Chip and Joanna Gaines' ruined my house!

In another Instagram post, the Hawleys wrote that they told the Merediths not to come back after they asked for the additional money, choosing to figure out how to fix their home without their help.

"People with 'celebrity' status can't have power over others just because they feel like they can," Hawley told Insider, adding that "the Magnolia name (as well as Chip and Jo's)" gave them "a sense of safety and security" in working with the Merediths.

"There are many families and even businesses that have been harmed by these people," she added, speaking of the Merediths. "It all needs to be put to an end."

Vienna and Robert Goates also shared their "Home Work" experience on Friday via Instagram.

The Goateses, who have five children, wrote in an Instagram post that they gave the Merediths $50,000 for the $100,000 renovation they were going to do on their home in February 2020. According to the same post, the Goateses wired the money after Candis asked them for the amount to secure deposits for subcontractors working on their home.

According to another Instagram post from the Goateses, months passed and work did not begin on their home, and when Rob was laid off in May 2020, Candis told the couple that she could help pay for the renovations. The couple said they tried to give Candis the benefit of the doubt, particularly because she came endorsed by the Gaineses.

"We had faith in the reputation of Chip and Joanna and their beloved Magnolia brand and Candis's repeated assurances that everything would work out," Vienna wrote on Instagram.

The Goateses told Insider that by September 2020 the Merediths still had not started working on their home, and they decided to ask for their money back. They said Candis agreed to pay them back, but she kept delaying payments — even after the couple hired a lawyer.

To date, according to the Goateses' Instagram, the Merediths have paid them $14,000 of the $50,000 they owe.

The Goateses told Insider they were hesitant about going public with their allegations, but it felt like the only option they had left. "We've been doing everything in our power to resolve this privately for the last two years," Vienna said. "We got a lawyer. We went through all the proper channels. We tried our best, and it just never happened."

The couple said they also reached out to a Discovery+ lawyer, but that the attorney "brushed off" their concerns.

"They said that 'we believe that they intend to repay you and you've already got a lawyer involved, so we don't feel that this is something we need to get involved with,'" Vienna said of her email exchange with the lawyer.

"The knowledge that we're in the right here, that we were kind and that we always took the high road, is some comfort," the Goateses wrote in an Instagram post about the experience. "That kindness and our extreme patience were taken advantage of, and that is such a huge violation that we feel so deeply, but our consciences are clear, and that's no small thing."

In a statement provided to Insider, Allison Page, the president of Magnolia Network, confirmed that the Merediths' show would be pulled from the network.

"Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith," the statement said. "Within the last day, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove 'Home Work' from the Magnolia Network line up pending a review of the claims that have been made."

In a statement to Insider that was also shared on Instagram, the Merediths denied the claims by the Hawleys, the Goateses, and Bennion.

"Although we cannot speak for anyone but ourselves, we can say that we have always tried to give everything we have to make anyone we work with happy," the couple wrote, adding that they "adamantly deny" they stole money from clients.

"It is true that we are sometimes left with outstanding balances, but we always pay, even if it takes some time for us to make arrangements," the statement read.

The Merediths also provided Insider with a link to a satisfied client's Instagram page. The user, who goes @hotcocoareads, shared photos of a reading cottage designed by the duo and wrote that "Andy and Candis did beautiful work" and that though the project "took longer than I hoped, I ultimately feel that Candis truly wanted me to love the space."

In their statement, the Merediths also questioned the timing of the public allegations, saying the claims coming out the week their show was supposed to premiere was intended to "hurt us the most."

"The fact that this story is coming out now is extremely calculated," they added. "One day we may have the courage to put everything out publicly, to defend ourselves against the 'Instagram mafia' that was called up. But in this moment, we know that anything we say will only be turned against us and hurt so many more."

The GOATSE?

Rofl. That cannot be a real name.

Dont I remember a few claims against Chip and Joanna for the same thing ? Everybody on the planet knows you dont pay a contractor in full until after the job is done.

These two are total frauds.

