HGTV Star Relationships That Are Beyond Strange

Since it launched in 1994, HGTV has been the go-to channel for home and interior design lovers. Some shows, such as "House Hunters," have stood the test of time and have been on the air for more than two decades. Even though HGTV's viewership has declined over the years, it's still one of the United States' most-watched television channels.

Naturally, the network has given rise to many stars in the real estate scene, including the "Property Brothers," Drew and Jonathan Scott, who are among the most popular of them all. HGTV has also catapulted the careers of hosts like the towering David Bromstad. Of course, an HGTV profile is incomplete without its couple hosts, many of whom have the best chemistry (we're looking at you, Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent).

And as the talented stars continue to grace the small screen, their love lives also take center stage. Some couples, such as Chip and Joanna Gaines, have given us far too many awkward moments, while those who fly solo on-screen also have their fair share of relationship quirks away from the show. From sleep divorce to cheating allegations to awkward first dates, these are HGTV star relationships that are too strange to ignore.

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson hosted HGTV's "Married to Real Estate" for four seasons, from 2022 to 2025. The Atlanta residents helped clients acquire houses in their dream neighborhoods, all while showcasing bits about their own family life. Sherrod and Jackson first met while working in the entertainment space (she was a radio host and he was a DJ). The duo would go on to tie the knot in 2010 and parent three children, including Jackson's daughter from a previous relationship.

Sherrod and Jackson's union hasn't been without its ups and downs. Their fertility journey was challenging, as Sherrod experienced miscarriages. They also had to deal with alleged divorce rumors while navigating changes to their work schedule. "We were like, 'Where's this coming from? Because we're still deeply in love and having fun and traveling.'" Jackson remarked in an interview with People. Nonetheless, the only divorce that matters in the couple's life is a sleep divorce, where they strangely do not share a bed.

It's Sherrod and Jackson's way of ensuring they maintain their individuality within the relationship. "We have rediscovered the power of having our own personal space," Sherrod told Us Weekly, adding that Jackson has the freedom to sleep at his preferred time, "snore as loud as he wants," and relax with TV. "And I can have my candles and my Solfeggio frequencies [to promote body and mind health] playing all night."

There is no doubt that "Property Brothers" star Jonathan Scott and actor Zooey Deschanel are one of HGTV's cutest couples. Scott and Deschanel first crossed paths while shooting an episode of "Carpool Karaoke," and although their communication seemed great due to their heavy flirting, that wasn't the case afterward. They texted each other a lot before scheduling a first date, but at one point, the "Dreamin' Wild" actor thought that she had been ghosted.

When they finally got around to planning to meet, Scott weirdly gave the impression that it would be a group affair. "I was like, 'Should I bring people? Or should I call my sister?'" Deschanel shared on "At Home with Linda & Scott." Nevertheless, things worked out, and the loved-up pair is not afraid to share bits about their relationship with their fans online. In January 2024, Scott posted an adorable montage of them on Instagram, accompanied by a heartfelt birthday message to Deschanel. The following year, the television host shared more gorgeous photos of himself and Deschanel, featuring loving poses as he announced their engagement.

That's not to say that it's always roses and sunshine in the Scott-Deschanel household. Deschanel shares two children with her ex-husband, Jacob Pechenik, and according to Scott, they have yet to recognize him as their dad. "They have their dad and they have a great relationship with him, so he's daddy," Scott told People, adding that an attempt to call him "papa" bore no fruit.

Chip and Joanna Gaines hosted the "Fixer Upper" series on HGTV for five seasons before calling it quits in 2018. The pair made for a successful real estate power couple and even had several award nominations to show for their efforts. By their own account, the Gaines duo is not a "match made in heaven." "But when we mixed our personalities together, it created a spark," Joanna told People in 2016. Of course, the Gaines family has a range of unusual facts about their relationship.

The story of how they met could almost pass for a stalker tale; Chip visited his future father-in-law's automobile shop and spotted Joanna in a family picture behind the counter. The duo eventually met in person when Chip went in to fix his faulty brakes, and they began dating. Even the couple's proposal was far from normal, since Chip went down on one knee at a shopping center and had no ring in sight. Joanna would later have her engagement ring made within the mall. Nevertheless, the pair has been married since May 2003.

In December 2025, the Gaines family returned to television with an all new "Fixer Upper" series dubbed "Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House." Some fans put Joanna's style choices on blast, and, unfortunately, it's not just their creativity that has taken a hit. "I am watching 'Fixer Upper: The Castle,' and their relationship is almost unrecognizable," a fan once wrote on Reddit, adding that the duo looked like "a couple that's trying not to argue in front of the kids and really can't stand each other."

