A Utah couple’s home-improvement show has been yanked off TV and streaming, after allegations that they provided shoddy and non-existent work to several homeowners.
Andy and Candis Meredith maintain that they did their best on the projects.
On Jan. 4, the newly renamed Magnolia Network (previously the DIY Network) launched on cable and satellite systems. Two days later, the network — a co-venture of Discovery and “Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines — issued a statement that it had removed “Home Work” from its schedule “pending a review of the claims that have been made.”
As of Monday, at least three Utah homeowners have gone public with claims that they signed contracts with the Merediths to have their homes renovated, but had experienced monthslong delays, ballooning costs, substandard work and a lack of communication.
“Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith,” the channel’s president, Allison Paige, said in a statement. “Within the last few days, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove ‘Home Work’ from the Magnolia Network lineup.”
One homeowner took to Instagram to say that she signed on to have her home renovated for “Home Work,” but that the budget grew from $25,000 to $40,000, workers damaged her home, and that communication with the Merediths was “disastrous.” Aubry Bennion said that she is frustrated that “after two years,” the Merediths are “being celebrated and promoted while the people they hurt along the way have gotten nowhere.”
One couple said they were told the Merediths’ renovation of their home would take 3 to 4 weeks and cost $45,000, and that 8 to 10 weeks into the project they were told they’d need to pay an additional $35,000-$45,000. Another couple said they paid the Merediths $50,000 in February 2020 and no work has been done — and that they’ve received just $14,000 of their money back. Candis Meredith confirmed that in an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show.”
One of the Merediths’ clients also took to Instagram to praise them for their “beautiful work.”
The Merediths’ home renovations caught the attention of Joanna Gaines on Instagram. They’re a blended family — Candis and Andy each brought three children into their marriage, then had a seventh. A four-episode series featuring the Merediths, titled “Old Home Love,” aired on DIY in 2015. They’re both Utah natives — she’s from American Fork; he’s from Bluffdale.
They renovated a 20,000-square-foot schoolhouse built in 1907 into their new home. That project, along with several others, were featured in the 13 episodes of “Home Work.”
The Magnolia Network was originally set to launch in late 2020, first on TV and then online. Because of production and construction delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Magnolia programming first began streaming as part of Discovery+ and the news channel didn’t replace DIY until last week.
Episodes of “Home Work,” which have been streaming since July, have been pulled from Discovery+ as well. All references to the Merediths and their show appear to have been removed from Magnolia’s website.
Chip and Joanna Gaines have declined to comment on the controversy.
In her appearance on “Today,” Candis Meredith said the couple was “truly overwhelmed” and “did our best” on home-renovation projects for “Home Work.” She blamed contractors for faulty work, delays and expanded budgets.
In addition, the Merediths posted on Instagram that they “have always tried to give everything we have to make anyone we work with happy. … We can only say that there are two sides to every story and while we chose not to go public with our truth, because we know how hurtful this feels, we understand that only hearing one side can paint a negative picture.”
They went on to “ask that these threats and piling on without the full story stop. … So many believe that we are frauds, have hurt people intentionally, and that we are not who we say we are. That is simply not true.”
