HGTV‘s Dave and Jenny Marrs have endured many personal losses over the past year, but filming “Fixer to Fabulous” didn’t stop. The couple opened up about navigating grief while keeping up with the show’s demanding production schedule.
Dave & Jenny Marrs Reveal How They Navigated Grief During Filming
Dave and Jenny recently announced that “Fixer to Fabulous” season 8 is coming to HGTV soon. The couple tackled some big projects and one very personal renovation, but they also had to film amid some devastating losses.
In a June 2026 interview with TV Insider, Dave and Jenny explained how they managed to work while grieving. It wasn’t always easy, as they suffered a year of losses, including Dave’s mother, Jenny’s grandmother, their family friends, a dog, and farm animals.
“You have to [be like] ‘OK, we can’t even think about what is happening in our real life because the cameras are here, and we have to get this job done,'” Jenny explained. “Our production crew flies in for filming weeks, and so when they’re here, we have to work … We can’t just tell them, ‘Sorry, I can’t do it today.’ There’s no option. We have to. And so, I think it is hard.”
When they learned about their dear friend and neighbor Mr. Bob’s passing, they were able to delay filming for a bit.
“We did push back two hours, but then we had to — I ended up bringing my friend, who’s a makeup artist, to set with me that day,” Jenny said. “I don’t ever do that, but I was like, ‘I need your help.'”
She continued, “We would just take breaks and walk off. But we also didn’t want the homeowners to know, because then we’re trying to keep them [happy]. We’re like, ‘Oh, hi. Great to see you,’ and then, like, ‘I’ll be right back,’ and go in the garage and cry.”
The HGTV star shared that filming was “extra challenging” during these moments.
“It was hard to process grief and loss and not really have the time or the space to do that,” she explained. “So, yeah. I think that made it actually much more difficult.”
Dave noted that, despite the demands of filming, they do get support from their production company and crew. “So, when stuff does inevitably happen, we just try the best we can to work around it,” he explained.
Dave & Jenny Marrs Work on Personal Project on ‘Fixer to Fabulous’ Season 8
The couple also told TV Insider some of the projects that fans will see on “Fixer to Fabulous” season 8.
“This year, we have a lot,” Jenny said. “We’ve got a lot of projects going on.”
One of the projects is extremely personal, as they work to renovate an airplane hangar into a home for Dave’s brother Matt and his wife, Karey.
Jenny explained, “We’re trying to save money for them. And him and Matt and his dad have been working around the clock on that one, I would say, probably in terms of physical labor and pain.”
The couple also do a 24-hour renovation for a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital family and tackle a coffee shop makeover.
There are plenty of challenges in the mix, with Dave explaining that the coffee shop is “in a creek bed,” which required “elevating the entire structure with the moving company, putting a whole new foundation and piers underneath it.”
Jenny revealed that some “red tape” slowed the project down.
“We’re not at all close to being finished with it yet, but we will get it done this year,” she noted. “It’ll be done this year.”
