Andy and Candis Meredith Instagram; Shutterstock
Inside Home Work’s Candis and Andy Meredith’s Magnolia Network Scandal With Chip and Joanna Gaines
Home Work stars Candis and Andy Meredith were swiftly pulled from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network, just one week after their show premiered, after several of the homeowners who appeared on the series came forward with allegations about the TV couple. Keep reading to learn more about the scandal.
Who Is the Meredith Family?
Candis and Andy have a blended family of nine — they each had three sons from previous relationships before they wed and share one daughter.
If their large brood looks familiar, it’s because the Meredith family has been in the home renovation business for years. In 2015, they starred in a limited series called Old Home Love, which aired on HGTV and DIY Network.
Their stint on national TV led Candis and Andy to launch their former Facebook Watch show, Old Sweet Home, and they continued expanding their personal brand. In 2017, their book, Old Home Love, showed off more of their projects.
They gained even more traction one year later when they launched a YouTube series called “Traveling Home,” where they helped Garrett and Jessica Gee, known as the Bucket List Family, renovate an 80-year-old Hawaiian bungalow.
Candis and Andy are now co-owners of their own digital media company, Home Love Network.
What Is the Meredith Family’s Net Worth?
It’s unclear exactly how much the husband and wife have in their bank account, but multiple outlets report their net worth sits somewhere around $1.5 million.
Why Did Chip and Joanna Pull Home Work From Magnolia?
On January 7, Magnolia Network released a statement that it scrapped Home Work from Discovery Plus.
“Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith,” Magnolia Network president Allison Page told People 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 line up pending a review of the claims that have been made.”
Candis and Andy previously told People that Joanna personally reached out to them in an Instagram DM in 2018. The family caught the Fixer Upper host’s attention because they began renovating a 20,000-square-foot schoolhouse to turn into their family home in Utah, which eventually became the framework of Home Work.
What Did Clients Say About the Merediths?
Several clients who appeared on Home Work came forward in early January and claimed they were scammed by the Merediths.
Stories that were shared included complaints of incomplete or shoddy work, poor communication from Candis and Andy, ballooning budgets and greatly extended timeline.
The first report came from Aubry Bennion, who aired her grievances against the reality TV family via Instagram. She said she was promised by the Merediths that the remodel of her Utah kitchen would take three weeks and cost $25,000. After several months — and a budget increase to $40,000 — her kitchen was still ripped apart.
Aubry provided screenshots of text conversations with Candis, emails with the flooring company, Lemco Design, claiming they were not paid and more in her 18-slide Instagram post.
Candis confirmed they had not paid the flooring company during an interview with Today. “We were advised not to pay another penny towards her renovation after we were threatened with lawsuits,” she said.
Since then, three other homeowners have come forward with their own stories.
Have the Merediths Responded?
Andy and Candis released a statement on their joint Instagram page about the situation on January 8.
“We’ve seen stories that has [sic] been circulating, and although we cannot speak for anyone but ourselves, we can say that we have always tried to give everything we have to make anyone we work with happy,” their lengthy post began. “We will never take away their truth and how they are feeling. 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.”
The couple continued, “We ask that these threats and piling on without the full story stop. They are the same handful of stories spinning and spinning, looking like there are ‘so many’ hurt people in our wake. 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.”
On January 12, the duo spoke out again in separate videos they posted on their joint Instagram account, vehemently denying claims they scammed homeowners out of money and did poor work while filming their now-defunct series.
In his video, Andy said he and Candis felt they had no other choice than to pull their eldest daughter out of school because of the “Instagram Mafia” and the backlash they are receiving over the scandal.
“No matter what your opinion, I’m asking the bullying [of] my kids to stop,” Candis said while fighting back tears in her solo clip. “Whatever your side is, please tell your kids who go to my kids’ schools to stop. We’re not OK, and whatever you think of me is fine, but please leave my children out of this. Thank you.”
In a caption, the pair further responded to the allegations made against them, adding, “We fully admit that we took on too much at one time, and that this was a hard road for these four clients’ renovation projects. We also acknowledge that after working in an extremely difficult industry for over 10 years, working with hundreds of people, there are inevitably going to be some who are dissatisfied.”
“We realize that we have put ourselves out there for the world to make judgments, and we have to accept that. What we will not accept is losing our livelihood and being put on public trial,” they continued. “We understand the frustrations, we really do. But these should have been resolved privately, through any means of communication, within the last two years and not in this malicious and salacious attempt to take away our means of living.”
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