Home Work host Candis Meredith broke down in tears as she furiously fired back at accusations that she and her husband, Andy, scammed homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars and destroyed their properties while filming for their now-canceled renovation series.
Candis and her husband have continuously denied the allegations, and now, she has claimed that they are actually victims of ‘bullying’ as part of a ‘calculated attack’ by the homeowners in a new series of videos posted to Instagram on Wednesday.
The show premiered on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network on January 5 and followed the Utah-based couple as they attempted to renovate peoples’ homes.
However, just one day before it went on the air, numerous homeowners who had taken part in it came forward and made a slew of allegations against the Merediths, resulting in it getting canceled two days later.
Home Work host Candis Meredith sobbed as she responded to accusations that she and her husband, Andy, scammed homeowners and destroyed their properties through the new show
She and her husband (right) have continuously denied the allegations, and now, she has claimed that she was ‘bullied and attacked’ by the homeowners in a new set of videos
Candis said she believes this was a ‘calculated attack’ against her and her family and that the homeowners were ‘purposely trying to take anything they could’ from the pair
They claimed that the couple ripped them off, forced them to live in unsafe environments, failed to communicate with them, and eventually, left many of the renovations unfinished.
Now, Candis has spoken out about the allegations in detail, and she said she believes this was a ‘calculated attack’ against her and her family.
‘We do not believe in bullying online, we feel like this attack was particularly calculated for the day before the network launch and we are hopeful that this can allow the narrative to continue on a more equal playing field without malicious intent,’ she said in her Instagram video.
She claimed that the homeowner’s statements about her and her husband were ‘false’ and that they were ‘purposely trying to take anything they could’ from the pair.
In a second video, Candis said she and her husband ‘were not OK’ and that her kids were getting bullied at school due to the backlash they have been facing over the show – and she begged people to leave her family out of it.
‘Whatever your opinion, I’m asking the bullying to my kids to stop. Whatever your side is, please tell your kids who go to my kids’ schools to stop,’ she said, as tears streamed down her face.
‘We’re not OK and whatever you think of me is fine but please leave my children out of this, thank you.’
She also responded to claims that they were ‘liars, thieves, and con artists,’ calling them ‘so extremely hurtful and based on one narrative amplified by others who were not part of any of these situations.’
‘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,’ she wrote in the caption of one of her videos.
Candi said she and her husband ‘were not OK’ and that her kids were getting bullied at school due to the backlash they have been facing over the show – and she begged people to stop
‘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 judgements and we have to accept that. What we will not accept is losing our livelihood and being put on public trial.’
‘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.
‘We support many families with this show, we have balances with contractors we are actively working on, there is so much more to this than just us.
‘By taking away all means of income, it is only making it more difficult for us to pay for anything outstanding and people are losing their jobs because of this.’
She concluded: ‘We will protect our family and those whom we support with Home Work.
‘We stand behind our work and our principles and are not here to take anything away from anyone the way it has been done to us.
The Merediths have seven kids – they each had three boys from previous relationships before they married in 2013 and welcomed a little girl together
As for their own living space, the Merediths purchased an abandoned 113-year-old schoolhouse in Utah and turned the 20,000-square-foot building into their dream home (pictured)
They transformed the former learning place (pictured when it was still a school) into a luxury mansion and filmed the whole thing for the show
Their new home is now complete with the most up-to-date appliances, a 13-foot island in the kitchen (pictured), a 7-foot chandelier in the dining area, a brass bathtub in the bathroom, and so much more
‘However, we are asking that any and all who have contributed to this toxic cancel mindset take a moment to review both sides before passing judgment on us.’
The Merediths have seven kids – they each had three boys from previous relationships before they married in 2013 and welcomed a little girl together.
They renovated homes for years and posted about it on their joint Instagram account, but told People Magazine in a 2021 interview that were stunned when they received a DM from Fixer Upper host Joanna a few years prior, who pitched them the idea for the show.
