8 Dramatic Offscreen Moments From HGTV Stars In 2023
With its array of design, fixup, food, and property shows, HGTV is a firm fan favorite. The channel's hosts keep viewers consistently tuning in for more. But the entertainment doesn't cease when the cameras stop rolling. The HGTV stars bring the drama offscreen, too, and 2023 has been no exception.
Per Architectural Digest, when HGVT first launched, many TV execs bet it wouldn't last. Naysayers believed it would go the same way as other expansion channels that launched around the same time, such as The Horse Riding Channel. "This is too small of an idea; nobody's really going to watch this; we just can't see it,'" channel creator Kenneth Lowe recalls execs telling him. Still, he scored $25 million in 1993 and launched Home & Garden Television the following year. And the rest is history.
Over two and a half decades later, HGTV is still going strong. There's no doubt about its content appeal, with viewers eager to garner top design hacks, tips, and inspiration or get a peek inside the world of flipping and real estate. Still, there's also no doubt that the steady flow of HGTV scandals is also a huge fan draw. The network's major stars, such as Tarek El Moussa, Christina Hall, Ty Pennington, and identical twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, provide plenty of offscreen intrigue and theatrics. With that in mind, put down the hammer and kick back the Lay-Z-Boy; we're looking at eight juicy offscreen moments from HGTV stars in 2023.
Christina Hall and Ant Anstead's custody battle aftermath
Christina Hall has had more drama than name changes. From 2016 to 2018, the tabloids were filled with juicy tidbits about Tarek El Moussa and Hall's cheating scandals and contentious divorce. And her short-lived second marriage to Ant Ansted ensured that Hall stayed in the headlines.
Hall and Ansted's custody battle over their son Hudson was brutal, raging on through 2022. Hall opened up about the stress she suffered in a Mother's Day Instagram post. She shared that "Going through an extremely unnecessary custody battle" had reduced her to a blubbering wreck. Thankfully, after moving into a new place with her third hubby, Hall is returning to form and fighting fit again.
Drew Scott death hoax
"Property Brothers" star Drew Scott was the subject of a celebrity death hoax in 2023. It all started after a Facebook page, "R.I.P. Drew Scott," surfaced. "At about 11 a.m. ET on Saturday (December 16, 2023), our beloved actor Drew Scott passed away. Drew Scott was born on April 28, 1978 in Vancouver. He will be missed but not forgotten," it read.
But not so fast! "[Drew] joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He's still alive and well; stop believing what you see on the Internet," his rep announced in a statement (via Media Mass).
Tarek El Moussa eviction scandal
Tarek El Moussa hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2023. However, it had nothing to do with El Moussa's health issues or divorce woes this time.
The reality realtor was accused of kicking existing tenants out of a North Hollywood apartment block to make way for his bougie $50 million NoHo 138 development. El Moussa was forced to deny the allegations. "Even though I am being dragged for false accusations and misconceptions, my intentions are to do good, and I hope that we can focus on the positive and the facts," he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post in August.
The dramatic end of Good Bones
"Good Bones" fans were forced to bid a final farewell to mom-and-daughter reno duo Karen E Laine and Mina Starsiak-Hawk when the show ended in August 2023 after eight seasons. The drama had been building for months leading up to its unexpected and abrupt end. Starsiak-Hawk alluded to the off-screen tensions when she announced she was quitting the reality show.
"All the things that I was putting on myself, it was making it really, really hard to function as, like, a normal human being because I always felt the weight of so many other people's worlds that I put on my shoulders," Starsiak-Hawk said on her "Mina AF" podcast, admitting she'd felt like she was "fighting for [her] life."
Good Bones bad blood
The "Good Bones" drama continued in December 2023 when things took a decidedly nasty turn between Mina Starsiak-Hawk and Cory Miller following the show's cancellation. The former co-hosts suffered an epic falling out in December, resulting in Starsiak-Hawk unfollowing Miller on Instagram.
"Cory and I are not on speaking terms," Starsiak-Hawk revealed on her "Mina AF" podcast. The HGTV star said that things happened near the show's end that made her decide to cut Miller out of her life. "I just don't want that energy in my life," she explained.
Josh Hall's anniversary shade
Christina Hall's love life has played a starring role throughout her reality TV career. Her messy divorces from Tarek El Moussa and Ant Anstead kept the tabloids busy for years. So, fans sighed in relief when she finally found lasting happiness with hubby number three, Josh Hall.
However, there were ripples of concern when Josh threw some serious shade at Christina in March 2023. "How long will this one last?" he captioned an Instagram photo carousel of the two together in celebration of their first wedding anniversary. Ouch.
Out of touch Tarek
Tarek El Moussa was back in the frying pan again in November 2023. The famous flipper was accused of being "tone deaf" after he posted an Instagram video bemoaning the fact that he'd only made a $26,530 profit on a house.
El Moussa claimed it had been a "scary" situation to net such a meager amount and branded the profits as a loss, sending commenters into meltdown. "$26,000 could be life-changing for so many people, and being so flippant about your measly $26k.... I don't know, man..." one wrote. Another pointed out that many people are lucky to make that amount in a year.
Ty Pennington's ER drama
Ty Pennington was forced to take a scary trip to the ICU in July 2023. The HGTV star was fresh off the "Barbie" red carpet when he was rushed to the hospital after suffering severe respiratory problems.
"I woke up at 4am and could barely breathe," Pennington wrote alongside a photo of him in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV pump. "Turns out, that sore throat I've had for the last month was actually an abscess that had grown so large it was closing off my airway."