HGTV fans first got to know Christina Anstead on her hit series Flip or Flop.
But when the network decided she was ready to go solo, she launched her own
series in which she makes-over houses for clients and shares her personal life. So,
what's the deal with the show? Here's the truth about HGTV's Christina on the Coast.
"I'm a mother of two, with a new business venture, a new man, and a new point of view."
The first season of HGTV's Christina on the Coast debuted in spring 2019, and followed Anstead's
exploits as she remodeled luxury homes in Southern California, all while shining a
spotlight on her personal life and her own search for a new home. She told the New York Post,
"I had a lot going on last year, and I thought it would be interesting to show a little bit more of
my real life. And people…get a glimpse into the Newport Beach market, which is quite pricey.
It's fun to see the house-hunting process, and what gets you a house on the water versus inland."
Shifting her focus to design, she says, was an organic evolution. She added,
"I know what I always enjoyed about Flip or Flop was the design part,
so it just naturally made sense to get more involved in doing makeovers."
"Ya like it?"
"Love it." During a 2019 chat with People magazine,
Anstead couldn't contain her excitement over the launch of her new show. She revealed,
"I help write every script. I approve everything, it's just been an incredible experience."
And as she anticipated the debut of her new show and the arrival of her baby, she told the outlet,
"It's a dream come true."
That dream, she explained, was the happy outcome at the end of a very uncertain period following
her divorce from Tarek El Moussa. She said on the Television Critics Association press tour,
"As you guys know, it's been a challenging couple of years for me. I'm currently filming Season
8 of Flip or Flop, which is amazing that it's been on for eight seasons, but when the divorce
was going on and everything was happening, I didn't know where my career was going to be."
When she was given the chance to branch out with her own show,
she recalled being thrilled to create something of her own.
"I absolutely loved every second of working with you guys. Group hug!"
"Group hug, yes!" If there was any doubt that fans of Flip
or Flop wanted to see Anstead front and center in her own show, HGTV was reassured by the monster
ratings that Christina on the Coast pulled in. The first season of the series propelled the network
to the Number 2 position among all cable networks in that time slot among women ages 25 to 54.
And the show brought in more than 12 million total viewers throughout its first season.
"Christina. Are you engaged?"
"Shh…yes."
Episode 8, which showcased Christina and Ant Anstead's wedding, proved to be the season's
highest-rated episode. The series also became a total hit on the network's digital platform,
HGTV GO. A press release noted,
"The premiere episode...was the most-streamed episode on the platform.
The overall series ranked among the top five most-streamed series on HGTV GO."
Given the success of the show, it didn't take long for the network to announce
it was ordering a second season. HGTV president Jane Latman said in a statement,
"HGTV knew Christina on the Coast would be a winner and the series absolutely delivered.
More than 12 million viewers tuned in to watch the freshman season because they loved having
a new opportunity to watch Christina evolve personally and professionally."
"I can work with that."
Latman also noted that Anstead has only grown more popular with viewers with the show
and that the second season would focus on Anstead's design work,
and the details surrounding her new marriage, new baby, and co-parenting life. Latman said,
"Everyone is rooting for her and her family as they build a whole new life."
Following the announcement, Anstead shared her elation in a joyful Instagram post, writing,
"So BEYOND excited to announce that Christina on the Coast has been picked up for a second
season!!! 13 brand new episodes coming in 2020!! Thank you HGTV for the opportunity,
and to all of you for your support, so grateful!!"
"I met Ant through a mutual friend, and it was basically love at first sight."
It turns out, Anstead's husband, Ant Anstead, has actually been a big part
of Christina on the Coast. She explained his involvement, telling Yahoo! Entertainment,
"I think he's on every episode. I mean, maybe he's not on one of them, but,
yeah, he's pretty involved…[He] does a car show [Wheeler Dealers] on MotorTrend network,
so he's used to being in a garage with mechanics.
Now, he's with me house hunting by the beach, talking about personal stuff."
