The Serious Accident That Changed Ty Pennington's Life Forever

Ty Pennington is the affable carpenter that started his television career on TLC's "Trading Spaces" in 2000. He then went on to host "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC and soon became a household name in the design and renovating world. While Pennington is known for his adept carpentry skills, he didn't always think his career would be rebuilding homes. "I always thought I was going to be a graphic designer and a fine artist. I went to art school to be that and doing construction was just to pay the bills. It's just interesting how life is but because I ended up sort of having experience in these different areas that actually work out really well doing renovation TV," he told The News-Herald.

While Pennington was in school, a model scout suggested he use his good looks to make some extra money, which he gave a shot. He was quite successful, traveling all over the world for modeling jobs, and his career might have taken a drastic turn if it weren't for a fateful accident in his younger years.

Ty Pennington almost had a successful career as a model, but a horrific accident changed the course of his life. The home renovator shared a throwback pic from his modeling days and wrote, "Looking back, I remember the absolute shock of hearing I was on the @jcrew cover. This one image finally gave my sad attempt at being a professional 'Male Model' a glimmer of hope. Overnight my career seemed to explode ... but alas, fate had other plans." He revealed that he was in a car accident that threw him out of his vehicle. "Somehow, I survived... my buttocks sadly did not. The staples and stitches couldn't revive my new found 'Body of Work' in Modelling," he continued.

At the time, Pennington had no idea that the car crash would lead to bigger and better things. "I just find it interesting that like I'd finally made it with the J. Crew cover, the phone was about to go off the hook, but the universe literally wiped me away from that future. I had no idea at the time but it made me go back to just doing construction and I would have never gone on the audition for 'Trading Spaces' if I had not been going back to construction. Because my agency wouldn't even call me anymore," he told Too Fab. Pennington's take on fate helped him with his thriving career and he used his outlook to make a leap that paid off in the end.

Ty Pennington got his television start in "Trading Spaces," but he ultimately quit the show after feeling unappreciated. "I was on the road so much, I started losing the clients I had, and so I could really only just work on the house I lived in, which means I was losing the income I was making. So, I was hit with sort of a tough decision. I tried to get a raise and that wasn't going to happen," he told Fox News. He shared that he "screamed all night" but in the end, his decision to quit proved to be fruitful.

"I had to quit that job because I knew I was worth more than I was being paid. I took a real ballsy move, and I quit the best job I'd ever been given because I was sort of insulted," Pennington reflected, per People. "The thing about luck to me is sometimes something bad can happen that actually leads to something even bigger and better. You think that it's the end of the world, but it's actually just a whole new page that's being turned into a chapter," he continued. Pennington recalled the accident that changed his life and shared that his modeling career "was about to take off" but the stitches prevented him from moving on. Ultimately, things worked out for the television personality and Pennington still continues to be a fan-favorite home renovator.