HGTV Couple Reveals They Were in Financially ‘Dire Situation’ Before Landing Hit Show

HGTV stars Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama are proof that things aren’t always as they seem.

The Kalamas, who co-host the HGTV hit show Renovation Aloha, are addressing misconceptions about their wealth, emphasizing that their success has come from hard work and sacrifice.

“We were actually in [a] dire situation when we found real estate, like $80,000 in bad debt, which is like a lot of people here in Hawaii, just because it’s so expensive,” Kamohai said in an Instagram video on Tuesday. “And we were asking for help for rent some months.”

Tristyn joked that she would take a trust fund if offered one, but Kamohai doubled down on the fact that he was not a “trust fund baby.” He said that because his father, Corbett Kalama, is “super successful,” it’s easy for people to assume that he was born with a “silver spoon” in his mouth.

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“And the fact of the matter is, I’ve never taken a penny from my dad to start a real estate company, nor has he invested in it at all,” Kamohai said, adding that “his whole family started from nothing.”

“We came from debt. From wondering how we were going to pay the bills some months. From taking risks that could’ve gone either way. From failing, learning and getting back up again,” they wrote in the Instagram post.

They said that as their fame has grown, “the criticism hasn’t gotten quieter — it has gotten louder.”

“People create stories to explain your success because it’s easier than believing it came from years of sacrifice, consistency, and relentless work,” said the couple. “The ones above you try to keep you down, and the ones below you think you got it handed to you. The truth is far less glamorous. We just kept showing up.”

Tristyn and Kamohai rose to fame with Renovation Aloha, which premiered on HGTV in 2024. It follows the couple as they transform homes across the island of Oahu and the greater Hawaii area. They competed in Season 6 of Rock the Block last year and appeared as judges in Season 5 of Battle on the Beach earlier this year.

They faced legal trouble for allegedly showing the remains of Native Hawaiian ancestors on Renovation Aloha, which is a violation of state law. The show discovered human skeletal remains at a residential renovation project site while filming, according to a civil complaint filed in the Third Circuit Court of Hawaii.

There was reason to believe the remains may constitute iwi kūpuna, or skeletal remains of Native Hawaiian ancestors, which are afforded “the highest level of protection.”

HGTV re-edited the episode to remove all footage of the remains, Deadline reports. It was noted in the episode that the Kalamas did not develop on the lot out of respect and that authorities were contacted as soon as the remains were discovered.

In May, the couple accumulated $40,000 in fines for operating illegal short-term rentals in Hawaii, according to a local report.