Fundie, closeted weirdos. Both of them.

Complete frauds.

I absolutely hate Chip and Joanna, hope their new channel fails big time.

First clue that they should not be hired? Her name is spelled Candis!

To the grease fire with all of them.

[quote] Homeowners detail 'nightmare' experience being on Magnolia Network's 'Home Work'

Families featured on the Magnolia home renovation show “Home Work” are alleging that their remodels turned into “nightmares,” sharing experiences like months of delayed construction, tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected additional high costs and a lack of communication from the show's hosts.

At least three Instagram users have shared posts detailing their experiences with Candis and Andrew Meredith, a Utah-based couple who restore and renovate homes. Candis began her career restoring and selling homes at 21, and Andrew joined her in the work shortly after the couple wed in 2013. In 2015, the duo began hosting "Old Home Love" on HGTV before launching "Home Work" on Magnolia Network, run by Chip and Joanna Gaines, in 2021.

The 13-episode series, which finished airing its first season in October, showed the Merediths renovating their own home, a 20,000-square-foot former schoolhouse, while also remodeling the homes of other families.

Two homeowners whose remodels were part of the show both shared similar stories on Instagram and with TODAY.

Aubry Bennion, a Utah-based project manager, had just finished renovating her own bathroom when she applied to the show and was contacted in October 2019. Her kitchen needed a renovation, and she was willing to do it on a budget. On Instagram on Jan. 5, Bennion shared her experience across 18 posts.

“On the eve of a Magnolia Network cable launch, the well-edited version of the story will show only their side of October 2019 and beyond," Bennion wrote in one caption. "People, bank accounts, livelihoods, families, our health, sanity… all of us have been left on the cutting room floor.”

In an interview with TODAY, Bennion further detailed her disappointment, explaining that she was eager to work with the Merediths. “Candis is a great designer,” Bennion said. “I thought ‘This is a good chance to have a room ... look like something Candis Meredith would do.’”

Homeowner Jeff Hawley shared a similar story with TODAY. “Two times, somebody fell through the floor into our basement,” he alleged, sharing photos of a hole being patched up in the basement ceiling where he says one of the incidences happened.

In response to the allegations, Candis and Andy Meredith gave their first interview to TODAY, in which they said they were “upfront” about the risks of a home remodel at the beginning of the process.

“We were very upfront in the beginning that this is hard,” said Candis, emphasizing that this was the first time she and her husband had taken on client projects. “It is extremely difficult to pinpoint everything that’s going to happen or things that might change."

When asked about the incident with the floor, Candis told TODAY that she wasn’t there when that happened. “I do know that the contractor patched the ceiling,” she said. “During construction I know a lot of things can happen by accident, and I do not want to condemn the contractor for that happening.”

Jeff Hawley's wife and mom of three, Teisha Hawley, told TODAY that she and her husband were thrilled to be chosen for the show after they submitted to an online casting call in 2019. The two had purchased their Utah home a few years earlier and the chance to have their home remodeled by the Merediths was too good to pass up.

"I've followed Candis and Andy forever. They've worked on HGTV, they have worked with the Bucket List family," Teisha told TODAY. "I was like, if we're lucky enough to get this, it's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The couple told TODAY that they initially had goals of renovating their family room, living room and kitchen, emphasizing the kitchen. Candis, they said, suggested more changes, like knocking down walls and moving the kitchen from one side of the house to another.

"It sounded so wonderful. But I also was like, 'I don't know, I don't think we can afford it.' I was like 'Can you really do that?' on tape," Teisha said. “And (Candis) was like, 'I know all the secrets ... I've never gone over-budget on anything.'"

"We thought it would be really cool to take our style and our lower budget the way we do renovations and try and save money and be creative if we could take that out to some people," Candis told TODAY.

The couple said they agreed on a final budget of $45,000, with $35,000 being wired to the Merediths and $10,000 being used to purchase furniture and appliances. The couple said they had planned to take out a home equity loan to fund the remodel, but then they said a producer called wanting to start the work the next day, so they wound up using their own funds.

