Where These 9 Ousted HGTV Stars Landed

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HGTV executives gave "The Purge" franchise a run for its money in the summer of 2025 when it eliminated no fewer than seven of the network's shows in one fell swoop. Indeed, from regular fixtures ("Married to Real Estate," "Farmhouse Fixer," "Bargain Block," "Battle on the Beach") to relative newcomers ("The Flipping El Moussas," "Christina on the Coast") and even a poor one-season wonder ("Izzy Does It"), nothing was safe from the bloodbath which suddenly left a whole host of decorators, renovators, and contractors wondering how they were going to spend the rest of the year.

So what exactly happened to those who weren't lucky enough to hitch their mast to another series? Who took a break from the fickle business they call show? And which returned to their former day job as an all-singing, all-dancing boyband pin-up? Here's a look at what nine of the culled are up to now.

Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas were left devastated when HGTV announced that the fifth season of "Bargain Block" they'd already started doing the prep work for was being canceled. "We suffered for months, from February to June, and I finally was like, 'I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna say something,'" the latter told People about the wait between their discovery of the news and the general public's. "I'm glad I did because what it did is it helped me get my anger out of me."

The partners in both the professional and romantic sense had first shown off their home renovation skills to the world in 2021 with the premiere of "Bargain Block." The Detroit-based show, which saw Thomas take care of design and Bynum construction, became an instant hit with audiences, but seemingly not enough of one to escape the network's bloodbath.

Luckily, the couple had something else to fall back on, namely their own Michigan-based firm NINE Design + Homes. But could they be returning to our screens in the near future? In November 2025, Thomas showed his other half shooting some footage on an Instagram Story, which Bynum reposted and captioned (via TV Insider), "Feels good to be back at it. Think y'all are gonna be happy with what's coming." However, there hasn't been any concrete news since. Here's a look at some other design stars who have brutally turned on HGTV.

Of course, Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas weren't the only on-screen talent affected by the abrupt cancellation of "Bargain Block." Shea Hicks-Whitfield, who'd appeared on the show for four seasons in her capacity as a realtor, also suddenly found that she had plenty more time on her hands.

"We don't really have much of an inside scoop of the why," Hicks-Whitfield admitted to the Detroit Free Press about HGTV's decision to take the series off the air. "It seems to me in my 48 years of life and a TV watcher all my days, that in the past ... quite a few really good shows get canceled." So what has she been up to since the shock news? Well, like her TV partners, Hicks-Whitfield still very much had a day job when she wasn't displaying her expertise in front of the cameras.

As a result, she is now fully concentrating on her realtor work in Motor City, and as she told "Live In the D," is hoping to continue celebrating all that the area has to offer. "What means the most to me is how we've been able to highlight Detroit in such a positive way," Hicks-Whitfield said. "We get a black eye nationally, but people are seeing the city differently." And the reality star has also been busy raising the young son, Beau, she shares with realtor husband Terry Whitfield, too.

Egypt Sherrod has spent much of her time away since she and husband Mike Jackson got the ultimate middle finger from HGTV. Indeed, rather ironically considering its sudden cancellation, "Married to Real Estate" was nominated for Outstanding Instructional/How-To Program at the Daytime Emmys. Then, a few months later, Sherrod got the chance to make an acceptance speech at the Design 9 Awards when her Road Design firm was recognized in the Best Living Room category. If that wasn't enough, she was also named Realtor of the Year by Modern Luxury Magazine.

Initially, Sherrod, who looks so different make-up free, and her other half decided that they needed some time away from the screen to recalibrate their careers. "For us, being able to do 'Married to Real Estate' was the full 360 of our family and our businesses," she told People. "So we don't wanna go back to like a templated show just to say we're on TV."

The reality star has also freely admitted to her Instagram followers that she's now reassessing her life choices in general. "Hey guys, I don't know what it is — if I'm about to go through a mid-life crisis or what — but I want a tattoo," she explained (via People) in 2026. "... I want one of a phoenix rising and I want it to go around my waist and up my back. I'm ready to do this."

Just like his oft-shady wife, Egypt Sherrod, Mike Jackson was left bamboozled by the news that "Married to Real Estate" was being taken off the air after four seasons. And in a shared interview with People, the contractor claimed that the constant rescheduling of the show played a major part.

"For folks to question, 'Are you coming back?' That's going to affect your ratings," Jackson said. "So that mixed with everything else that was going on, it was like, 'What is happening right now?'" As well as having to deal with the professional blow, the reality star also had to contend with constant speculation about his private life, too.