‘We said we would be honored, and it was a match made in heaven,’ Candis said at the time, unknowing that the series would eventually lead to so much dismay.
Days before it was canceled, homeowners detailed the anguish that the Merediths allegedly put them through, and showed off the horrific damage that they claimed was done to their houses by the hosts through a series of Instagram posts.
The homeowners claimed the hosts broke many promises, hired unlicensed workers, spent thousands of dollars more than their budget, took months to complete what they promised would be a three-week project, didn’t build things correctly, and even put them in danger.
As for their own living space, the Merediths purchased an abandoned 113-year-old schoolhouse in Utah and turned the 20,000-square-foot building into their dream home – filming the entire process as part of the show.
They transformed the former learning place into a luxury mansion – complete with the most up-to-date appliances, a 13-foot island in the kitchen, a 7-foot chandelier in the dining area, a brass bathtub in the bathroom, and more.
One day before the show premiered, numerous homeowners who had taken part it in came forward and made a slew of allegations against the Merediths, resulting in it getting canceled
Several people who appeared on the show shared photos of what they claim were the terrible scenarios the Merediths left them in, with Teisha Satterfield Hawley posting images of the process – including the day construction began on her kitchen (pictured) – while revealing workers left her home in a state of upheaval for months ‘without anyone coming’ to complete work
Hawley said she was thrilled after she and her husband, Jeff (pictured together during filming), were picked for the show, however she explained that their dream quickly turned into a nightmare
Hawley claimed that she and her husband agreed on a budget of $45,000 with Candis (pictured working on the Hawleys’ home in the first days of construction and filming) and Andy, which was meant to fund the renovation of their kitchen, dining room, family room, and laundry room
One woman, named Teisha Satterfield Hawley, revealed that she signed up to be on the show after coming across a casting call on Instagram.
She and her husband, Jeff, had purchased their home a few years prior and had always wanted to fix it up, so they thought it was going to be a great opportunity.
‘To say I was excited would be an understatement,’ she wrote on Instagram.
On October 3, 2019, the renovations began on her home, and Teisha said the whole thing felt ‘surreal.’
‘I have always loved interior design and I honestly felt like the luckiest person in the world,’ she gushed.
Teisha said that she and her husband agreed on a budget of $45,000 with Candis and Andy, and were told that this sum would cover the cost of renovating their kitchen, dining room, family room, and laundry room.
‘I expressed concern that I did not think everything could be done for this amount but was assured that they knew all the secrets and it was going to be amazing and everything I ever wanted,’ Teisha explained.
Hawley said she and her husband were told that construction would only take three to four weeks to complete – however she claims weeks went by without any work taking place on her home, adding that she was told by the Merediths that ‘this is just how it goes’. When contractors did turn up to do work (pictured), Hawley alleges that they laid her floors ‘wrong three times’
In a series of Instagram posts, Hawley shared images of her house during the various stages of renovation (pictured), while claiming that her family was left to live in a construction site for weeks on end because of various ‘delays’ with the work
Hawley even claimed a crew member once fell through their floor into the basement, while sharing an image of her ceiling with a large patch in it (pictured), which appears to be the spot that the worker fell through
‘We ended up wiring $35,000 to them and spent $10,000 on a couch and some appliances.’
Teisha and her family said they were told it would only take three to four weeks to complete – but it allegedly took much longer than that.
Teisha said: ‘Quickly after demo things started to happen that would concern me. I remember one day I walked in and the contractors were getting ready to cut out a door in our family room.
‘A few days later we had a crew member fall through our floor into the basement. I would call Candis and Andy and be told over and over again, “This is just how it goes”
‘We would repeatedly be told contractors would be there a certain day to only then be told there were delays or someone had quit and that we needed to be patient.
‘Sadly our three to four week project was well into the eight to 10 week range, we would have weeks go by without anyone coming or hearing a thing.’