The Hawleys — as well as Bennion — said they believed they could still live in their homes while the renovations were ongoing, though it was not encouraged by the Merediths. Since the Hawleys said Candis promised a turnaround time of three weeks, they decided to live in the basement with their three children. Teisha told TODAY that she thought the renovation might take longer, but was still comfortable staying in the basement for up to six weeks, more than double the time the Merediths initially outlined. Bennion said she had also been told that her kitchen renovation would take three weeks.

Jeff Hawley said that minor frustrations, like missed appointments by contractors and limited contact from Candis and Andy, began quickly, but he and his wife soon became concerned about larger issues with the demolition process.

"There was another point where they started cutting a hole on a wall that was on the corner of where another door was, so two doors would be going into each other. ... My wife was basically noticing something was wrong, calling Candis and saying 'Hey, I think they're doing this wrong.'"

Teisha said that she and her children were home for much of the day, confined to the basement, leaving them “emotionally drained” as the "nightmare" remodel continued. The Merediths told TODAY that they regret letting clients live in their homes while the renovation went on.

“We didn’t make the people move out of their houses, which looking back, that was probably a mistake,” Andrew said.

Bennion said that she also noticed escalating issues in her home, especially as new entrances were suggested, a deck was installed and her backyard was leveled. Like the Hawleys, work stagnated and she sometimes had difficulty contacting the Merediths. Concerns, she said, Candis attributed to the oddities of creating a television show.

The Merediths told TODAY that construction errors were the fault of contractors who had been hired, though they declined to name the general contractor they used in the renovations.

"Our agreement stated that we were consulting on the renovation, we were not performing the work," Andrew said. "We worked with contractors. We were not swinging hammers at their property ... We hired a general contractor, and he was in charge of all hiring."

Bennion said that as a project manager herself, she felt that the Merediths’ approach was flawed.

“I truly don’t know if (Candis) understood the concept of her role as a project manager to manage her clients scope and schedule and budget,” said Bennion. “I do that for a living. It’s like 101.”

Throughout the process, both homeowners said that it was impossible to get a fixed budget or breakdown of costs, despite multiple requests. In response, the Merediths told TODAY they "did (their) best to communicate" quickly throughout the process.

A lot of those TV home reno people seem super grifty.

Andrew continued that the first four clients the couple had worked with —including Bennion, the Hawleys, Vienna Goates (who shared her experience on Instagram) and an unnamed fourth party — had been their first-ever clients, which led to bumps in the road. However, six other clients whose homes were filmed for other episodes of the show “went wonderfully,” Andrew said. One client named Jeana, who runs the Instagram account HotCocoaReads, posted to her stories on Friday a reel of the space the Merediths did for her:

"Andy and Candis did beautiful work on my space and while it took longer than I hoped, I ultimately feel that Candis truly wanted me to love my space," it read.

Both the Hawleys and Bennion, however, said that things took a turn for the worse as construction continued: The Hawleys were left with floors that were uneven and had been installed incorrectly, while Bennion said she was living "in chaos" and raising concerns about the work being done as the renovation carried on. In the end, both homeowners had what Bennion called "tough" conversations with the Merediths, only to find that they were significantly over-budget for their projects.

On a heated call with Candis in early February 2020, Bennion said she was told that her $25,000 renovation was now $40,000.

“I said, ‘Tear it out. Tear it out and take it back,’” Bennion recalled. “Like, ‘I can’t pay you, do what you need to do to get done, and then take it all out and take it back.’ This is not my kitchen anymore. I have asked you about (cost) at every turn and you've always told me that it was going to be OK. This is not the appropriate time to tell me that's what you've already (spent.) You've had times to tell me, I've been begging you to talk to me and you haven't."

At around the same time, the Hawleys say they were being asked to double their budget after having been told that their initial $35,000 only covered the cost of demolition.

When TODAY asked the Merediths about the price increases, they confirmed the numbers Bennion presented but would not comment on what the Hawleys gave.

