Former ‘Fixer Upper’ Star Explains How He Was ‘Never Paid’ for Role on Show

A former Fixer Upper star is getting candid about his time on the hit home renovation series.

Fixer Upper debuted on HGTV back in 2013 and ran for five seasons until it concluded in 2018. The series starred couple Chip and Joanna Gaines as they gave new life to homes in the Waco, Texas, area. Carpenter Clint Harp was frequently featured on the show, helping Chip and Joanna with their renovation and furnishing projects.

Clint looked back at his time on Fixer Upper with his wife, Kelly Harp, during a recent episode of the pair’s On Couch podcast. “I was a side character, B character, whatever, in the show, but there were still requirements and things I had to do,” he recalled. “And one of the things we talked about before was how people that were coming here to work with us were people that were working with actors all over the country. Because that’s one of the things that people don’t realize about TV. I didn’t. It’s like you have this crew of people that comes in and works on the show, but they’re from all over. They may not even know each other. And they’re all working on different shows.”

Clint went on to reveal that he was “never paid as an actor on Fixer Upper,” but rather was “paid one season as a contractor.” Meanwhile, Kelly noted that the show helped bring exposure to Waco and to their business, Harp Design Co.

Their TV fame brought along some challenges, including learning how to keep their family life private from the public eye. “First of all, we weren’t even Chip and Jo. They were going through a whole other stratosphere of stuff. But like, it was a thing. It was definitely a thing,” Clint said, recalling a time he was recognized on the family’s beach vacation, despite wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses as a disguise.

“One of the things that you quickly learn is that the network, let’s just say, they’re not concerned about your marriage. They’re not out to get you. They’re just not out to — that’s not what they’re thinking,” he went on to share. Kelly added, “They’re just concerned about making a television show. And really, the people who are here, they’re concerned with making their bosses happy.”

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Following the end of Fixer Upper, the couple went on to star on the one-season show Wood Work from 2017 to 2018. Chip and Joanna launched Magnolia Network digitally in 2021, and the network transitioned to TV the following year. Clint reunited with the couple to launch his most recent show, Renovation Road, which premiered in 2021. (The show hasn’t aired new episodes since 2024 but has not been formally canceled.)

On the podcast, Clint told viewers that making a TV show is not as glamorous as some might think. “It’s kind of like a bunch of people all fighting for their lives and their careers, trying to make something good that will make money for the people that are in charge, so that they’ll hopefully ask them to go make something else, that will hopefully make money and make the people in charge happy,” he stated. “But the kicker is, the next time they ask you to do it, will probably be for less money.”

Both Clint and Kelly agreed that their experience on Renovation Road was “better” than their previous TV projects. “It was just you. It was not really our business,” Kelly said. “It was hard to travel, so there were other things, but we could compartmentalize, I think, in a way that made it really hard.”