Erin and Ben Napier first met at Jones County Junior College in Mississippi, where they were both students. Ben was intrigued by Erin's pixie haircut at the time, as he told People, and the pair went on to date. The couple finally said "I do" in 2008, and, at the time of writing, share two daughters. Ben and Erin have been the hosts of HGTV's "Home Town" for more than a decade. Throughout the years, the duo has helped several families settle down in Mississippi. Their clientele sometimes consists of people trading big cities for a slower-paced small-town lifestyle.

Erin and Ben spend a lot of time together at work. As such, the couple faces one major challenge: finding ways to surprise each other. "We have pretty much perfect communication with each other. We know everything; we have no secrets," Erin shared in a joint chat with Fox News. For people who are constantly in each other's presence, one would assume the duo is as secure as can be.

Yet, a hint of jealousy showed itself when someone "who looks too much like a supermodel to be messaging Ben" once asked to work with the couple through Instagram DMs (via Us Weekly). Erin was apparently not too impressed. Still, small waves of jealousy don't stop the couple from prioritizing their relationship. Ben and Erin regularly have date nights and are known to honor their milestones. In November 2020, Ben took to Instagram to celebrate their 12th anniversary, writing in part, "Being @erinapier's husband is the only thing I'm really great at. I have to work at everything else."

The love story between "Flip or Flop" sensation Tarek El Moussa and "Selling Sunset" alum Heather Rae Young began in 2019. At the time, Tarek had already finalized his divorce from his former wife, Christina Haack. Tarek and Young would go on to build their own life together, tying the knot in the presence of family and friends in 2021 and hosting their own reality show, "The Flipping El Moussas." For the better part of their relationship, the couple has publicly shown love to each other.

On the duo's third wedding anniversary, Tarek took to his Instagram Stories to share a heartfelt message with his wife. The father of three, who shares one child with Young, thanked her for helping the family weather tough storms. Similarly, on their second wedding anniversary, Young took to Instagram to mark the sweet moment, writing in part, "You are an incredible dad to our baby Tristan and Tay & Bray and nothing makes me happier than the family and life that we have built together." Unfortunately, the pair's family fights are just as intense.

In a January 2025 episode of "The Flipping El Moussas," the couple offered to help Tarek's sister, Angelique El Moussa, and her boyfriend, Brandon Hargreaves, learn the ropes of home flipping. Tarek and Young got into an intense argument about bathroom tiles that resulted in a screaming match. "You're the one who's making it confusing!" Tarek shouted, to which Young retaliated (via Realtor), "No I'm not!" Tarek eventually walked away from the set. 

Brandon and Jen Hatmaker welcomed viewers into their home on the 2014 show "My Big Family Renovation." The couple had just sold a house and moved into a fixer-upper, where they showcased the challenges of construction while raising five children. Unfortunately, the duo's relationship did not work out, and Jen announced their divorce in 2020. Jen would later make cheating allegations against Brandon, which she highlighted in her 2025 memoir, "Awake." "It [the infidelity] was so outside the realm of what I would have ever considered a possibility for our life, our marriage, our story," Jen told the New York Post.

By this time, Brandon had already moved on and married Tina Hatmaker. Tina maintains a low profile, but she is occasionally featured on Brandon's Instagram posts. In October 2023, the "Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture" author shared a picture of himself and Tina watching the races. Similarly, on Valentine's weekend 2026, Brandon posted a series of pictures of themselves all loved up. In one shot, Tina made a pout as she gazed at Brandon. "Valentine's weekend is Friday, Saturday, Sunday ... and every day after that with this Texas Angel," Brandon wrote (via Instagram).

Brandon and Jen had founded the Austin New Church together in 2008. Following their split, Jen quit the church altogether, while Brandon remained haunted by his alleged infidelity. In September 2025, Brandon took to Substack to address the allegations, clarifying that Tina wasn't his affair partner. "In no way was Tina involved or a part of my divorce in 2020. Jen verifies this in her book," Brandon wrote. "To be clear, Tina and I had never met until after the divorce was filed."

Following her split from Brandon Hatmaker, Jen Hatmaker began dating "A Door Made for Me" author Tyler Merritt. Prior to meeting, Merritt had several friends who were fans of Jen, as he shared during an appearance on Jen's "For the Love" podcast. The duo had also worked for the same company at one point, but they truly connected after being introduced to each other by their publicist. "Tyler was a brand new client for Heather ... she connected us via text," Jen recalled.

