Photo: andy and Candis Meredith/instagram
Andy and Candis Meredithare emotionally speaking out again after their showHome Workwas pulled off Magnolia Network last Friday — just two days after it debuted — following allegations from several former clients about the quality of the couple’s renovations.
The Utah-based pair shared their side of the story in an eight-part series of Instagram posts on Wednesday, stating that they “adamantly deny that we have ‘scammed,’ stolen or lied to any of these clients.”
“I fully acknowledge how hard any renovation is, especially when it’s a renovation for television. The timelines that were set were too crazy, and I am an optimistic person,” she said, adding: “I know better now that I should never have said these short timelines and set these expectations. That is on me, and I take full responsibility.”
At least three homeowners the Merediths recruited for their show, as well as a local real estate agent they worked with, have come forward in the last few days with stories of shoddy or incomplete work as well as ballooning budgets and timelines among other issues.
In her video Wednesday, Candis denied hearing from these homeowners after their projects were finished. “Anybody who’s ever reached out to us about not loving their homes, we’ve always tried to do what we can,” she said. “None of these homeowners from the past 10 years have ever reached out to us again.”
She continued, “Having them all come out at the same time… I can fully understand why people have an opinion on us that they have. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. That any of your past mistakes or missteps be brought out publicly all at once. It’s been awful. I feel like I can’t even cry anymore I’ve cried so much, and I’m not here to be the victim, I’m just saying I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
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“We’ve always been afraid to lose it all, and I think we have effectively, right now anyways, lost it all,” Candis said of their experience. “I don’t know what the future is with our show. I do know that a lot of people worked really, really hard to make this show. And we honestly weren’t going to fight… but I think at the point where our kids couldn’t go to school anymore because of the mean things people were saying to them, that’s when we decided that it was bigger than us. And when we realized our employees are out of work, the people who make the show, that’s when we realized we needed to speak up.”
Courtesy Magnolia Network
In a follow-up video, Candisexplainedthat since the public backlash began, her kids have experienced “bullying” at school.
“No matter what your opinion, I’m asking the bullying to my kids stop,” she said as she became emotional. “Whatever your side is, please tell your kids who go to my kids' school to stop. We’re not okay and whatever you think of me is fine, but please leave our children out of this.”
Inhis own videoshared on Wednesday, Andy reiterated the alleged threats they have received, claiming that the couple had removed their daughter from public school “because we don’t think she’s safe.”
“People online are organizing caravans to come to our home, find us,” he said.
Like Candis, her husband said that the couple did not intend to “lessen anybody’s feelings” but wanted to express that they felt the former clients had come forward “at a time to hurt us the most personally and not in a way to fix or to address the actual issues that people may be unsatisfied with, but just to take us down.”
“I know that these people are hurt and I know that renovation is hard,” Andy continued. “And we know how stressful it can be dealing with contractors in your house and budgets and timelines and things fluctuating. We’ll never minimize that pain or minimize how much of a struggle that is for real people, but we feel like this has kind of gotten out of control.”
source: people.com