In January 2020, three months after the project first started, Hawley said things finally seemed to be coming together when workers began laying down the floors – however she claims they made multiple mistakes with the flooring and were forced to rip them up again and again, while posting images of her splintered and mismatched floorboards (pictured)
‘Sadly our excitement quickly turned into horror,’ she wrote alongside an image of loose floorboards scattered across a room. ‘Our floors were laid wrong 3 times! They would lay the floors and then have to rip them up’
Hawley added that on one occasion after flooring had been put down, the boards began to ‘shift’ whenever they stepped on it, explaining that it felt as though there were ‘bubbles’ in the floor while they were walking across them (pictured)
In January 2020, three months after the project first started, Teisha said she was relieved that things were finally coming together since they were laying down the floors in the living room.
However, to her horror, the floors allegedly had to be ripped up and redone three times due to mistakes.
She said it felt like there were ‘bubbles in the floor’ and the entire ground would shift when you stepped on it.
She then requested a meeting with the Merediths so that she could share her dismay. And at the meeting, they were reportedly told they were well over their budget.
According to Teisha, that was the first she heard of any money problems, and it made her feel ‘hopeless’ and ‘sick’ to her stomach.
‘She told us we would have to give her another $35 – $40 thousand to produce the product she had promised and pitched us,’ Teisha claimed.
‘This was double our budget and the first we had heard about it. This number was with us making sacrifices and doing Ikea cabinets, butcher block counters and lower quality fixtures.
‘Hopeless is the word that comes to mind when I think of that day. I had applied for this show and had put our family in this situation.
‘We had been living in our basement for months at this point including Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays.
She claimed that the family was forced to ‘live in their basement for months… including Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays’ while the construction went on, sharing images of exposed nails that were reportedly left poking out of the floors (pictured) during the renovation process
On January 7, Hawley said she and her husband Jeff had a meeting with the team responsible for their renovations, only to be told that their entire budget had already been spent. She alleges that host Candis told them they would have to ‘give her another $35-$40,000 to produce the product she had promised’, noting that they had little option but to hand over more money because they were ‘stuck in a demoed house’ (pictured)
‘We were exhausted, we had just been told all of our funds were used and our home was torn apart with bubbling floors laid.’
Teisha and Jeff were allegedly told they would have to wire $10,000 immediately if they wanted the renovations to continue.
Tight on money, they said they wouldn’t be able to send it until one month later, and all construction was halted until then.
‘We were stuck in a demoed houses, were limited on funds and were not sure what was next,’ she recalled.
‘To say it was awful and emotional would be an understatement. Two years later talking about it makes me sick and brings tears to my eyes.
‘The lack of communication, the lack of respect for our budget and the lack of respect for realizing my family was living in a basement truly makes me sick.’
Eventually, the couple decided to cut ties with the Merediths and they brought in a friend’s construction team instead, and the house was finished by the new construction team.
Hawley then revealed that the family turned to their close friends, who brought in their own crew of workers to ‘take the project over’, adding that the new construction team managed to ‘get them a full working upstairs within weeks’. Her home is pictured mid-way through the second round of renovations
She showed off the results of the completed renovations (pictured) while praising her friend Josh and his crew, who she says ‘went above and beyond’ in order to finish their home in a matter of weeks
‘So there it is… Our story of the remodel from Hell, and to tell you that things are not what they always appear to be on TV or social media,’ she concluded.
‘It is scary to speak out but also something we have to do. We’ve sent attorney letters that have only been met with threats of lawsuits.
‘We’ve reached out to the networks in charge of these shows, but accountability is passed off to someone else.
‘In talking to attorneys, we have a case that would surely be in our favor, except it would cost everyone a lot more money and likely end up unpaid.
‘My hope is this somehow helps someone or at least brings an awareness to the large corporations that are hiring for these shows…
‘We are real people, our money is something we have worked hard for and can not just throw around, WE have had to live through this Hell.
‘Thankfully we are and will be OK but that is not the case for others affected by these same people for this show (not to mention anyone we are unaware of previous to or since our experience).’
