Chelsea Houska and Cole DeBoer React to Critics Saying They're Too Inexperienced for HGTV

Chelsea Houska and Cole DeBoer are embarking on a brand new HGTV journey, but they don't pretend to be home improvement experts just yet. The former Teen Mom 2 stars defended themselves against criticism that they aren't experienced enough to star in their new show, Down Home Fab, in a new interview with The Ashley's Reality Roundup, saying that the home design business is something they take "very seriously."

"We are just going into this. This is a new thing for us. We're learning as we go, and also that's part of the story," Houska explained. "We're learning how to do this and juggle everything in our lives. When we started building our house, it became our life. We were researching absolutely everything we could research and reading every book we could find."

"If we're going to do this, we want to be good. We want to know what we're talking about. This is something we take very seriously. This business is new to us, and you can follow along and watch us get our feet wet," she continued. For DeBoer, who worked in construction for 12 years, it's a matter of getting a foot in the door for any HGTV stars. "They've all got to start somewhere and this is where we are," he said.

Houska and DeBoer found that foot in the door while building and decorating their own home – a process they shared on social media. The former MTV star revealed that one night, she decided to message HGTV on Instagram about their home project out of the blue. "I said something along the lines of, 'It would be so cool if you followed this [home-building] process.' I am such an HGTV fan – Cole and I have been for a long time," she recalled. "But I am not that kind of person to do something like that! But I just did."

Later, Houska was "so embarrassed" at having sent the message that she deleted it, but the network did message her back, and "it just spiraled from there." The 16 and Pregnant alum advised, "Put yourself out there! Shoot your shot!" Even those who are unfamiliar with her Teen Mom journey will find something to connect with, DeBoer noted.

"I feel like we're relatable to a lot of people. We have four kids, we have a good relationship and we have a lot of fun together. I feel like people can relate to that," he said. "We're all juggling a busy life of working, and finding careers and finding time with our children... and trying to find time to do it all." Down Home Fab airs Mondays at 9:01 p.m. ET on HGTV.