Chelsea Houska is giving high praise to her current employer, HGTV, for being “so incredible” when it comes to giving her four children privacy, while admitting that she has some regrets about allowing her kids to appear on ‘Teen Mom 2.’
After starring on ‘Teen Mom 2’ for more than a decade, Chelsea announced on social media in November 2020 that she and husband Cole DeBoer were leaving the MTV reality series– a decision she shared with viewers and her fellow castmates during the Season 10A Reunion. (Host Dr. Drew Pinsky got oddly pouty about it, as you may remember.)
In a new interview with PauseRewind, Chelsea admits that, in hindsight, she wishes she hadn’t allowed so much of her kids’ lives to be shared on ‘Teen Mom 2.’
“Looking back, I don’t know if I would choose that again at this point … ,” she said. “I’m so grateful for [the show] and everything, I’m just saying, like, for our kids now … .”
While Chelsea claimed 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 eldest daughter Aubree’s private life, she has continued to defend her (and Cole’s) decision to return to reality TV, insisting that their HGTV show Down Home Fab doesn’t focus on their children.
Chelsea revealed that one of the biggest things she and Cole have learned as their kids have gotten older is the importance of limiting their public exposure.
“ … we really want to be selective on how we show the kids, how much we show the kids and just really trying to protect them,” Chelsea explained.
While Chelsea and Cole’s four children do make appearances on ‘Down Home Fab,’ Chelsea claims that HGTV isn’t concerned about making the DeBoer kids the focus of their renovation show.
“[‘Down Home Fab’] is a totally different show and HGTV has been so incredible– and our production team– they were like, ‘If you are uncomfortable with the kids being on [camera], you just tell us, that is totally fine. If they don’t want to, it’s okay. We will never dive deep into anything personal with them,’” Chelsea said. “That was probably the biggest thing because I think as we’re getting older and they’re getting older, like, we’re just really more mindful of that.”
Chelsea went on to acknowledge that while she was on MTV, her kids “were on TV so much, especially Aubree in her early life.”
As fans of ‘Teen Mom 2’ know, Chelsea’s teenage daughter Aubree– whose father is Adam Lind– was literally born on reality TV, making her first appearance on her mom’s episode of 16 and Pregnant. Much of Aubree’s childhood went on to be documented on ‘Teen Mom 2,’ with many of the storylines involving Aubree’s often-absent father.
As The Ashley told you in October, Chelsea spoke about her transition from MTV star to HGTV host, telling Glamour that the “vibe” of ‘Down Home Fab’ is much different than that of ‘Teen Mom 2,’ largely due to HGTV not wanting to focus on Chelsea’s kids or her personal drama.
“ … 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 told the outlet.
Watch a clip from Chelsea and Cole’s PauseRewind interview below.
(Photos: MTV; Instagram)
