The Property Brothers, Jonathan and Drew Scott, seem like pretty clean-cut, straight-laced, and upstanding guys when they host their HGTV show of the same name. However, it appears that even handsome reality show hosts hit their breaking point from time to time. I guess that real estate can really take it out of you.
Unfortunately for one of the brothers, Jonathan, their fight in a North Dakota bar brought some very unwanted attention on the duo and their work. This was after hours and apparently the bar was closed at the time. While no charges were filed, it appears that Scott and several other patrons got angry when the bar closed and their drinks were taken away. The altercation eventually led to Scott being held in a headlock by the bar's security.
The cops were called, but there wasn't enough evidence to press any charges. Security footage released by police showed Scott being escorted out of the bar, and then returning, only to be escorted out again – this time more forcefully. Some stills of the incident showed Scott allegedly being held in a chokehold. However, the police had not indicated that any kind of chokehold was used to force Scott out of the bar.
In describing the incident, Jonathan Scott suggested that it wasn’t necessarily being asked to leave, but the abruptness at which they were asked. Scott recalls in his book, It Takes Two: Our Story, “No one had said the last call. Something definitely seemed off." He then went on to say, “The employee then grabbed the women in our group and began shoving out the front while someone else started shoving the guys out the back into an alley…I was still trying to wrap my brain around what was happening and on what planet this kind of treatment was acceptable.”
The premise of the HGTV show Fixer Upper is a simple one. On each episode, participants are show three homes in need of a little TLC, and, eventually they purchase the home and fix it up. It's not the most groundbreaking premise, but it's become one of the channel's most important shows. Unfortunately, it's probably fake.
Participants on the show have revealed that the process is not exactly as it seems on TV. Specifically, they aren't actually choosing one of the three homes--they've already purchased the one they want. The other two are just there to make the show more interesting. On top of that, one participant said that purchasing the home beforehand was actually a prerequisite for being chosen for an episode.
The application process, in addition to requiring that you already have a home, asks you nearly 50+ questions about your home. David Ridley was one of the participants who had this to say to Fox News: "You have to be under contract to be on the show. They show you other homes but you already have one…After they select you, they send your house to Chip and Joanna and their design team."
Fox News reached out to HGTV for a response to these statements, and this is what HGTV had to say: “‘Fixer Upper’ fans enjoy the series because it focuses on the playful banter between Chip and Jo, their home renovation expertise, innovative design tips and families who get the help they need to transform a fixer-upper into the home of their dreams."
Rehab Addict, hosted by Nicole Curtis, has been a staple on HGTV since it premiered in 2010. On the show, Curtis shares her passion and expertise for renovating old homes that other's would consider a lost cause. As a television host, it's clear that Curtis is fine in the public spotlight, but there are some things about her life she didn't want the public knowing.
Specifically, Curtis hid her second pregnancy from viewers while filming episodes of Rehab Addict. Through creative camera angles and well-placed objects, no one was the wiser that she was a mom-to-be. However, there wasn't anything shady going on--Curtis stated that she simply wanted her second child to have more privacy than her first got when he was born.
When asked about the pregnancy, which occurred during the 2015 filming of Rehab Addict, Curtis told People magazine, “I was worried about being judged….It was a very difficult time for me. There I was, almost 40, having another child on my own." Her first child, Ethan, was born in 1997.
Of course, it doesn’t really matter because pregnancies aren’t really any of the public’s business. They particularly aren’t relevant to the show she was filming. While the public may be curious about what their favorite stars are up to, it’s not really their job nor obligation to divulge every piece of personal information.
Another controversy involving her baby was over breastfeeding. No not the public breastfeeding that everyone always fusses over – no, this had to do with how long she was breastfeeding her baby for. At the time, Curtis had revealed she was still breastfeeding her baby at age 30 months. Simultaneously, she was also in a custody battle. She told judges that the child needed to be with her overnight for the sake of breastfeeding.
But more on that later. While some were certainly weirded out by this, others questioned whether she was even telling the truth or lying to keep her custody arrangement. However, Curtis herself claimed that she was breastfeeding because her child needed it and that it would be her child’s decision to stop weaning.
