Mina Starsiak Hawk & Karen E. Laine ‘Not on Good Terms’ Details about their Disputes

The stars of the beloved show “Good Bones” are facing a challenging situation. Mina Starsiak Hawk, a familiar face on HGTV for many years, recently shared some unfortunate news. The show, in which she has been a prominent figure since 2016 alongside her mother Karen E. Laine, who is an expert in renovation and law, will be concluding after its eighth season. This final season premiered on August 15, 2023.

Karen E. Laine had retired from the renovation business she co-owned with her daughter, known as Two Chicks and a Hammer, back in 2019. Despite her retirement, she had continued to make appearances on the show, engaging in DIY projects and offering her expertise on various renovation matters.

In the upcoming 10-episode concluding season, as indicated by HGTV in a press release, the dynamic duo will persist in their tradition of acquiring run-down properties in Indianapolis. Their mission remains focused on transforming these properties into beautifully revitalized family homes, intended for sale. Notably, this season will also involve assisting Mina Starsiak Hawk’s younger siblings, her sister Kelsy and brother Tad, in reimagining and renovating their own new homes.

Upon the initial announcement of the show’s conclusion, Starsiak Hawk shared the news on her “Mina AF” podcast on August 8. She mentioned that the decision to end the show was arrived at amicably in collaboration with HGTV, and she likened the separation from the show’s cast and crew to the emotional experience of a divorce.

In the latest episode of her podcast, Starsiak Hawk has shed further light on the circumstances surrounding the show’s conclusion. She disclosed that her mother, herself, and her siblings are currently facing challenges and difficulties. Here are the essential details you should be aware of:

Mina Starsiak Hawk Describes Relationship With Mom & Brothers

In the most recent installment of her podcast, released on August 28 but recorded a week prior to her son Jack’s fifth birthday on August 9, Starsiak Hawk delved into her concerns. She grappled with the dilemma of determining the guest list for Jack’s birthday celebration, an event traditionally centered around family. She openly acknowledged that her interactions with her own family were presenting difficulties, prompting her to contemplate whether omitting them from the guest list would hold significance for her children, Jack and his two-year-old sister, Charlie.

 

“Will it affect my kids? Will they even notice who’s here and who’s not here? There’s going to be a bunch of animals. That’s all they care about,”

she said.

Starsiak Hawk mused,

“Am I being true to myself and my husband by setting appropriate boundaries for certain people to be here or not be here?”

Describing the “current state of affairs” to curious fans, Mina Staarsiak said,

“My mom and I aren’t in a great place. My brother Tad and I aren’t in a great place. My brother William and I are in a kind-of-like-nonexistent place. It’s complicated without even being complicated. We don’t really engage much and the last engagement wasn’t super-positive, and that was maybe a year ago.”

“We all always coexist,” Mina continued.

“We went on family vacation together and everyone is pleasant enough around each other. And is that the good thing — the right thing — or is that all just being wildly dysfunctional?”

Thinking again about whether they should be at her kids’ birthdays, she said,

“Not only do my mom and my two brothers not fall into that category of being involved in their life on a regular basis, we’re also not on good terms.”

Tad, the half-brother of Starsiak Hawk, played a significant role on the show “Good Bones” for an extended period, occupying the role of project manager for various renovation projects. As detailed by ScreenRant, Tad’s early life was marked by the loss of his biological mother during his youth. Karen E. Laine stepped in as a maternal figure, nurturing a strong and intimate connection between them.

During her most recent podcast episode, Starsiak Hawk offered insights into her family dynamics. She shared that her children have come to recognize Tad as “the uncle present during Thanksgiving gatherings at her father’s residence.” This description underlines the relationship they share, reflecting the way he is integrated into their family gatherings and celebrations.

“We all come together for the things that are important to my dad,” she said.

“So we all go on family vacation and kind of deal with whatever weird awkwardness is happening at the time. And we all act nice and like normal adult humans, because this is an important thing for a handful of different people. I think at the top of that list is my dad.”

“Whenever there’s an event,”

she continued,

“we all put our big-kid pants on and pretend to be nice to each other and do the event, and then go back to our corners of the universe and talk s*** about each other.”

“And I just don’t want to do that,”

she said.

“Because that doesn’t feel genuine. It doesn’t feel real. And it’s just not what I want my life to be.”

This Is Not the First Time Mina Starsiak Hawk Has Been Estranged From Her Mom

On August 8, the same day when Starsiak Hawk disclosed the conclusion of the show, her mother took to Instagram to share a promo for the final season. In the comment section, she weighed in on the situation, expressing, “I wouldn’t call this the end, who knows what the future holds.” When a fan inquired if this hinted at a new show being developed, Laine enigmatically responded, “It means that one person’s perspective on their future does not control other people’s perspectives about the future.”

Responding to a different fan’s plea for a gardening show, Laine replied, “from your lips to HGTV’s ears.”

Two days later, Laine uploaded a photo featuring her alongside her daughter. A comment expressing disappointment about the conclusion of “Good Bones” prompted her to reply, “Just because Mina says it’s over for her, doesn’t mean the future doesn’t hold something for me.” Up until the current time, Laine had not specifically addressed Starsiak Hawk’s revelations concerning their present family dynamics. However, this isn’t the first instance of a strained relationship between the mother-daughter duo.

In a 2021 interview with The List, Starsiak Hawk revealed, “We always have these ups and downs. That’s how mom and I have been, honestly, since I was like 6. We didn’t talk for a year — like, my first year of college.”

Prior to the formal announcement of “Good Bones” concluding, Starsiak Hawk had hinted at forthcoming changes during an early August appearance on the “Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz” podcast. While leaving the door open for potential future HGTV projects, she indicated that these might not necessarily involve her mother. She mentioned, “Just a lot of cool different things that are happening. My mom’s in North Carolina with her house. We’re all just … it’s been almost 10 years that we’ve been doing ‘Good Bones,’ so we’ve got this nice, like, reset where we’re all figuring out what the new, next exciting thing is. And I’m sure whatever that is, it’s going to be on camera.”

HGTV also issued a statement to Deadline, stating, “While this is the end of ‘Good Bones’ as we know it, we’re currently in talks with Mina and Karen about other projects.”