Jonathan Knight Has To Be A Home Renovator, Financial Planner And A Therapist On ‘Farmhouse Fixer’: “I Got The Best Job Ever”
Knight came to the Page Six Studio to chat with Decider about Season 3, incorporating sage into his process and why he would have done better on The Amazing Race if Crestin was by his side instead of then-partner/now-husband Harley Rodriguez.
DECIDER: You’re back with a familiar home—the John Proctor house in Peabody, MA—in the season three premiere. Obviously, the black mold situation was incredibly unfortunate, but normally, do you like having repeat clients?
JONATHAN KNIGHT: You know, this was our first repeat client. However, I would love to go back to some of these houses we’ve worked on. We budget these renovations to not break the bank for the homeowners but still give them something they want. Because of budgetary restrictions, we don’t get to lots of improvements that I would love to go back and help them achieve. You know, finish that laundry room on the second floor that you don’t see on TV or just different projects like that.
I will say I have been back to a lot of the clients’ houses just for parties and stuff. It’s been super cool that we’ve stayed close with all our homeowners. The biggest reason I do this is to bring people joy, you know? It’s just so great to still be friends with our past clients and see pictures of their kids eating at the kitchen that we put in. I have the best job ever.
You can feel that closeness through the screen because you’re so much more than a home renovator. You’re also a therapist and a financial planner. Is that additional pressure difficult to tote or is that just part of the gig?
Not really difficult. I think that’s just me. When we go into these houses, people will have big plans a lot of the time, and I always try to rein them back in. I’m like, “You don’t want to spend the money here.” When I have to tell them how much a renovation is going to cost, that kills my soul because people work really hard for their money and a renovation is not cheap, especially in New England. Other home renovation shows take place down south where labor’s cheaper, everything is cheaper. The Northeast is one of the most expensive places in the country.
I was really surprised to see you, a man from Worcester, incorporate some of the more hippy-dippy stuff like burning sage into your process. What other new-age practices have you embraced?
You know, I’ve never professionally “saged” a house before. That was an idea that Kristina and I came up with, and we just ran with it and had fun. If there were ghosts in that house, they probably saw what we were doing that day and they were like, “These two are nuts. We’re out of here.” So, yeah, that was the first—but maybe not the last—new-age thing we’ve done.
In the season trailer, we see you add to your real estate portfolio with a lake house, but you might have some regrets about it. What can you tell us about that investment?
I tend to jump in feet first without thinking. I’m definitely an emotional buyer, which nobody should be when it comes to buying investment properties. It’s been a year now since I’ve owned it, and it’s coming together really nicely, so I’m really happy with it.You have an amazing partnership with Kristina, but I want to talk about your partnership with Harley. You and your now-husband ran The Amazing Race back in 2015 before you were married…
Crazy, right? Like, what was I thinking?
You finished 9th, which is fine but…
No, it’s not. Don’t sugarcoat it. Nine stinks.
What I want to know is how do you think you would fare if you ran it with Kristina?
We probably would’ve come in first. She is so organized, and she has a computer memory, whereas Harley and I were just like, “Where are we going?” That show is so much harder when you are doing it than it is on TV. [laughs] Sometimes, I forget that I took that crazy risk and did that show.
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