The star of Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis, unfortunately has several entries on this list for the scandals she's gone through over the years. One of those controversies included hiding her second pregnancy from viewers while filming the show in the hopes of giving her child more privacy. Unfortunately, Curtis and her son couldn't manage to stay out of the spotlight after he was born.
Curtis was not in a relationship with the child's father and planned on raising her son alone. However, after the father found out about the child, he sued for parental rights and was given partial custody. The battle for custody has turned ugly at times, with Curtis' ex even claiming that she's continuing to breastfeed their son in order to prevent his visitations.
Regardless of whether Curtis’ breastfeeding claims were a stunt or not, they didn’t end up helping her in the long run. The judge denied her request for more time with her child. Instead, the judge told her to use a breast pump and send the child with milk while visiting with the father.
On top of all that, the two parents also fought over the name of the child with the father demanding a name change. The father of Curtis’ child wanted his birth certificate to include Maguire. Seems kind of petty, but seeing as we don’t know either of them that well, it is really difficult to say.
Nicole Curtis’ faced another custody battle over her eldest son as well. Steven Cimini, the father of her son, had been failing to pay child support. According to The Blast, a celebrity news outlet, Cimini owed as much as $14,685.54 in back child support, which was enough to require a court appearance to get it settled.
Cimini was set for a court hearing on December 5, 2017. He did not appear, however, and so a warrant was put out for his arrest. Cimini and Curtis had dated in their teens, having had their son Ethan in 1997. Their relationship was short-lived and thereafter they split and Curtis became a single mother - and for a while, they maintained an amicable relationship.
And the controversies keep coming with Curtis. In 2016, Curtis’ mother filed a protective order against her own daughter, claiming that Curtis was harassing her via phone and text. The judge, however, denied the mother’s request, believing their family quarrels could not be solved through a court order.
He did, however, have the parties agree not to contact each other. On top of this, Curtis also claims that her own father may be blackmailing her, saying that, claiming that he was going to go to the press with certain information about her. In Country Living, Curtis was quoted as saying, "Our situation is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking. I can't say any more to that.”
Rehab Addict host Nicole Curtis just seems to be a flashpoint for controversy. She's by far the HGTV host who's made it onto this list the most times. And, a lot of the time, it can be difficult to determine if Curtis is in the wrong or is being wronged. This controversy involves the city of Minneapolis and a $2 purchase.
Curtis' whole M.O. on the show is finding run-down homes and lovingly renovating them to their former glory. In this instance, she purchased an old Minneapolis home for a whopping two dollars from the city. However, according to their lawsuit, the city claims that she failed to make necessary improvements and wasn't paying taxes on the home. They are demanding that she return the property to the city.
Generally, the premise of an HGTV renovation show is to improve a participant's home, but that doesn't always work out in practice. On Love It or List It, co-host Hilary Farr helps to renovate and redesign the home, while co-host David Visentin tries to convince them to sell by showing them better properties. But things went seriously wrong on one episode.
According to a lawsuit by a North Carolina couple, the show left their home in worse condition than it started because of shoddy repairs, which included holes in their floors, unfinished work, and windows painted shut. What's really outrageous is the large deposit the couple paid to the show. They dropped a whopping $140,000 only to have their home ruined.
House Hunters is one of the longest-running and most beloved series on the HGTV network. Since 1999, this show has put out a whopping 1700+ episodes where participants agonize over purchasing the perfect home. But if the allegations from former participants is true, there's a lot of TV magic and mischief going on behind the scenes.
According to some who have appeared on the series, the participants in House Hunters aren't actually agonizing over their choice of homes, and that's because they've already purchased a home before filming begins. HGTV responded to these claims, but they basically admitted it's true--sometimes participants are filmed viewing homes that they've already seen and decided they didn't want.
Former House Hunters participant Bobi Jensen called out the show for being fake. In a 2012 blog post, she detailed how HGTV producers rejected her plan to remodel her current home and instead forced her to buy a new home. The episode would be about the couple finding a home with more square footage.
As for the other houses – those were homes that belonged to friends and family. HGTV responded to the post saying, “We’re making a television show, so we manage certain production and time constraints while honoring the home buying process. To maximize production time, we seek out families who are pretty far along in the process.”
Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack were once the lovable couple that hosted the HGTV show Flip or Flop. On it, the two use their real estate and design expertise to renovate homes that have been foreclosed on. However, things all changed in 2016 when the couple announced that they were divorcing.
