Clint Harp became a household name for his appearance as Chip and Joanna Gaines’ trusted carpenter in “Fixer Upper.” More than a decade after becoming unexpected reality TV stars alongside the HGTV favorites, Clint and his wife, Kelly Harp, are opening up about the challenges that came with their sudden rise to fame.
Waco to HGTV
In the latest episode of their podcast, “On Couch With Kelly and Clint Harp,” the pair reflected on their unexpected journey into reality television and what they now see as some of the industry’s biggest pitfalls.
“I don’t even know where to start really,” Kelly began in a video shared on Wednesday, July 11. “For us it was as wild as people think that it was. It really is weird and wild and it’s a wild ride and I think now there’s so many reality shows and I think a lot of people know someone or know someone’s cousin or whatever that was on a reality show. So it’s different, but back then it was like you weren’t in television unless you lived in like LA or New York. So for all of that to hit us in Waco, Texas, when we were like had no idea. It was wild. It really was.”
Clint echoed the sentiment, explaining that the couple moved to Waco to build a furniture business, not to appear on television. In fact, he had already been building pieces for Joanna before “Fixer Upper” ever became a reality.
Looking back, Kelly said their lack of experience in the entertainment industry left them especially vulnerable. Because Waco wasn’t exactly Hollywood, she said they had no one to turn to for advice when contracts started arriving.
“Everything is like alien, it’s foreign. That is just wild to be dropped sort of in that world. It was for me,” she said. “I do think in the industry overall like reality television, these companies are dropping into these cities where it’s like that a lot. And I do think the industry is ripe for exploitation. That is a really hard thing. But you aren’t thinking that in the moment. I see how people get into really, really bad situations really easily.”
Kelly continued, “I didn’t realize that at the time, but now I’m like things could have been really bad because it’s just such a sharp shift.”
Reality TV Pressure
While Kelly said the couple’s lack of entertainment industry experience left them vulnerable, Clint explained that the financial side of filming was often just as confusing.
Clint explained that because budgets were often tight, they frequently felt pressure to contribute more than they had originally agreed to. As first-time television personalities with no frame of reference for how productions typically operated, they weren’t always sure where to draw the line.
“It felt to us like they were always trying to get us to pay for things,” Kelly said. “You don’t live in L.A., so you don’t know what’s fair.”
Clint agreed, “They’re certainly going to take whatever you give…To go back to that message of, ‘Hey, do whatever you’ve got to do to stay on the show, take whatever opportunity.’ You don’t know, like, should I overextend myself here? Should I just pay for this?”
He went on to explain that there were a number of “gray areas” throughout filming to determine who was responsible for paying for each item and employee labor.
“We went through a lot and I am just so thankful for you being my partner through it all. I mean because it was really tough,” Clint gushed.