As she explained, showing viewers her personal life as a divorced mother of two,
who was also expecting a baby with Ant, came naturally. She said,
"I mean, it's all good things that were going on, so it was fun getting to do it on camera."
Unfortunately that fun wouldn't last, as Christina announced on September 18th,
2020 via Instagram that her and Ant are separating. She wrote: "Ant and I have
made the difficult decision to separate. We are grateful for each other and as always,
our children will remain our priority. We appreciate your support and ask for privacy for
us and our family as we navigate the future." The first episode of her show featured Anstead
renovating the home of her client, Cassie. But Cassie is more than just a client,
she's also Anstead's publicist and best friend since junior high.
"Cassie is my childhood best friend. She is
one of the best people I've ever met. I absolutely love her."
Cassie revealed to House Beautiful at the time,
"Christina and I have such good chemistry in real life,
and we just did our thing, like we do every day together. At this point,
[filming with HGTV] is just part of my life, so the cameras are normal."
Of course, the reno didn't come without a few surprises, such as the discovery
of termites in the floors. And Cassie insisted that she wasn't told about any
of it until the cameras were rolling, in order to capture her authentic reaction.
"They're alive?"
She told the outlet,
"[The producers] love to share things as they happen,
those reactions are real. I'm not an actress. During any renovation, there are surprises,
and that's when it gets stressful. When it's your money, you're like, 'Oh my god,
how much is that going to cost?' It goes quickly, and that's what blew my mind."
Yes, she had to pay for the work herself. It turns out that those stunning renovations
cost real money that comes out of the client's pocket, not the show's. Cassie told the outlet,
"I wish it was free. We're spending real money here,
but I would do it 10 times over, it was such a great experience. Over the years,
I've heard Christina say that people regret not spending, so I tried to make smart choices."
"So like any good relationship, we can disagree about things, but I think just
like any good relationship, it's all about the compromise"
Cassie's long relationship with her BFF may not have resulted in a free reno,
but it did provide her with an added level of trust. This was evident when Anstead was able
to convince Cassie to change her plans for an all-white kitchen and embrace a bolder option.
"I'm obsessed with my kitchen. It's gorgeous, and I feel like we started a new trend"
Cassie explained,
"This is my first time doing something like this, and a big part of it, for me,
was trusting the process. Christina and I have very similar tastes,
and I knew she wouldn't do something she wouldn't want in her own home, in mine."
"Okay, we're not gonna do this exercise ever again. Oh my God, my thighs are burning here."
Anstead wasn't the only familiar face from Flip or Flop to appear on Christina on the Coast.
Overseeing the new show's renovations was contractor Izzy Battres,
who has helmed the renovations on Flip or Flop since the show's first season.
In an interview with Orange Coast magazine,
Battres revealed a turning point in his life was quote, "meeting Tarek and Christina." He shared,
"Even before [Flip or Flop], Tarek and I would go all day doing houses.
So when I walked into that house to audition, it was just another job I
was doing. I didn't really notice the cameras at all, to be honest."
His talents on Flip or Flop clearly helped him land his latest gig, and steal the show!
"They're all like our best friends now. They're all like family"
For fans who crave even more content, the show's network offers an online companion series,
Christina on the Coast: Unfiltered. The network revealed in an announcement,
"[The digital companion] gives fans an inside look into the making of the series…Joined by friends
from the comfort of her new home, Christina shares behind-the-scenes footage, recalls
favorite scenes and designs from the series, and talks openly about her exciting new life."
Unfiltered offers viewers of Christina on the Coast even more insight into both
the show and Anstead's life, with one episode featuring her thoughts as she and her husband
Ant moved into their new home. She admitted,
"It was very emotional. It's raw. I mean, that's a raw moment."
According to Anstead, her new show allowed her an opportunity to present herself
in a way that was more open and honest than she was ever able to do before.
As she explained in an interview with People magazine, she felt it
was supremely important that viewers got to see her in a truly genuine way. She said,
"This is the authentic me, unfiltered, just how I want to do a show."
