Meet Candis and Andy Meredith, the couple at the center of Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network controversy

• Candis and Andy Meredith are at the heart of the "Home Work" controversy.
• The Utah-based couple have been renovating homes together since 2013.

Andy and Candis Meredith have become household names in recent days, though they were already on their way to fame before they were embroiled in a reality television scandal.

Andy and Candis live in Utah in a 20,000-square-foot school they refurbished with their seven children, which they documented for their show on Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network, "Home Work."

But "Home Work" was temporarily pulled from the network's lineup just days after its cable launch on January 5 when homeowners featured on the series alleged that the Merediths ruined their houses. The Merediths have since refuted the claims, and Magnolia said on Friday that it would air the show again.

Despite the renewed attention on them, the Merediths have been popular in the home improvement world for years.

Andy and Candis Meredith have been working in the home space for years

The Merediths began working on renovation projects as a team in 2013 after they tied the knot, according to People. They document their projects on social media, with the couple primarily focusing on renovations of older homes, as the publication reported.

Andy and Candis' popularity grew in the interior-design world after the couple was featured in a limited HGTV series, "Old Home Love," in 2015, on which they renovated a house from 1890, according to the HGTV website.

They also developed the Facebook show "Win This House" in 2017, in which they renovated a home that a viewer could then win, according to the show's IMDB page. The winner also received $50,000.

And in 2018, the Merediths remodeled the home of The Bucket List Family. The influencers have over 2 million Instagram followers.

They documented the renovation of the family's Hawaii bungalow in a YouTube series called Traveling home.

The Merediths started filming a show for Magnolia Network in 2019

Chip and Joanna Gaines announced they would be launching Magnolia Network in 2019 with a full docket of original shows, according to a Discovery+ press release.

According to People, the Merediths started discussing the possibility of a new show for Magnolia Network in 2018. At the time, they were preparing to start renovations on their 20,000-square-foot schoolhouse, as the publication reported.

That show turned into "Home Work," which followed both their transformation of the school into a home for their family and their renovations of local Utah homes. According to People, the Merediths found homeowners to appear on the show and started renovations in 2019.

The show was set to make its cable premiere after Magnolia Network launched on January 5, 2022, following delays because of COVID-19.

'Home Work' clients alleged that Candis and Andy Meredith ruined their houses

Aubry Bennion, Teisha and Jeff Hawley, and Vienna and Rob Goates all spoke out about their "Home Work" experience on Instagram, as Insider previously reported.

The Utah homeowners said the Merediths went tens of thousands of dollars over budget on their renovations and makeovers that were supposed to take weeks went on for months. Bennion also said she had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to fix issues the Merediths' renovation created in her home.

The homeowners told Insider that they tried to reach out to Magnolia Network for help, but were "brushed off" as the Goateses put it.

"I want Magnolia to be accountable," Bennion told Insider. "It's mind-blowing to me that they would put Magnolia's name and reputation on the line or that they would allow these people to represent them without any sort of oversight or mentoring."

"People with 'celebrity' status can't have power over others just because they feel like they can," Hawley echoed, adding that "the Magnolia name (as well as Chip and Jo's)" gave them "a sense of safety and security" in working with the Merediths.

Allison Page, the president of Magnolia Network, confirmed to Insider on January 7 that the network was pulling "Home Work" from its lineup and said it was reviewing the claims made against the Merediths.

"Magnolia Network is aware that certain homeowners have expressed concerns about renovation projects undertaken by Candis and Andy Meredith," Page's statement said. "Within the last day, we have learned additional information about the scope of these issues, and we have decided to remove 'Home Work' from the Magnolia Network line up pending a review of the claims that have been made."

The Merediths have denied the accusations

Andy and Candis Meredith refuted the allegations the homeowners made against them in a statement to Insider on January 12 that they later shared to Instagram in a series of eight posts.

In the statement, Andy and Candis acknowledged that some of the show's renovations took longer than they expected, but they viewed the delays as standard issues in the construction industry.

The couple also told Insider they were hired as consultants on these projects, while local, licensed general contractors did the actual work on the homes featured on the series. Andy said that meant he and Candis acted as the go-between for clients and the contractors, so they took the brunt of people's frustrations when issues came up — even if they couldn't control things like contractors' schedules.

"I think a lot of the anger and the hurt was focused on us personally because we were the ones in the middle trying to make everybody happy," Andy said.

The Merediths also said they thought any issues that had come up during the renovations had been resolved, so they found their clients' public statements shocking.

"Although we acknowledge how difficult things have been for homeowners, we have always been available to discuss, and we would've been more than open to hearing how they were feeling to come to some kind of agreement," Candis said. "We were always willing to try to make something better for them. And ultimately we genuinely just wanted them to love their homes."

Andy said "it's obvious" the statements made against them were "prepared and launched at us at a time to hurt us the most personally and not in a way to fix or to address the actual issues," adding that they were intended "to take us down."

Magnolia Network announced it would be airing 'Home Work' again last week

Page announced the show would air again on Magnolia Network in a statement that was shared with Insider on Friday.

"We strive to meet people with compassion, and to cautiously approach difficult moments with honest understanding," Page said in the statement.

"Magnolia Network is dedicated to sharing hopeful and genuine stories," the statement read. "After speaking with homeowners as well as Candis and Andy Meredith regarding renovation projects for Home Work, and hearing a mix of both positive and negative experiences, we do not believe there was ill or malicious intent."

Page also said that the network would be finding "appropriate resolutions for those whose experience with 'Home Work' fell short of our network's standards" in the same statement.

"While 'Home Work' will return to Magnolia Network, we recognize the responsibility we have to act on how we can better support not only our talent, but those who put their trust in them and this brand," she added in the statement.

If you want to get in touch with Insider regarding Andy and Candis Meredith or "Home Work," email sgrindell@insider.com.