Chelsea DeBoer Gets Emotional as She Opens Up About ‘Crazy’ Journey From ‘Teen Mom’ to ‘Down Home Fab’ Fame

Former "Teen Mom" star Chelsea DeBoer has opened up about her "crazy" transformation from a young single mother to a successful HGTV host—detailing how "emotional" she feels at how far she has come since she made her debut on MTV's "16 and Pregnant."

Chelsea, now 33, was just a teenager when her life was thrust in front of the camera in 2009 and she took center stage in an episode of the hit reality series, in which she documented what it was like to become a mother to daughter Aubree Lind-DeBoer, now 15, before she had finished high school.

Her appearance in the series led to a 10-season run in the show's wildly successful spinoff, "Teen Mom 2," which saw the cameras continuing to follow Chelsea as she wed her now-husband, Cole DeBoer, 37. They now share three children: son Watson, 8, and daughters Layne, 6, and Walker, 4.

Viewers were left devastated in 2020, when Chelsea announced that the family was ending their yearslong run on MTV, a decision that she later said came out of conversations she had with her oldest child that made them realize they weren't "supposed to be on that show anymore."

However, the mother of four's long-running connection to the world of TV was far from over—instead, it was simply evolving with her.

In fact, Chelsea had already sent a direct Instagram message to the popular home improvement network HGTV earlier that year, suggesting that she and Cole launch a new series in which they would document their "homebuilding adventures" in their home state of South Dakota.

Thus, "Down Home Fab" was born, premiering in 2023 and turning Chelsea into one of the network's most popular stars.

Today, Chelsea says that she's living her dream life designing dream homes, yet she admits that even she can't believe how far she has come since her days as a teenage mother, noting that she struggles to recognize herself in clips from her MTV days.

“It’s crazy when I think back to the beginning and how much I’ve changed,” she tells Realtor.com® from her home in Sioux Falls, SD, ahead of her show's season three finale.

Still, Chelsea concedes that it's been a challenge to shed the limitations placed upon her by critics who see her a teen mom and nothing more.

“I think it’s just such a common thing for people to feel like they are always tied to something in their life,” she adds, “but it just was motivation for me to want to be something more.”

These days, Chelsea and Cole are proud to be parents and thriving business owners. In addition to showcasing their home design and project management careers on “Down Home Fab,” they co-own a namesake decor and furniture store, Down Home by DeBoers, which has a brick-and-mortar location in the nearby town of Tea, SD, as well as an online store.  

“Everything has been going so great,” says Cole. “We are just so grateful.”

Chelsea also boasts additional roles as the founder and co-founder of several companies, including her lifestyle brand, Aubree Says, which she named for her first-born child.

Going from teen mom to business titan is a personal evolution Chelsea doesn’t take for granted.

“This life that I am living now is what I would dream about back then,” she says. “It makes me emotional.”

Nevertheless, with four children, two cats, one dog, and farm animals at home, plus multiple businesses to attend to, there’s not much time for introspection.

“We are busy, busy,” says Chelsea. “Every day is different and while I wish we were the organized type, we are not. It’s just pure chaos at all times, but family time is our biggest priority. We try to make sure weekends are so family focused.”

Lately, the DeBoer family’s work-life balance is more of a blend, as Aubree has been accompanying Chelsea and Cole on job sites and offering her opinion on design details.

“Aubree is a teenager, so she doesn’t have too much to say and doesn’t give us too much praise—typical,” notes Chelsea. “But it does just make it that much cooler in the times that she does give us a little praise. She’s been showing some interest in what we do here and there and it’s awesome to see.”

Chelsea and Cole welcome Aubree’s style input onscreen and off, telling Realtor.com they’re building a coffin-shaped shelf for their eldest daughter’s room now that the teen has entered her moody “emo era.”

It’s a phase of life Chelsea is all too familiar with, having identified as “emo” when she was younger and still retaining some of its signature style elements—like the color black—in adulthood.

But just as Chelsea herself has evolved, so too has her design aesthetic.

“‘South Dakota Glam’ was definitely my early design [style] with lots of black, glam, and bold moments here and there but still homey,” she explains. “I feel like ‘Cowboy Contemporary’ is, like, the next evolution. 

“It’s still bold, it’s still moody, but it’s warmed up with more rustic charm. I really love that balance of rustic and edgy. If you walk into a space and it has that mix of modern, moody, [and] a little rustic—and maybe some cowhide mixed in—chances are I’ve had my hands on it!”

The cowhide pattern has become a calling card of the DeBoers, and according to Chelsea, it’s the perfect decor detail to embrace when introducing the “Cowboy Contemporary” look into any type of abode.

“Any time there’s a new trend that you want to incorporate into your home, start with things you can change out,” she recommends. “Bring it in with decor, accents—maybe even peel and stick wallpaper. See if it’s something you think you’d eventually like to live with more permanently before committing.”

Taking into consideration a household’s unique, ever-changing needs is another design rule the DeBoers follow. They’re big believers in building timeless homes that can easily grow alongside their inhabitants.

“You shouldn’t have to sacrifice a beautiful space for family-friendly design; it can be both,” says Chelsea. “I like to think long term: Can this be used when your kids aren’t little?”

That sentiment is what’s guiding Chelsea and Cole to make some much-needed adjustments at their own place.

“I’m always putting Cole to work,” admits Chelsea. “I just had him install some built-ins next to our fireplace and I love how they turned out. I’m currently trying to convince him to build a huge deck, but so far he’s not going for it! 

“I’ll always have a long list of dream projects that I want done around here. It’s just finding the time to do them.” 

Having also just starred on Season 6 of HGTV’s “Rock the Block” competition series, which concluded in May, it’s no surprise the DeBoers haven’t had much time to take care of their personal projects. But they say getting the opportunity to battle some of HGTV’s heaviest hitters and prove themselves to be worthy competitors was worth any sacrifice they had to make.

“It means more than we can even describe,” says Chelsea. “That experience was everything to us and to be part of the HGTV and ‘Rock the Block’ club, it just means so much to us. We worked really hard during that, and we are proud of the home we created on the show.”

And now that Chelsea and Cole are no longer underestimated rookies on “Rock the Block”—or any block for that matter—it’s clear their future is one that is pregnant with possibility.

“I have always been a big dreamer,” muses Chelsea. “I never know what’s next. I really want to focus so hard on my current businesses and growing those and who knows where we will wind up next!”