Dave and Jenny Marrs took on an ambitious 24-hour renovation on the January 13 episode of “Fixer to Fabulous.” With the tight turnaround, the project had some stressful and emotional moments. After a fan criticized Jenny’s reaction to a home inspector, the HGTV star explained that there was more happening behind the scenes than viewers saw.
Jenny Marrs Reveals Extent of the Situation
On January 15, Jenny took to Instagram to share the “after” photos of the project.
“This project was completed in 24(ish) hours, solely by the work of volunteers, and every product used was donated,” she explained in the caption. “Collectively, we wanted to bless the Esmeyer family as they continue to walk through an immensely hard season with their beautiful baby girl fighting cancer at @stjude.”
Jenny continued, “The number of people and companies that stepped up to help was absolutely astounding! Don’t let anyone tell you that there aren’t good and generous people out there in the world!”
“As Mr. Rogers famously said, ‘look for the helpers,’ and we are personally so deeply grateful for every one of the helpers!” she added.
While most commenters praised everyone involved in completing the project, one fan pointed out a sticky point they had with the episode.
“Codes are codes no matter who you are … you can’t change them but you can comply with them, Which they did,” they wrote. “The whine didn’t work.”
Jenny explained in a screenshot posted on her Instagram Stories: “I promise you didn’t see everything that happened and I also promise I wasn’t trying to whine my way out of a city code policy.”
Jenny Shares the Full Story: ‘I Did Not Want to Cry’
The HGTV star expanded on the situation more in a response to the commenter.
“In my defense, I wasn’t whining. I was emotional because we had our plans approved in advance and the pool was not considered a permanent structure (it’s not) so it did not need to be built around setbacks,” she shared.
Jenny continued, “This particular inspector was there to check plumbing and not the pool (because it’s not a permanent structure) but, at the 11th hour, he decided on his own to enforce the setback policy.”
The HGTV star noted that the “plan was approved in advance” and the stressful situation “caused my emotions to bubble up.
“I did NOT want to cry,” she added. “I promise you.”
“But I am a human. I am a mom and I know and love this little girl who is fighting for her life and I know how every day for her is a miraculous gift and the only thing she wanted that summer was a pool because cancer has stolen SO MUCH from her and yet she is able to swim still,” Jenny explained.
She noted, “I wasn’t trying to bend the rules by any stretch and I stand by the fact that an above ground pool is NOT a permanent structure.”
Jenny added, “Teal got her pool and that’s all that mattered in the end.”
Many fans shared their support for Jenny’s reaction in the situation. “What an amazing episode! I would have reacted the same as you with the pool issue. Mama bear is right!! God bless this sweet family,” one fan wrote.
Jenny Marrs, YOU are DEEPLY LOVED, RESPECTED and LOOKED UP TO!!!! Don’t let ANYONE or ANYTHING get YOU down!!!! YOU and Dave are the BEST!!!🥰🥰🥰
Always going have a Karen. Ya did a beautiful job for that family. Shows you have a heart n soul. That Karen don’t n she/he don’t matter.
I hope the local authority responsible for code inspections cleared up the misunderstanding and the inspector was properly schooled on understanding/interpreting building codes. I have never seen where an above ground pool was considered a permanent structure.
I agree with Al the above, I hope it does not happen again , especially to a deserving child. Love you and your show!
Martha …cancer survivor 2x
Jenny,I back you up all the way♥️
Loved that show! Glad you helped that deserving family. So sorry one person could cause that many problems with a great build! God bless!
There’s one in every bunch, Jenny your heart is as big as this universe you do not need to explain yourself to anyone, especially someone looking for attention as obviously this Karen was! I support You, Dave and your crew everyday! God Bless you all! 🙏❤️🙏
Jenny, we never thought you were complaining about the inspector, totally understand how this was upsetting with the timeline you had to help this family. Your heart is so big and kind, you don’t need to explain your feelings to anyone. I would venture to say 98% of your viewers felt the disappointment right alongside of you. I know we did sitting on our couch watching. You have a Heart of Gold, caring for people and always doing a great job! Hold your head high Jenny Marrs you are a WONDERFUL person.