Mina Starsiak is the leading star of the HGTV reality show, Good Bones. The show focuses on Mina and her mother, Karen rehabilitating rundown homes in their hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana.
The mother-daughter duo gained popularity with their infectiously positive attitudes. They have also inspired and taught viewers a thing or two about home demos over the seasons of Good Bones.
Once a waitress’s journey to becoming a peculiar TV celebrity is a unique story in itself. While Mina’s followers are ever so growing, she has, on occasions, found herself jumping over hurdles; be it her love struggles with her husband or her issues with having children. Additionally, fans have always wondered what she’s up to between reviving homes.
So here are some never before heard things about the Good Bones driving factor, Mina Starsiak.
Mina Starsiak’s Early Life
Mina was born on November 26, 1984, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the daughter of Casey Starsiak and Karen E Laine. Mina studied at Indiana University. She graduated with a general studies degree and a litany of minors from Indiana University.
After college, she worked as a waitress at Pizzology for a while to pay the bills. Being a Starsiak and red-haired, statistics show Mina’s ancestry roots back to England or Ireland. Though the renovator is yet to have a say about her forebears.
Mina Starsiak. Source: InstagramMina said to Indianapolis that she had read the directions for flooring and putting up light fixtures mostly on YouTube and expressed that no one has to teach you how to break “shit”. It was a $12,000 house in desperate need of repair.
How Mina Starsiak Got Her Own Show?
While giving re-life to her first house she found something she enjoyed doing; working independently and being her own boss. After the first project was finished, she and her mother quickly jumped on to the next one. They were doing about 1-3 houses a year depending upon what they could afford.
After that, the HGTV tried to get in touch with her. The network sent out a self-filmed “sizzler” reel. That reel led to a pilot, and that pilot led to the first season. And that’s how Good Bones started its television journey.
Mina and her mom had been in the house repairing business for seven years before they got a surprising Facebook message from a talent scout at production company High Noon Entertainment.
Starsiak Hawk Has A Complicated Family Tree
Mina Starsiak is among seven siblings, five brothers, and two sisters. They are all from her parents’ different marriages.
Her father, Casey, had three children with Laine, including herself. After their divorce, Casey became husband to a woman named Cheryl. They had two children, Jess and Tad Starsiak, confirms PEOPLE. After Laine divorced Casey, she married Randy and they had a daughter, Kelsey.
Lenny, the general contractor for Two Chicks and a Hammer is also a member of the family. He was hitched to Cheryl before her marriage to Casey. After Casey and Cheryl parted ways, Cheryl and Lenny rekindled their relationship. This made Lenny Tad’s stepfather.
Cheryl later died after which Lenny married a woman named Ginger. Laine also later separated from Randy and married a man named Mick. That conjugal ended as well, and Laine is now enjoying her marital ride with Roger.
Mina Starsiak’s Married Life With Stephen Hawk
Mina is married to Stephen Hawk with whom she shares two children, Jack (born, August 9, 2018) and Charlotte Drew Hawk (born, September 16, 2020). Steve and Starsiak first connected through Facebook in 2013. She noticed a photo of him and thought he was cute, or in Karen’s saying, “stunningly handsome.”
It was the Starsiak girl who was attracted to the latter since the beginning. When they finally meet in person at a basketball game, through mutual friends, the future life partner of Mina hardly noticed her would-be bride. She said he ignored her all night.
Mina and Steve Hawk married on June 11, 2016. Source: InstagramIn fact, as per Mina, he had even let his friends hit on her. They eventually sparked the romance but Steve as per Karen behaved phenomenally bad towards her daughter. In fact, it grew up to the point, where they had to take a break. After the on-again, off-again scenario, the guy finally proposed to his girl in 2015. He created a scavenger hunt that turned into a proposal on the Colts’ 50-yard-line.
Mina’s Mother Warned Her Husband
In 2018, while interviewing for Country Living, Mina explained her future husband was quite apathetic towards her. She continued to pursue him despite his disinterest. They somehow became a couple before eventually breaking up.
During the interview, Karen disclosed the reason behind their split was Steve’s bad behavior towards her daughter. She also said she had given him a warning about hurting her daughter “when they decided to get back together.”
Mina’s husband initially didn’t like her. Source: InstagramThings now appear to be under the bridge between Karen and her son-in-law. Karen thinks first impressions hardly matters. She has also admitted her love for Steve.
“I love him because we have been through some conflict and struggle together and we have grown in that. We have both committed to working through that.”
Karen shared with Country Living in May 2018.
Mina and Steve Had Their Wedding With Donuts
A year after the betrothal, Starsiak, and Hawk exchanged their vows on June 11, 2016. The pair instead of having a wedding cake celebrated their marriage with 400 donuts in the Indianapolis’ 1899 building. Her half-sister Kelsy Gray served as her maid of honor.