However, according to the Merediths this was not the case. Candis claimed on Instagram that she and Teisha had a ‘friendly relationship all the way to the very end’ and that the ‘scoped changed mutually.’
‘We had no sense whatsoever that they were as dissatisfied as they claim. We got within a week of completing the project when Jeff asked for a phone call,’ she wrote.
‘He stated that if the countertops were not in by Friday (the countertop installer had repeatedly canceled) we would be sued.
‘I couldn’t sign that agreement, because it was wholly out of my control, and he took the project over.
‘We tried to reach out and offer any and all assistance, we were ignored. We had spent about $10,000 of our own money at this point.
‘We offered solutions. We haven’t heard from them whatsoever in almost two years.’
Another accuser, named Aubry Bennion (pictured) also shared a similar horror story on Instagram in a series of lengthy posts, detailing the anguish that the Merediths allegedly put her through while attempting to redo her kitchen and laundry room
She claimed she told the Merediths she had a budget of $25,000 for the renovations and was promised it would be done in three weeks. However, it allegedly took a lot longer than that and cost thousands of dollars more. She was forced to store all of her kitchen stuff in the other rooms in her house for months on end, while the Merediths made little progress (pictured)
Aubrey claimed that as soon as construction started, she saw some red flags. She said she was told to ‘roll with it and trust in the process’ while her house sat in disarray (pictured)
Another accuser, named Aubry Bennion also shared a similar horror story on Instagram.
She claimed she was also chosen for the show. She said she had a budget of $25,000 and wanted her kitchen and laundry room renovated.
She was also told that the project would take only three weeks to complete. But as soon as construction started, she said she saw some red flags.
‘When things didn’t follow what would seem like home renovation protocol, I was told to roll with it and trust in the process,’ she claimed.
‘While some things were conveniently delayed, like the wire transfer information that didn’t come immediately, some of it was unsettling like the lack of contract and inconsistent schedule from the crews.
‘Immediately, the communication was disastrous. Distrust between Candis and the production team was clear.
‘I heard different stories from every party in every call and text. Candis was overwhelmed by her workload and Andy was nowhere to be seen.
‘I begged for a scope, schedule, and budget – foundational details project managers provide to their client.
‘I saw none, from start to finish. Any anomaly to my experience in construction, as a daughter of a contractor and as a project manager in the construction industry for over 15 years, was chalked up to “that’s how it works for TV,”
‘Anytime a suggestion was made – on or off camera – about a feature, I would ask if it was in the budget. Candis assured me every time it would be OK.’
She said the ‘lack of contract’ and’ inconsistent schedule from the crew was ‘unsettling.’ and that the communication was ‘disastrous.’ Aubry also claimed that the men the Merediths hired to work on her house were ‘unlicensed and uninsured.’ Some of the workers are pictured renovating the house
Things got worse when Candis allegedly decided that they were going to build a deck onto her home – which was not part of the original plan. Her design for the kitchen eliminated the back door and severed access to the backyard, so her solution was to build the brand new porch from scratch, which she insisted was in the budget. Candis is pictured measuring the area of the deck
Things got worse when Candis allegedly decided that they were going to build a deck onto her home – which was not part of the original plan.
‘Candis’ design eliminated the back door and severed access to the backyard and basement to my home,’ Aubry explained.
‘She suggested I didn’t need a second egress, but I insisted it was required by code – and functionality, as the one living in the home.
‘Her solution was to knock out a window, turn it into a door and build a deck. My first question was if building a deck was within budget. Candis told me she was sure she could fit it.’
Aubry claimed that the men the Merediths hired to work on her house were ‘unlicensed and uninsured.’
At one point, Aubry said she noticed a ‘drainage problem’ and brought it to Candis attention, who allegedly said ‘she’ll take care of it.’ Seen are alleged screenshots of her message. But according to Aubry, it was never taken care of – and it resulted in a near-flood in her basement
She also claimed they built the deck (pictured) on top of sprinklers and didn’t re-route them, never stained the the pine lumber, and constructed the stairs on top of mud without proper protection – causing it to rot
During the process, Aubry said she noticed a ‘drainage problem’ and brought it to Candis attention, who allegedly said ‘she’ll take care of it.’