The divorce announcement was a big enough shock to fans, but the drama didn't end there. Apparently, things went south for the couple during a huge fight they had several months before the announcement. After an argument, Christina called the police after she saw Tarek leaving the house with a gun, fearing he was suicidal.
Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack are house-flipping experts. On episode after episode of their show, Flip or Flop, they prove over and over again that they're some of the best in the business. So, it was obviously big news when house flipping classes featuring these two HGTV stars were announced.
However, former students of the course said they were duped. While participants were hoping to learn from the best, the stars only appeared in a short, pre-recorded video at the beginning of the free session. Beyond that, additional classes cost almost $3000, and at least one former student alleged that these courses were merely a sales pitch for purchasing additional, more expensive courses.
In response to the accusations that the seminar was a scam, The Success Path class website was updated to say, “Tarek, Christina, or one of their team members will attend each event. Exactly who will attend each event varies. Running their successful house-flipping business, coaching and mentoring Success Path students, filming their tv show, and a strong commitment to their young family means that, unfortunately, Tarek and Christina are unable to make it to every event. They are proud to partner with trusted real estate experts who teach Success Path strategies on their behalf.”
Of course, the scam would not have been as big of a deal, if people had not been pouring money into it. The initial seminar was free to sign up for but additional classes would cost attendees thousands of dollars. The Diamond Enrollment Package was a whopping $41,297. To make matters worse, people were opening new lines of credit just to be able to get into these classes. Big oof!
HGTV shows are generally about helping participants find the home of their dreams, whether that's through buying a new one or fixing up what they already have. On Fixer Upper, HGTV superstars Chip and Joanna Gaines, do the latter, helping folks make their homes the best and most beautiful they can be. Or is that all for the camera?
At least part of it is indeed just reality show shenanigans. Participants on Fixer Upper don't actually get to keep the furniture featured in their homes--it's all for show. And if you're a particularly eagle-eyed viewer you might see certain sofas, chairs, or tables show up in multiple episodes!
Fixer Upper is a show that stars HGTV royalty--Chip and Joanna Gaines. And while everyone wants them to work their magic on their homes, the king and queen of renovations are less than thrilled when participants share their handiwork with the world, leaving participants feeling like renters in their own home.
While the show issued a statement saying that they had no problem with participants listing their homes on sites like AirBnB, it's clear from the subtext that they absolutely do have a problem with it. In fact, that same statement included the line, "We are going to be more strict with our contracts involving Fixer Upper clients moving forward." Seems like a bit of mixed messages here.
Ellen's Design Challenge was a short-lived HGTV show hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres. The premise of this competition reality show revolved around furniture makers creating pieces on a time crunch that fit the specifications of the challenge. Although the show made it two seasons, there was some major controversy at the end of the first.
The finale for season one involved designers Katie Stout and Tim McClellan. At the end of the final episode, McClellan was declared the winner. However, he was later disqualified after people noticed his final design was very similar to a design by another furniture maker not associated with the competition. However, after his win was revoked, people speculated that it might have all been a publicity stunt by the show.
HGTV isn't just a TV channel--they also have a successful website where readers can find even more tips and tricks for making their homes the best they can be. However, even the website wasn't safe from courting controversy, as the company found out thanks to a major patriotic fail in 2013.
When the website released an article called "Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas", the blow back from readers was swift and severe. And what was the problem? Their not-so-patriotic suggest of using an American flag as a table runner. People were particularly puzzled and enraged by suggestion that they do this "so spills can be easily wiped off and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flagpole."
Who doesn't love Chip Gaines? He's the co-host of Fixer Upper, along with his wife, Joanna, and the two have become superstars in the HGTV world. While fans might be crazy about him, he has some former business partners who are none to pleased with Gaines and all the success he's had.
In 2017, Chip Gaines was sued for fraud by two former business partners from Magnolia Realty. Gaines bought the two partners out with claims that the company was "less than worthless." However, only a few days after the buyout, the Gaines announced their soon-to-be famous HGTV show, which would no doubt boost business for Magnolia Realty.