Mina Starsiak and Stephen Hawk during their wedding. Source: Instagram/HGTVThe couple had taken 11 dance lessons to perfect their first promenade prior to their big day. In a classic historic building in Indianapolis, the bride sported the strapless sweetheart lace trumpet gown and swapped her hammer for a bouquet of soft pink peonies and white hydrangea.
Mina Starsiak Is Open To Sharing About Her Personal Affairs
Mina Starsiak is quite transparent about her off-the-work life. As such, she became expressively let it all out woman when she cried about her infertility on her Instagram. Apparently, after the birth of her first child, the doctor had told her that she would only become a mother to another kid through an egg donor.
She was able to enjoy motherhood for the second time through intrauterine insemination. Before this, she had gone through several failing IVF attempts.
Mina Starsiak And Her Husband Are Done With Having Kids
Mina has announced through her Insta she will not be having any more children. She stated her husband was planning to have a vasectomy and that they are not testing fate.
Mina and her husband Steve have decided not to have any more children. Source: InstagramKaren’s daughter maintained she and her hubby are content with their two kids. To House Beautiful, she explained it would be super difficult for her to have children of her own in part to her incredibly low egg counts.
“I’m a planner and a bit of a control freak, so we’re done. We’re planned. It’s all good,”
The freckled face repair woman said to the US weekly in June 2021. She, however, considers adoption a definite option albeit a tricky ride – one that in her opinion, would need a huge strength.
She Hates To Define Her Job As Just Another Way Of Making Money
Mina along with her mother is quite adamant about establishing that her job is more about rejuvenating the house and subsequently the community than just profiting off from selling the houses.
She states she and her ma wouldn’t have installed new electrical, HVAC, plumbing had it just been about making greens. She insists that the mother-daughter duo is truly rehabbing neighborhoods. Steve’s missus believes her gig on Good Bones might help Indianapolis’ small businesses to grow more in the future.
Mina’s The More Mature One Compared To Her Mother
The mother of Jack and Charlotte says she is the one who acts all serious when it comes to their house remodeling jobs. Mina says her own mom, on the other hand, has a bit of a hippie personality. Their different personalities have often led to frictions between the two.
Their otherwise cold feud is occasionally the intriguing factor for Good Bones viewers. They, though, manage to work past their differences and almost always get their jobs done.
Mina And Her Mother Struggled Financially In The Early Days Of Good Bones
Tad’s half-sister agrees with her mother in saying that they had gone through some bad financial times during the beginning days of Good Bones. The ladies had to juggle through both having the need to grow Two Chicks and Hammer and making a show in tandem.
The pair had to take out mortgages and even ask their family to invest in their startup. They say that to date they wrestle with the difficulties of making enough profit.
She And Her Mother Had To Face Sexism
While the two have received a fair share of adulation, they have also been the subject of internet ridicules needing to deal with a lot of sexist comments. Despite their apparent hard work, they still have to demand respect from men. Mina’s mother has even told of the accounts where the boys had been demeaning to her feminine side.
She says having to deal with 50 something old guys have brought her and her daughter lots of mouth and condescension.
Mina Starsiak Was Skeptic About Doing Good Bones
The Hoosier wasn’t buying the idea that some company was willing to televise their endeavors. She even thought it was rather a scam to get their business information. The Indianapolis native said she would get constant calls from a woman, who she initially thought was a con. Her mother, on the other hand, had a dream of being featured on TV.
Her Mother Retired From The Two Chicks And Hammer In 2019
In 2019, the mother hen announced she was stepping back from her family business. The revelation was done in a post on the Two Chicks and a Hammer Instagram account.
Mina Starsiak’s mother Karen retired from Two Chicks and Hammer in 2019. Source: InstagramThe caption told Karen would be retiring from the show after a long career of practicing law and revitalizing homes and neighborhoods. The post though mentioned that she would still be part of Good Bones. After the news, her daughter took it to her own Insta to thank for all of Karen’s support.
She Has Starred On Other HGTV Shows
Mina and her mother have appeared on other HGTV programs. In 2019, both of them were spotted on the network’s A Very Brandy Renovation. The show saw some of HGTV’s biggest names whose jobs include resuscitating the homes.
Later that year, Hawk competed on HGTV’s another project, Rock the Block, on which four of the channel’s stars competed against each other to restore four identical houses on the same block. The object was to add the most property value to the given house. Karen’s daughter did well, but Jasmine Roth of Hidden Potential was named the winner.
Mina Starsiak Opening Her Own Business
In 2020, Mina and Karen launched Two Chicks District Co. in Indianapolis. The store provides home decor, apparel, accent decor, jewelry, gift, and furnishings inspired by the ladies’ signature style. It is located at 531 S. East St., Indianapolis, IN 46225, 317 – 426 – 3652. The opening hour includes Thursday – Saturday (11am – 7pm) and Sunday (12pm – 6pm).