Tragic Details About Mike Holmes Jr. From HGTV

Mike Holmes Jr. is home renovation royalty, the only son in a family that's renowned for its home improvement TV shows and business empire. Holmes Jr. works with his father, Mike Holmes, and his sister, Sherry Holmes. They've starred in a few different HGTV shows, including the original series "Holmes on Homes," which started airing on HGTV Canada in 2001. There were also follow-ups like "Holmes Inspection," "Holmes Makes It Right," and "Holmes and Holmes."

One of the family's newest shows, "Holmes Family Rescue," premiered on HGTV in Canada and the U.S. in late 2021. This was eventually followed by "Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy," which started airing in October 2025. Fans of the franchise appreciate Holmes Jr.'s positive personality and sweet interactions with his family, but they might be surprised to learn that there are some tragic aspects of Holmes Jr.'s personal story.

Mike Holmes Jr. has had many reasons to celebrate in recent years. He and his wife, Lisa Marie Holmes (née Grant), welcomed a daughter named Azura Vie Holmes in 2023 and a son named Aurélien Holmes in 2025. While the Holmes family may be happy and expanding these days, that hasn't always been the case. In fact, just a few years after Holmes Jr. was born in 1989, his family suffered an onslaught of difficulties and tragedies.

His father, Mike Holmes, opened up about this period in an interview with Maclean's. He recounted how a major economic slump in the early 1990s devastated his business, with the elder Holmes having to lay off all his employees and sell not only his company's building but his own car. The financial woes affected his marriage, with Holmes and his wife, Alexandra Lorex, separating when their son was just a toddler.

Just one month after his parents' separation, Holmes Jr. lost his grandfather on his dad's side. Speaking to Maclean's, Holmes explained that his father died at the age of 55 from an unexpected accidental death: "My dad went down to the basement one night, missed the top step, fell down the stairs and broke his neck." The family further fractured when Holmes and Lorex officially divorced in 1993.

Only a few years later, Holmes Jr. lost his grandmother, Shirley Holmes, at the age of 56. While the elder Holmes didn't share many details about her death, he did tell Maclean's that the medication she took for a heart condition was what led to her death. The Holmes family's history of health issues has unfortunately persisted — one of Holmes Jr.'s sisters, Sherry Holmes, had a brain tumor; the other, Amanda Holmes, has Crohn's disease.

In late 2025, Mike Holmes Jr., his father, and everyone else who worked on "Holmes Family Rescue" said goodbye to a friend and castmate after electrician Frank Cozzolino died. The Holmes family shared the sad news on social media, where they paid tribute to their late friend. Mike Holmes wrote on Instagram, "Frank made us better. His impact will live on in every home he helped ... Frank will forever be part of the Holmes family. Miss you buddy." 

Holmes Jr. also posted a touching memorial to Cozzolino after his death, sharing a photo of himself posing with his sister, Sherry Holmes, and the electrician on a job site. Holmes Jr. wrote on Instagram, "Rest in peace Frank ... It's hard to believe you're gone. You were one of a kind." Fans of the show and people who knew Cozzolino shared their condolences.

Also in 2025, Holmes Jr.'s family dog, Caicos, died just days before his son was born. The HGTV star shared the news on social media with a post including plenty of photos from Caicos' life with him and his wife, Lisa Marie Holmes. Holmes Jr. also mentioned how their young daughter was taking the loss, writing on Instagram, "Azura has asked for him every day since he left us." He signed off with a message about how they love and miss the sweet pup.

Audiences know that things always seem to wrap up nicely by the end of any episode on HGTV. It's not that simple in real life, though. Mike Holmes Jr. and his family know that business can get complicated, as evidenced by an $8 million lawsuit against them for a housing project advertised as "Mike Holmes Approved." CBC News reported that the lawsuit was filed in December 2021 by a consumer protection organization called Tarion.

The suit alleged that houses in the TerraceWood development, which Holmes helped promote, were filled with defects, involving "a perfect storm of errors and neglect by multiple parties." In 2024, multiple homes in the development were demolished as a result of the defects. After receiving backlash, Mike Holmes attempted to do damage control with a since-deleted statement on his Facebook page (via CBC News). The Holmes family and their Make It Right brand criticized the media for allegedly selective reporting that took things out of context.

Holmes admitted that his company advertised inspection services and material upgrades for the homes, but said they never had actual access to the homes because they were not hired to inspect those specific properties. The ongoing lawsuit is one scandal that continues to mar Holmes' reputation.

Along with the lawsuit, Holmes and his family have been the victims of scammers, with many people impersonating them in order to scam money out of prospective clients. According to CBC News, one woman was almost scammed out of $21,000, and she wanted to warn others of the dangers. The Holmes family has tried to warn people about this through social media and YouTube messages, attempting to thwart any more potential tragedies.