But according to Aubry, it was never taken care of – and it resulted in a near-flood in her basement. And that was just one of the many mistakes they reportedly made.
She added: ‘I wouldn’t know that they didn’t fix it until they were long gone from the project and the first spring storm came.
‘I panic-sand bagged eight inches of water away from the basement door to save myself from a flood.
‘Neither did I know that they built the deck on top of sod and sprinklers with zero plans to re-routed them before I could turn my sprinklers on for the season.
During the construction, Aubry said crews would go MIA for weeks – and the Merediths even took a trip around the globe before finishing her home – jetting off to Paris and Mexico. Pictured is her kitchen during various stages of production, which was left unfinished for weeks on end while the Merediths allegedly enjoyed a vacation
By December, Aubry said it was ‘clear the entire project was in trouble.’ Pictured are some of the original plans for the construction
‘Nor did I know the pine lumber used to build the deck would remain partially unstained through the winter, compromising its longevity by the minute.
‘Or that they constructed the stairs on top of grass and would rot in the mud without proper protection.
‘Her crews created fundamentally dangerous problems that compromised my safety and were completed only as far as they were visible on television.’
During the construction, Aubry said crews would go MIA for weeks – and the Merediths even took a trip around the globe before finishing her home – jetting off to Paris and Mexico.
By December, Aubry said it was ‘clear the entire project was in trouble.’
‘Construction went completely quiet. No crews in sight. 10 days would go by between responses from Candis,’ Aubry shared.
‘It was clear the entire project (operation!?) was in trouble. As homeowners, we connected the dots of things we overheard – things like crews walked off the job, cancelled contracts, and were left unpaid for Christmas. A collective sense of panic was building.
‘Operating from a very desperate place, I reached out to anyone I knew who was connected to the project – other homeowners, siblings, and friends of the crew.
‘It’s hard to articulate how vulnerable that place was… to feel like I was being held captive in my own unearthed home while screaming and shouting for anyone to hear me but being ignored.’
In February, after more weeks back communication from the Merediths and little progress, Aubry was ready to quit the show. She was then allegedly told that she owed them $40,000 – $15,000 over her budget.
In February, after more weeks of bad communication and little progress, Aubry was ready to quit the show. She was then allegedly told that she owed them $40,000 – $15,000 over her budget. The kitchen is pictured one month before with no flooring, showing little progress after months of work
Aubry claimed that the whole ordeal gave her panic attacks which resulted in hives all over her body (pictured)
The kitchen was eventually completed and they filmed a reveal for the show. But after that, Aubry said she never saw Candis again and her deck was left unfinished – despite Candis allegedly promising to come back and complete it. The Merediths are pictured with Aubry and her husband while filming the reveal
Months later, she allegedly received a text from Candis, who said she ‘didn’t feel comfortable editing her episode unless everything was OK between them.’ Aubry responded: ‘We are fundamentally on different planes about acceptable practices and based on previous conversations, I’m not sure we ever will be.’ Seen are alleged screenshots of the messages
‘We were single digit days away from the four-month late deadline for the completion of my kitchen and she was telling me for the first time that she spent 60 per cent more than the approved budget – that I asked for on repeat and she told me on repeat would be “fine,”‘ Aubry said.
‘But now, if I didn’t help pay the full cost of the renovation, she was down to pennies and we were jeopardizing her ability to feed her children.’
Aubry claimed that the whole ordeal gave her panic attacks which resulted in hives all over her body.
The kitchen was eventually completed and they filmed a reveal for the show, but the deck was allegedly left unfinished.
‘I’ll never show the finished product [of the kitchen] on the internet because it cleans up nice and, with the right filter, is worthy of every wow and word of praise for everyone who doesn’t have to live in it or had to live through what it took to get there,’ she wrote.
