With five children and a farm full of animals to care for, Dave and Jenny Marrs have a lot on their plate. And that’s not even factoring in their businesses and filming their popular HGTV series Fixer to Fabulous, which returns on January 7.
The Bentonville, Arkansas couple has somehow managed to pull off this work-life juggling act, but the two will be the first to tell you it’s not easy. Here, the Marrs give us insight into how they manage the ever-changing household dynamic.
Your kids are getting older and marking many milestones. How is it showing that part of your life on the show and through social media?
Jenny: The kids are getting older. It’s crazy. It goes so fast. As the big kids get older, they really shy away more so than ever from the cameras. It has been going on for a while now, but really this year they don’t want to have anything to do with cameras, particularly after school and long days. I think you’ll see the big kids not involved anymore. If they want to be part of the show, that’s up to them. We never would push that on them. I think that’s the biggest change viewers will see.
Personally, we have a lot going on. Everyone is busy. Everyone is involved in sports. We’re constantly going here, there and everywhere to keep up with our kids’ schedules. From a balance perspective and for us, there was a lot going on behind the scenes you won’t really see. It has been a crazy year. One choice we did make this year was to not do any other shows [besides Fixer to Fabulous). In the past we’ve done, Home Town Takeover or Rock the Block, or our Italy spinoff. This year we scaled back because of the kids’ schedules and the fact they are getting older. We wanted to create more space in our calendars for them.
Jenny and Dave Marrs (HGTV)
When I spoke with Ben and Erin Napier, they talked about this very thing when it comes to saying no to some things in the interest of family.
Jenny: Yes. Exactly.
Dave: It is a struggle because being a builder, you kind of make hay while the sun is shining. You don’t want to turn down work for fear of no future work, but every parent goes through it. It’s the balance of your time. Sometimes saying no is the best thing you can do. It takes a little while to realize it.
How is it for you to lean on each other? Whether it’s challenging projects or when you’re dealing with issues at home.
Jenny: Thankfully, we have each other and the craziness of schedule and job and all those things. I think it’s nice because we can understand what each of us is going through instead of someone from work trying to explain something to the other if they worked in different jobs. In that way, it is nice because we can rely on each other. We also have a great team and production company. They have been amazing. They have put some boundaries around our time and energy because of our kids and family and the things our kids need us for. They’ve been amazing working with us. It’s a balancing act every year. Thankfully, we help each other carry the load. It’s dropping some balls here and there but having the train move forward.
Dave: It’s like any other family out there. We’re just trying to figure things out every year. We get our kids to school and get them home in the evening, have a nice dinner. All the rest of it is details. We’re just figuring out one day at a time.
What are some goals you set for yourself? What’s on your vision board for 2025?
Jenny: I’m finalizing the edits of another book I’ve been working on for two years now. This one has been a really big project. The final edit is due in the next few weeks. It should be out this fall. That has been taking up a lot of my time and energy over the past two years behind the scenes and is something I’m really excited about. We’re also opening another retail location in downtown Bentonville, which is our little town square. We’re going to feature local artisans we work with and also global pieces we’ve found through traveling and collecting. It will be a little bit of a treasure hunt place, which will be really fun. It will give us one more thing to do and manage. That will be opening up in the spring.
Dave: Every day we’re not working on the show we’re working on other houses, mercantile space. I spent all of yesterday building cabinets for the space. We’re blessed we’re busy. Things are good. All of our kids are involved in some kind of sport or horseback riding. That’s our family time. We love to spend time with the kids. We love to travel as a family. So, that’s what we spend our disposable income on. We go as a family to different places and share different experiences. We’ll figure out something in the next year. Hopefully, people continue watching our show and like it. Then the hope we’ll be talking to you next year about it.
Fixer to Fabulous premiere, January 7, 8/7c, HGTV