It’s been nearly six years since Chelsea Houska walked away from Teen Mom 2, and while the mom of four has since found a new home on HGTV, she hasn’t forgotten where she came from– even if her new gig does come with more respect than her last one.
Chelsea, who co-hosts HGTV’s Down Home Fab with husband Cole DeBoer, was recently asked by PauseRewind about her “rebrand” from MTV star to HGTV host. Before reflecting on the show that made her a household name, Chelsea admitted that the first time she was associated with ‘Down Home Fab’ instead of ‘Teen Mom 2,’ it made her “so happy.”
“ … I cannot tell you, the first time I saw ‘HGTV’s Chelsea DeBoer’ instead of ‘Teen Mom 2,’ I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is so exciting!’” Chelsea recalled.
“Obviously like, I know I’ll always be tied to that show and that show was a huge part of my life and so important to my journey, but I feel like there’s a little bit more respect or something being able to be tied to something like HGTV,” Chelsea added. “And career-wise, like, that just means a lot to me. I feel like people take you a little bit more seriously when you’re on HGTV.”
As longtime fans of ‘Teen Mom 2’ may remember, Chelsea appeared on the 16 and Pregnant spinoff for more than a decade along with Kail Lowry, Jenelle Evans and Leah Messer. In November 2020, she announced on social media that she and Cole had decided to leave the MTV reality series– a decision she shared with viewers and her fellow castmates during the Season 10A Reunion.
While it’s been years since Chelsea walked away from all things ‘Teen Mom,’ the animal-print aficionado said she keeps in touch with at least one of her former castmates and interacts on social media with others.
“I’m not, like, super tight with anyone, [but] Kail and I definitely keep in touch and I think I follow almost everyone on Instagram,” she claimed, adding, “we’re always liking each other’s posts and commenting and stuff.”
(For those wondering, Chelsea currently follows former ‘Teen Mom 2’ stars Kail and Leah on social media. She also follows former ‘Teen Mom’ cast members Catelynn Lowell, Maci Bookout, Amber Portwood and Mackenzie McKee.)
Chelsea reiterated that while she and her former co-stars aren’t “super-tight or anything,” they’ll always be bonded by their ‘Teen Mom 2’ experience.
“ … I’ll always have ties to those girls,” she said. “We went through something absolutely insane together and so I respect all of them.”
Chelsea also noted that she would like to get together with Kail again, adding that the multi-podcast host is “killing it.”
As The Ashley told you in October, Chelsea spoke to Glamour about her transition from MTV star to HGTV host, telling the outlet that the change resulted in her having a more mature fan base.
“When I was on ‘Teen Mom,’ … people would come up to me here and there, but it was always younger people,” she told the outlet. “Now it’s way more, and it’s older people, and they’re so sweet and kind.”
After claiming in 2021 that one of the main reasons she left ‘Teen Mom 2’ was that the show’s storylines were starting to focus too much on her daughter Aubree’s private life, Chelsea went on to defend her decision to return to reality TV, insisting that ‘Down Home Fab’ does not focus on her children or their private lives.
“I went into this saying I will be open and honest about everything, but off-limits is deep-diving into my kids,” Chelsea said. “And HGTV was wonderful and has respected that since the beginning, so that’s always been amazing and really reassuring.
“ … You could feel the vibe of the show was so different [from the vibe of ‘Teen Mom.’] They were so reassuring, saying, ‘We do not want your drama. We’re a network that is about watching the show and feeling good when you’re done watching it and not sad or heavy,’” she continued.
Watch a clip from Chelsea and Cole’s PauseRewind interview below.
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(Photos: HGTV; MTV; Instagram)