‘They planned to come back and finish staining the deck, stage some furniture and we’d finish out filming the reveal. Except I never saw Candis again.
‘As soon as the cameras cut, she turned to me and said, “I know this hasn’t been an easy journey. I don’t really care how things shake out from here, I just want you to love it.”
‘I’m not sure what she meant by any of that, but I took it as, “Please don’t talk bad about it/me.” I never saw receipts, I never saw spreadsheets, we never discussed finances again.’
Aubry claimed she was later sent bills that the Merediths never paid from Ikea and the flooring company they used.
Months later, she allegedly received a text from Candis, who said she ‘didn’t feel comfortable editing her episode unless everything was OK between them.’
‘In my final message to her, I wrote, “To be frank, I am not okay and still reeling from the remodel process.
‘”We are fundamentally on different planes about acceptable practices and based on previous conversations, I’m not sure we ever will be.
‘”The healthiest thing I could do was separate myself from the incoming thrill, excitement, and praise about the show.
‘”You are welcome to use the footage for an episode if you need it, but I don’t feel, in good conscious, that I can share in the excitement.
‘”I hope you’ve learned lessons, improved processes, and made future home remodels run smoother, but my home and our relationship is simply a casualty of the actions of the last six months – no matter how much either of us wish it went another way.”’
She concluded: ‘After two years, they’re being celebrated and promoted while the people they hurt along the way have gotten nowhere.
Aubry claimed she was later sent bills that the Merediths never paid from Ikea and the flooring company. Pictured is a photo of the bill she claims she was sent from Ikea
Aubry said she will never show pictures of the finished product of the kitchen on the internet because ‘it cleans up nice’ and she doesn’t want to give the Merediths any praise, but she did share some pictures of the chipped paint that the couple allegedly left without fixing
‘And, on the eve of a Magnolia Network cable launch, the well-edited version of the story will show only their side of October 2019 and beyond.
‘People, bank accounts, livelihoods, families, our health, sanity… all of us have been left on the cutting room floor.
‘I’m speaking up to protect potential future victims from their dangerous pattern of behavior.
‘And I share with hope that they will be held accountable for the ways in which they’ve hurt those of us left in the wake of their work.
‘I’m speaking up because there are other homeowners who, after 18 months of stalled construction and some pressure from Magnolia, ultimately settled and have been silenced.
‘While others are still left paying on a second mortgage for the loan they wholly handed over to Candis and Andy.’
On Instagram, Candis claimed that she and her husband spent $32,000 of their own money to finish Aubry’s kitchen.
She also claimed that there was ‘never any indication’ that Aubry was ‘dissatisfied whatsoever’ and that she was ‘absolutely shocked and blindsided’ by Aubry’s final message.
‘We are very proud of the work that went into this project,’ she wrote. ‘We revealed this space on February 20, 2020, and fully acknowledge that before this point in time there were hard conversations and misunderstandings about this project and budget, but we were absolutely under the impression that we had resolved those issues together.
‘If Aubry was unhappy at this point overall, we had no idea whatsoever.’
On her own Instagram account, Candis responded to Aubrys accusations, and she claimed that she and her husband spent $32,000 of their own money to finish it. She also shared photos of the finished kitchen like this one, which shows Candis, Aubry, and Andy posing together after the renovation was complete
She claimed that there was ‘never any indication’ that Aubry was ‘dissatisfied whatsoever’ and that she was ‘absolutely shocked and blindsided’ by Aubry’s final message. Pictured is the kitchen after Candis and Andy’s renovations were complete
A third woman, named Vienna Goates, said she paid the couple $50,000, but claimed no work has been done on her house to date.
Initially, the couple denied the allegations in an Instagram post, writing, ‘We’ve seen stories that [have] 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.
‘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.
‘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.’
Magnolia Network president Allison Page also addressed the accusations in a statement to People Magazine.
‘Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith,’ she said.
‘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.’