The pair eventually began dating and, over time, have had to navigate several differences. For instance, Jen already had children by the time they got together, while Merritt had been single with no children for a long time. In February 2025, Jen took to Instagram to share details about their relationship at the three-year mark. Their second meeting, she wrote, was "a John Hughes scene" that included a passionate five-minute kiss that marked the beginning of a wonderful love story.

The couple has even worked together — in 2023, they embarked on the "Dream Again" tour — but some fans are still not convinced that their relationship is genuine. "Jen Hatmaker and Tyler Merritt are not in a real relationship," one such critic wrote on Reddit. "I would think Jen is being malicious by constantly lying about this PR stunt but she chose the worst guy to go along with the plan. He doesn't give a s**t about giving Jen love."

Page Turner is a real estate broker with a long list of HGTV shows to her name, including "Flip or Flop Nashville" and "Fix My Flip." In 2025, Turner expanded her television resume, replacing Hilary Farr as co-host of "Love It or List It." Meanwhile, the television star's love life has also been quite the talking point. Turner introduced the world to her new boyfriend, Mike Hill, in May 2025. Sharing a montage of some of their best moments on Instagram, she wrote in part, "My overflow with you is that you're my MATCH ... On every single prayed-for level, and more."

While some fans were happy for the duo, others brought up Hill's cheating past, which they saw as a red flag. "I'm surprised that she chose to date him, knowing that he doesn't have a great reputation," one fan wrote on Reddit. Hill had addressed his unfaithfulness on a 2020 episode of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." At the time, he was in a relationship with reality TV star Cynthia Bailey, whom he wed in October 2020. Another fan opined that Turner may have been ignoring the warning signs just as Bailey did. 

During Hill's conversation with Bailey on "RHOA," the latter said of Hill's past, "[It] has nothing to do with me" (via Bravo). Bailey went on to explain that she had her eyes fixed on building a future together. Unfortunately, she and Hill split up and finalized their divorce in 2022. Bailey blamed their separation on a lack of friendship; however, court documents obtained by Page Six alleged that the real cause of their divorce was infidelity.

Christina Haack has been married three times. She and Tarek El Moussa were married from 2009 to 2018, and share two children, Taylor Reese El Moussa and Brayden James El Moussa. Following her split from Tarek, Haack tied the knot with English presenter Ant Anstead, with whom she had a third child. The couple had barely been married for two years when they announced their separation. Haack and Anstead finalized their divorce in July 2021.

That same month, People confirmed that Haack was already dating someone new. "They recently started dating each other and it was an immediate, real connection," an insider told the outlet. The man in question turned out to be realtor Joshua Hall, with whom Haack got engaged in September 2021. Haack and Hall married in October 2021 and were married for three years. The exes finalized their divorce in May 2025, months after Haack had begun dating her current boyfriend (at the time of writing), Christopher Larocca.

Haack tends to move on pretty fast — a habit that could be seen as a red flag. In fact, Haack's ex-husband, Tarek, joked about her separation from Hall long before it happened. The HGTV star recalled that when she expressed that she didn't want to film "The Flip Off" with Hall, Tarek replied (via People), "You guys are just going to split up in episode two and then the show will go on and everything will be fine." Haack's fans also thought that she had moved on too quickly from Anstead, and when they called her out, she partly replied in a now-deleted Instagram post (via E!), "Too fast, too soon, too blah blah blah."

Jenny and Dave Marrs first crossed paths while working for the same employer in 2002. Three years later, the lovebirds walked down the aisle. Over the years, the couple has welcomed four children, including twins Nathan and Ben Marrs. In August 2013, the Marrs family adopted their daughter, Sylvie Marrs, who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jenny and Dave Marrs not only raise their children together but are also partners at work.

"Dave started this building business when we moved here [Bentonville, Arkansas], and I started helping him along the way," Jenny recalled in a chat with About You. "After eight years, I left my job and joined him full-time in 2012." Jenny and Dave eventually began hosting the HGTV show "Fixer to Fabulous" in 2019. Through the years, the duo has helped transform farmhouses into gorgeous modern homes, given a first-time homeowner an English cottage-style renovation and even revamped an old cabin to give it a fresh new look.

Even though the Marrs family has a Daytime Emmy nomination to show for their work, some fans believe that their on-screen chemistry isn't that great. "I'm watching reruns of 'Fixer to Fabulous.' The hosts, the Marrs, seem like they don't like each other very much," one such fan wrote on Reddit. "The tone of voice and the way they look at each [other] is not the nicest." Another fan came to the Marrs' rescue, voicing the opinion that they may have been going through a tough moment after being sued. Nonetheless, Jenny and Dave's marriage hasn't been exempt from divorce rumors.