, the network was busy promoting the latter duo and their low-cost home renovations on their show, "Flip It Forward." However, months before the series' planned October 2014 debut, production was abruptly halted, and the brothers were fired. The decision was made after some of the Christian brothers' past remarks and activism against abortion, Muslims, and same-sex marriage in North Carolina were made public. Additionally, the People for the American Way blog, Right Wing Watch, reported that their father, Flip Benham, has a history of protesting against abortion clinics and making insensitive remarks about 9/11.

For its part, Faith Driven Consumer petitioned HGTV to reverse its decision, claiming the network discriminated against the Benham brothers based on their religious beliefs. The brothers also said that their past statements and actions were taken out of context and that HGTV knew about them all along.

In a May 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, David revealed that they'd never compromise their views and were still receiving offers from other networks. He stated, "I think it would be healthy for America to show a balanced approach, but at the same time, we're in the free market, and they have a choice to make. If they don't choose us, it's no big deal. We are not pushing this at all."

Sporting his signature dashing smile and thick, neatly styled hair, Carter Oosterhouse has definitely earned a top place among those HGTV stars whose soured reputations never fully recovered. The former model began his tenure with the network in the fall of 2007 with the shows "Carter Can" and its behind-the-scenes companion, "The Inside Job." He's no longer an active guest or host there, though, having moved on to projects like TLC's "Trading Spaces" in 2018.

Meanwhile, in December 2017, Kailey Kaminsky, a former makeup artist for "Carter Can," publicly accused Oosterhouse of persistently harassing her and then coercing her to perform sexual acts back in 2008. She claimed that, fearful of losing her job, she eventually felt obliged to comply. According to her, one of the 15 encounters she alleged even took place on their way to a project site. The former HGTV personality denied those allegations and insisted all their acts were consensual. Actor Amy Smart, whom he's been married to since 2011, vehemently came to his defense at the time. Still, his polished image had already taken a hit.

In response, Kaminsky issued a statement on Instagram (via The Hollywood Reporter), writing, "[T]he fact that Carter is a handsome, well-liked, 'good guy' celebrity does not mean that he is not capable of harming others or making poor choices. ... At NO TIME were the sexual actions between Carter and myself enjoyable, mutual, or consensual. I feared for my livelihood, plain and simple."

HGTV and HGTV Canada's famous twin hosts and producers, contractor Jonathan Scott and real estate specialist Andrew "Drew" Scott, are best known for the "Property Brothers" franchise. The original show, which aired from 2011 to 2019 and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, assisted couples in finding, purchasing, and converting outdated properties into their ideal homes. It spawned several spin-offs, including "Buying and Selling" and "Brother vs. Brother." The Canadian personalities continue to be a core component of the network's programming: Their latest show, "Under Pressure," is set to premiere in 2026. Still, both have encountered some scandals.

On April 24, 2016, Jonathan was involved in a brawl at an Irish tavern called Dempsey's Public House in Fargo, North Dakota. According to the police report, staff members were preparing to lock the doors and repeatedly asked him to leave, but he wouldn't comply, protesting to the bartender, "Do you know who I am?" The altercation turned physical as he was escorted out, and police submitted a request for disorderly conduct. Jonathan, who claimed he was just trying to de-escalate an incident between other people, wasn't charged.

Then, in 2021, Las Vegas homeowners Paul and Mindy King, who appeared on "Property Brothers" as newlyweds in 2019, sued Cineflix (Property Brothers 7) Inc. for code violations, sloppy work, and potential hazards. Though the brothers weren't directly named in the lawsuit, their attorney proclaimed that the Kings' aim was to tarnish their reputation and force a settlement.

On April 25, 2019, HGTV released the pilot of the home renovation show "House Full of Spouses." It was hosted by a married couple, interior designer Rachel Hansen and logistics expert Greg Hansen, and it centered on large polygamist families around Salt Lake City looking to upgrade their lodgings. The first episode revolved around Joe Darger; his three wives, twin sisters Valerie and Vicki and their cousin, Alina; and their combined 25 children and stepchildren. The massive Darger family was already famous for appearing on the TLC reality show "Sister Wives" back in 2012, and Rachel herself was brought up in a plural-marriage home. "I know what it was like to grow up in a big, polygamist family because I'm from one," Rachel revealed in the sneak peek. "A big part of our job is getting all those people to agree." "When we say 'big,'" Greg added, "We mean families with two, three, four, five wives; lots of children!"

The pilot received so much backlash from viewers, who questioned both its morality on a family-friendly channel and its legality in the U.S., that the network immediately canceled it. Back then, Utah still considered bigamy and polygamy illegal, but it decriminalized them for consenting adults in 2020. In May 2019, HGTV commented on the controversy to Newsweek, stating, "'House Full of Spouses' is one of many innovative pilot concepts that HGTV tests regularly as part of its rigorous development and evaluation process."

American entrepreneur Meridith Baer is the CEO of Meridith Baer Home, a refined home-staging and luxury-leasing firm established in 1998 and operating across major markets, including San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Boasting A-list clients like Brad Pitt, Rihanna, and Gwyneth Paltrow, she's been featured in notable publications and on various news channels. Given her trajectory, it was only a matter of time before she landed her own reality show on HGTV, called "Staged to Perfection." Set in Los Angeles, the program aired for one season in 2013, providing viewers with useful home-staging tips as Baer and her team explored and redecorated high-end properties listed for sale in areas like West Hollywood and Bel Air. Episodes and clips are still available on the network's website, but Baer hasn't hosted a show since.

In September 2016, Meridith Baer Home was sued for $1.32  million for providing defective furniture. The lawsuit was filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court by Adam Piekarski, a customer who alleged he had paid the firm $55,000 to design and furnish his apartment and requested punitive damages on top of a full refund. According to The New York Daily News, Meredith Baer Home denied the claims, stating that it stood "fully behind the work it performed for Mr. Piekarski," whose sole aim was to "blame" and "defame" the company with a "frivolous" lawsuit.