Multiple accusations were throw in the lawsuit. Among them were claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud by nondisclosure, statutory fraud, conspiracy liability and essentially insider trading among other things. The lawsuit said explicitly, “at a time when only the defendants knew that ‘Fixer Upper’ had been fast-tracked for a one-hour premiere on HGTV and was on the verge of radically changing their lives and business enterprises, Chip Gaines conspired to eliminate his business partners — notwithstanding their longstanding friendship — in order to ensure that he alone would profit from Magnolia Realty’s association with ‘Fixer Upper.’”
The Chip Gaines case ultimately was thrown out. Judge Jim Meyer of Waco’s 170th State District Court dismissed the 2017 lawsuit filed by attorneys John L. Lewis and Rick L. Clark. Chip Gaines and his attorney Todd Patterson were of course happy with the result, believing that Gaines had done nothing wrong.
Every year since 1997, HGTV has hosted a sweepstakes for viewers--the HGTV Dream Home. Fans are encouraged to enter their name to win a dream home valued at over a million dollars. This particular controversy doesn't have to do with the sweepstakes; winners definitely get the dream home they were promised. However, most of the time, that dream home turns into more of a nightmare.
As of 2006, there have been only two dream home winners that actually stuck around to the live in the place. And what's the problem? It turns out that a million-dollar home comes with sky-high property taxes that most people can't afford. This means that most winners end up selling. The sale of a dream house definitely brings them a pretty penny, but god forbid you actually want to live in the home you won.
Undoubtedly, the IRS is a relentless entity. It doesn’t matter how much you make or how much you make before you won, or what you can afford to pay, you’re winnings in a sweepstake are subject to be taxed. No matter where the money comes from, you’ll be taxed on it the same way. Winners of the HGTV sweepstakes learned that the hard way.
While with a cash prize, you can easily use some of the money to pay the taxes, when you win a home as a prize, you’ll have to come up with the money to pay your taxes. So even if you win a home, you have to pay for it one way or another. On top of that, you have to pay the property taxes on that house every year.
So, what can you do in the event you win a dream home? There are a few suggestions. For one, you can find a way to turn that home into cash, and that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to sell it. One option is to rent out the home or even parts of the home to earn some extra cash. That’s exactly what Don and Shelly Cruz did as 2005’s Dream Home winners.
But yeah, the second option is to sell the home and buy another for a lesser value. It sucks to have to give up your dream home but sometimes dreams can be a little much to handle. Sometimes you have to consider just how practical owning your dream home really is – and competitions like HGTV Dream Home Sweepstakes are a reminder that there are no shortcuts in life. At least, that’s what some people say.
TMZ had reported that 11 cops and a helicopter were brought into their Orange County home due to a call about “a possibly suicidal male with a gun.” While he was believed to be suicidal, he told police that he merely wanted to “blow off some steam.” However, it didn’t end up being too serious.
Despite the police being called, there was allegedly no violence and no charges were filed. Ending their 7-year marriage with two kids, they issued a statement to People saying, “During the process, we are committed to our kids and being the best parents, we can be. We will continue to work through this process civilly and cooperatively, and plan to continue our professional life together.”
HGTV star Carter Oosterhouse was accused of misconduct in 2017 by a makeup artist. In response to this, HGTV immediately issued a statement, saying “While we have not been in production with Carter Oosterhouse on an HGTV series for many years, we take matters such as this very seriously. We do not tolerate harassment of any kind.”
The makeup artist had said that Oosterhouse had coerced her into performing acts on him on repeated occasions during the show’s (Carter Can) production. This led her to seek hospitalization for depression, as well as losing her job. According to his accuser, “At that point, I was a nervous wreck. I was so worn down from his advances, so I did: that day, on that occasion….It was the first time. Then thereafter it was almost every time we would shoot — 10 to 15 times he put me in this position.”
Carter Oosterhouse denied any non-consensual activities between him and his accuser – that it was 100% mutual and consensual. He also added, even though nobody asked, that he was “very passionate about what is happening right now with the #metoo movement, especially because I have so many strong women in my life, like my wife, mother, sister and of course my little baby girl. We are in a time of change for society and I am behind it 100%.”
After hearing of the accusation, Oosterhouse called his accuser to apologize, saying “I’m so sorry. I thought it was mutual.” But regardless of what really happened, his position of power was abused. In justifying his actions, his accuser responded to Oosterhouse, “It was Stockholm Syndrome-y, justifying what you’re doing.”
