The Fixer Upper Homeowners Who Felt Deceived By Chip And Joanna Gaines

Husband and wife duo Chip and Joanna Gaines first burst onto the television scene in 2013 with the premiere of their reality series "Fixer Upper" and quickly solidified their role as HGTV's golden couple. "Television was the spark — or maybe you'd argue it was the jet fuel that was poured onto the spark," Chip told Variety about the couple's almost overnight success. "Now Jo and I are just constantly fighting for 'What's the purpose of it all?' What are we supposed to do as it relates to our kids? What are we supposed to do as it relates to this beautiful community?" he confessed. "We want this city to be better because of the opportunity that we've been given. We do not want to look back in the rearview mirror of life and realize that we didn't make a great impact," Chip declared.

Alas, one couple argued that the king and queen of shiplap have done the exact opposite and even deceived them in the process.

Fixer upper gone wrong?

Season 3 "Fixer Upper" contestants Ken and Kelly Downs got the scare of a lifetime in July 2017 when they were awoken to the sound of a drunk driver crashing his vehicle into their newly renovated home à la Chip and Joanna Gaines. "The yard is built up several feet, and he hit the embankment of the yard, apparently went airborne, and like a lot of older homes, this house was built up off the ground, so he cleared the rest of the yard," Waco assistant fire chief Don Yeager disclosed in a statement to Waco Herald-Tribune, via People. "He didn't hurt the hedges, but he took out the railing on the porch and went right into the window of the front room and hit an interior wall that might be a load-bearing wall." While the couple was unharmed they argued that the incident wasn't just an isolated freak incident but rather an accident just waiting to happen.

There goes the neighborhood.

According to homeowners and "Fixer Upper" contestants Ken and Kelly Downs, the neighborhood Chip and Joanna Gaines encouraged them to move in is not what they purported it to be. "It's like the Wild West here. There's been a lot of commotion coming from the bars and the store across the street," Kelly told the Waco Tribune-Herald (via People). "It's been a problem from the beginning," she declared. "We feel deceived by the city of Waco and [Chip and Joanna Gaines's firm] Magnolia Realty." But that's not all. Kelly Downs also alleged that she and her husband had been victims of intimidation and harassment from locals in the community who are less than enthused with the town's growing popularity due to the show. "People have complained about their taxes going up because we moved here. Store owners have complained about taxes," Kelly said (via Vanity Fair).

Still, a bouncer at a nightclub near the home argued that the community isn't nearly as dangerous as the Downses claimed. "It is not the prettiest looking neighborhood, but anytime I've ever heard gunshots or anything violent it has never been across the street or a block away," Ethan Kennedy told the Tribune (via CountryLiving). "It is never in that neighborhood, and I've never had any problems with people coming up and trying to cause a problem." The home is now listed on Airbnb.