"From a fan standpoint, another monkey wrench in it all was false articles flying all over the place about us separating," he acknowledged, referring to his marriage to co-star Egypt Sherrod. "We were like, 'Where's this coming from? Because we're still deeply in love and having fun and traveling.' So you've got all the exec changes, you don't know what time slot and then you've got the fans reading articles that aren't true." Jackson and his other half have also had further opportunity to set the record straight with the return of their podcast, "Marriage and Money." Here's a look at some other scandalous rumors about HGTV stars we can't ignore. 

Unlike many of the shows that fell victim to HGTV network's ruthlessness in the summer of 2025, "Izzy Does It" was very much a one-season wonder. Luckily, its host, Izzy Battres, seemed to take the setback with grace.

"It's not the news we wanted to give ..." he responded (via TV Insider) to an Instagram comment about the cancellation. "Still, we're so grateful for every single person who tuned in, supported us, and made the first season unforgettable." So what has Battres, who'd also previously graced the screen as a judge for three episodes of "The Flip Off" and as a guest on the likes of "Flipping 101," "The Flipping El Moussas," and "Flip or Flop," done since?

Well, as his social media followers will already be aware, he's still busy running his own eponymous construction firm. "Finished projects never get old," he captioned an Instagram snap of his latest project in March 2026. "A lot of work goes into the details, but seeing it all come together makes it worth it every time!!" And a month earlier, he teamed up with Walmart for an advert which celebrated his family business.

As ⅕ of the boyband phenomenon New Kids on the Block, Jonathan Knight undeniably brought a touch of showbiz to HGTV. But even that wasn't enough to save "Farmhouse Fixer," the renovation show he co-hosted with Kristina Crestin for three seasons, from escaping the axe.

"Television has been so incredibly fun for us," Knight wrote in an Instagram post following the news of its cancellation. "We are so proud of what we created together and look forward to sharing what's next for us." Of course, with his day job group still a regular on the nostalgia touring circuit, the multi-talent still had plenty to fill his diary with. Indeed, NKOTB took to Dolby Live at Park MGM for several Vegas residencies over the following year. And several of his former network's colleagues showed up to express their support, too, including Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler.

But Knight still has one foot in the world of homes and gardens. The ex-pop idol regularly hits social media to offer his advice and as he told Country Living, has many ideas for his future TV return: "I've always urged the people at HGTV to bring the garden aspect back to HGTV ... People nowadays don't garden like they used to, but I have a few ideas I'm pitching that will be more farm-based, so we'll see where that goes." Here's a look at what every member of NKOTB is doing now. 

It's fair to say that the summer of 2025 will be one that Kristina Crestin will want to forget. As well as learning the show she co-hosted with Jonathan Knight, "Farmhouse Fixer," was being put out to pasture after three seasons, the interior designer also lost both her beloved pet and a close friend.

"This morning I took my first solo walk without her, and it just shattered me," Crestin told her Instagram followers shortly after her dog Cooper had died in July.⁠ "But even through the grief, I know how lucky I was, how lucky Kirby [her husband] and I were. She had such a full, love-filled life — and she gave me so much joy every step of the way.⁠ Love you forever, Coop."

A month later, Crestin was left grieving once more when pal Keith Musinski died from cancer at the age of just 56. "... My consummate road trip buddy, my enabler of art purchasing (though SO not as bad as his 'problem'), and one of the most talented designers I've had the privilege to know ... and well my everything besides [my husband] Kirby," the HGTV star wrote in an Instagram tribute. "... May you and Cooper take good care of each other until we can all meet again." Crestin has also regularly taken to the same social media platform to show that while she's no longer on our screens, she's still involved in the world of interior design. 

Tanyia Nayak spent three seasons hosting "Battle on the Beach" with Alison Victoria and Ty Pennington. But while her colleagues are still being utilized as hosts elsewhere in the wake of its cancellation, the former on "Sin City Rehab" and the latter on "Rock the Block," the interior designer hasn't yet found a new vehicle.   

Nayak will, however, reunite with Pennington on the seventh season of "Rock the Block," but only as a contestant alongside 98 Degrees pin-up Drew Lachey. It's fair to say that she has a competitive spirit, too. "I just want to kick all of your asses," she declares (via People) during a trailer for the show in which four professionals are paired up with enthusiastic amateurs to work their magic on a Las Vegas property.

Nayak has also been spending quite a lot of downtime with her HGTV colleagues, past and present. As well as showing up to support Jonathan Knight during New Kids on the Block's Sin City residency, she also joined Victoria, Scott McGillivray, and Sarah and Bryan Baeumler for a getaway in the Bahamas. "Entering into another run around the sun during this trip was a good reminder that these moments are a gift," she captioned several Instagram snaps of the trip. "They don't happen often enough. This little group here knows that it's important to stop for a breath, be silly, be adventurous, and laugh our a***s off."