Not only is Christina on the Coast a departure for the host,
Anstead says it's also new for the network, adding,
"I just feel lucky that I even got to do it, because it's not work. It's just fun."
Sharing even more about her hopes and dreams for the show, she revealed,
"The past few years have brought a lot of change into my life and I am so excited to
see what the next stage has in store for me both professionally and personally,
there is so much to look forward to and this is only the beginning."
"We've talked about it a little bit, but it's time that we're gonna sell the house."
Anstead's divorce from ex Tarek was far from a typical split. Not only did the exes continue
to work together on Flip or Flop, but they did so while tabloids and online gossip sites
spewed rumors and wild speculation about the details of their divorce. Anstead explained
how opening up her personal life to viewers was her way of setting the record straight.
"I think it's important for people to see what goes on with us
on a daily basis, and it was very new for HGTV."
She told Good Morning America,
"I think because our divorce was so public and there were so many stories and false stories and
so much going on, that for us, actually including some of our real life into the show is important."
"Anyone who's been through a divorce knows that staying in the house, it just,
it holds a lot of old emotions."
In fact, continuing their Flip or Flop partnership helped the
exes navigate their post-divorce lives. She said,
"It's not really awkward for us anymore. I like to tease him and he likes to tease me so
what you're seeing on camera is me just really giving him a hard time out of good nature."
Viewers had grown to love the format of Flip or Flop, in which Anstead and Tarek redesign
and renovate fixer-uppers, for a profit. But when faced with the opportunity to launch her own show,
Anstead felt it was crucial that the new series not retread the same ground. She told Fox News,
"In Flip or Flop, we're designing for the masses so the design has to be a little more streamlined
[since] we're appealing to all buyers in general. Whereas on this show I'm designing for a specific
person. So it's really tailored to their own needs and much more design-specific…I
really have to keep in mind what they love. I really get to know them [and] their taste."
"I love design. I love, That's my favorite part of flipping houses. And that's what I'm good at."
Claiming that the client's journey through a home renovation mirrors
her own life during the show, she told the outlet,
"It has amazing before and after transformations and I get to work directly with homeowners…And
the great part about it too is that it follows a B story with
what I'm doing in my own life in 2018." While the success of Flip or Flop propelled
Anstead to stardom and placed her on a path to helming her own show, she admitted that she felt
some serious pressure when it came time to launch her spinoff. She told Entertainment Tonight,
"I'm not gonna lie, yes, it is more pressure, especially knowing that
the whole thing was followed from start to finish, and that's the first time I've ever
done that on television. I definitely felt pressure for it to be perfect."
"Because I've been doing it so often,
I can just walk in a room and visualize what the space can look like, immediately."
More heat came from unveiling a whole new format,
much different from what fans had come to expect from her. She explained,
"Flip or Flop was a house show based on designing houses for the masses,
they were always designed so that any person could walk in and like it and picture themselves living
in it. Christina on the Coast is designing for other people based on their own style,
so it's much more high design and you're getting to know other people in the show."
Now that Flip or Flop and Christina on the Coast have both become established hits for HGTV,
fans can only imagine what's next for Anstead. But one thing she doesn't plan on doing, however,
is creating her own network like Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, who announced in
2018 they'd be launching their own network through HGTV's parent company, Discovery.
Asked if she could see herself doing something similar, Anstead admitted that building an entire
network around herself wasn't even something she ever considered. She told the New York Post,
"I've never thought of that. I think that's awesome [for
the Gaines family] but that's never been a huge thing for me."
"I'll turn around because I hear a noise, like a click, click, click,
and I'll look and there's like a paparazzi. But honestly, it's not even a big deal."
At the time, with her new show's first season still to premiere,
Anstead's ambitions for the future were far more modest. She said,
"Right now, I'm hoping that Christina on the Coast gets picked up for another season."
Happily for both Anstead and her fans, there are lots more of her stunning renovations on the way.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.