Teisha said that she considered paying another $20,000 to finish the work, but the couple decided it was too risky based on the work process that was already completed.

"In my head, it was like, 'We're already stretched. If we stretch that far, we're going to be stretched beyond what I felt we could repair,'" Jeff recalled. "For us to stretch that much further, we would have just been beyond a point where we could actually return and fix this and not be just hostages in our house." Final results

Jeff said that on Feb. 20, 2020, he and Teisha decided not to send any more money and instead quit the show. A family friend later helped them repair the home for a deep discount, but repairs still cost about $25,000.

Bennion had her project finished by the Merediths, but didn't pay Candis the extra money she had asked for. Candis said that she paid "tens of thousands" of dollars out of her own pocket to finish the work, but declined to specify a number, citing legal advice she received. Bennion confirmed that she only paid the Merediths about $13,000 of the initial project, but had made it clear to Candis that she couldn't pay for any more work.

"(Candis) turned it into like, 'Well, I have been spending my own money, and I'm totally happy to, we can work this out afterwards and you can pay me back,' and I was like 'Hell no, I'm not mixing my finances with you forevermore,'" Bennion recalled. "I don't even want to do this right now, let alone more or longer."

Later, Bennion said that she found out the Merediths had not paid the flooring company, Lemco Flooring, that had laid the floors. She said that she paid the company immediately once they contacted her. The Merediths confirmed to TODAY that they had not paid the company.

"We were advised not to pay another penny towards her renovation after we were threatened with lawsuits," Candis told TODAY. "It’s not that we didn’t want to pay Lemco.”

Bennion said that she was told by Lemco Flooring that the floors had not been properly sealed, leaving them prone to damage, and looking at the paint used on her laminate cabinets, she found that they had been painted with a material that wasn't designed to be used on them. She also said having a landscaper fix her yard after it was leveled for "Home Work" also cost about $18,000."

The Hawleys and Bennion both said that they have connected with other homeowners impacted by the "Home Work" series, and have considered pursuing legal action, but aren't taking any steps at this time. Complaints have been filed with the Utah Department of Commerce's Consumer Protection Division. The Merediths confirmed that they were aware of the complaints and said that they had been in contact with the state.

"We have dealt with every agency that has reached out to us," Candis said.

The couple shared a seven-page statement on Instagram Friday with their response to the Instagram allegations made this week.

“Watching a single sided narrative unfold and these hateful comments from said narrative is extremely painful,” it reads. “We have always done what we could to to remedy anything within and outside our control.”

In a statement, Magnolia president Alison Page told TODAY that the network was "aware" of the situation.

“Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith," Page said in a statement emailed on Thursday. "Within the last day, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove Home Work from the Magnolia Network line up pending a review of the claims that have been made.”

The Merediths told TODAY that they are no longer taking on client projects.

"We have not spoken to these people and we have not looked for new clients in over two-and-a-half years. We don’t go out looking for people to work with," Andrew Meredith said. “Our living is not doing client projects.”

"We don't want to do this ever again," Candis added. "We never intended to hurt anybody ... It's just impossible to share a full truth without hurting people."

Chip looks like he has a dirty ass.

They are LGBT hating holy rollers anyway - who cares? she such a self-important arrogant cunt and he's fake as anything.....

Joanna’s always come across as a power-hungry mega bitch and Chip is a dumb cuckold. Can’t stand those two phony cunts. Hopefully their shit brand that middle class fraus see as the epitome of good taste becomes as passé as shiplap.

Chip is missing 2 toes - that tells you everything you need to know.

[quote] Chip is missing 2 toes

And one brain.

[quote] Chip is missing 2 toes - that tells you everything you need to know.

Born like that or accident?

[quote] I absolutely hate Chip and Joanna, hope their new channel fails big time.

Is it their channel or is it Discovery+?

This is a great article on the overall Magnolia empire shadiness and this specific incident by a friend of the Hawley’s the Home Work victims. It’s pretty icky.