What Happened to Ty Pennington? HGTV Star Opens Up About His Health Battle and Life Today

In 2000, Ty Pennington joined the cast of Trading Spaces, TLC’s fun reality program that saw neighbors swap homes for epic renovations. After making a name for himself on the series as a carpenter, he went on to host other reality shows that have truly changed people’s lives. Unfortunately, he faced a scary health battle in recent years. 

What Happened to Ty Pennington?

Prior to his time on Trading Spaces, Ty was pursuing modeling as a full-time career. At the age of 27, he landed on the cover of a J. Crew catalog. It looked like the future was bright for the hunk until an accident changed his career trajectory. 

“Overnight my career seemed to explode … but alas, fate had other plans,” he reflected in a January 2023 Instagram post about the start and sudden end to his modeling career. “Only one week later, I would be in a horrible car accident — catapulted out of a barreling jeep, sliding across a razor-sharp road on my backside. Somehow, I survived … my buttocks sadly did not.”

He received staples and stitches and went back to his roots to continue his construction and carpentry career. Nine years after his accident, Ty was chosen as a carpenter on Trading Spaces. In 2004, the Georgia native began hosting Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, remodeling homes for families in need. He led the show for nine seasons before its successful run on ABC came to an end in 2012. 

“We really pulled off miracles, and there’s not a day [that goes] by that I don’t realize just how amazing that show was and how not only it affected so many families in America, but how it affected all the people that were involved in the show,” Ty shared during a March 2023 interview with The List. “Because I think we were all changed from being part of something like that.”

Where Is Ty Pennington Today?  

So much has changed in Ty’s personal life and career since his days on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. In 2018, Ty returned to TLC for a revival of Trading Spaces with several other original cast members. He also became an HGTV star, debuting his own renovation show, Ty Breaker, in December 2020. The On the Menu alum has become a mentor on Battle on the Beach and serves as the host of Rock the Block. 

Is Ty Pennington Married? 

While filming a show in 2010 in Toronto, Ty met social media manager Kellee Merrell. The pair remained friends over the years before deciding to take their relationship to the next level. In July 2021, the HGTV personality announced that he and the beauty got engaged. The lovebirds got married in November 2021 at their Savannah, Georgia, home while it was undergoing renovations.

“I have admired Kellee from afar for years. She’s a beautiful person inside and out,” he told People a few months ahead of their at-home wedding. “Luckily our paths finally crossed at the right time. It’s one of those things where you just feel happy being around a person. I never thought I would get married, but she changed that. Glad I waited for The One.”

Inside Ty Pennington’s Health Battle

In July 2023, Ty announced that he underwent emergency surgery to have an abscess removed from the back of his throat.

“To shed some light on why I was MIA … Sunday I hit the red carpet for @barbiethemovie, Monday I flew to Colorado to start filming in Breckinridge and Tuesday morning I woke up at 4am and could barely breathe ,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “Turns out, that sore throat I’ve had for the last month was actually an abscess which had grown so large it was closing off my airway. Next thing I know, I was intubated and flown to the ICU in Denver.”

He shared another update on his health in March 2024, nearly a year after the surgery.

“I’m great,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “You know what’s great is if you almost die, you get so much attention. It feels so nice to be that loved.”

“It made me realize you just don’t know when your timecard’s gonna get pulled, so wake up, live every single day to the fullest,” the home improvement star added.