‘Battle on the Beach’ Stars Reveal They Were Homeless During HGTV Filming: ‘We Didn’t Tell Nobody’

When Steven and Angelina Jacobs showed up to compete on HGTV‘s Battle on the Beach, they carried a secret far heavier than any renovation challenge: the married couple from Waterbury, Connecticut, had no home to return to.

The pair made their HGTV debut on season 5 of the competition series, which premiered Monday, June 1, competing on a team mentored by Renovation Island host Sarah Baeumler. But behind the scenes, the couple were quietly navigating a financial crisis.

According to a report People published on Monday, June 15, Steven and Angelina were without stable housing throughout the filming process — sleeping on the couch at Angelina’s brother’s home and storing their family’s belongings in a U-Haul truck.

Angelina, who owns her own construction and renovation company, She Buildz Things, explained that the couple made a conscious decision to keep their circumstances private. “We were driving back and forth to jobs. We didn’t tell nobody. …We kept it to ourselves and just kept on going, kept on saving the money,” she said, per the outlet.

That quiet resilience paid off. After the couple claimed victory in the premiere episode’s first renovation challenge and earned a $3,000 cash prize, Angelina briefly let her guard down on camera. “This win is very important because we’ve been going through our own situation, you know, from sleeping on other people’s couches,” she said, per the report. “This money would literally help us be more comfortable.”

The Jacobs, who have been married for 11 years and are parents to four children, were still without a permanent home for a month after filming wrapped. In May, they found and moved into an apartment in Waterbury, per the report.

Their story is one of three at the heart of this season’s competition. Battle on the Beach follows three two-person renovation teams — including husband-and-wife duo Anna and Josiah Julian and mother-daughter pair Michelle Mueller and Sydney Lorence — as they work to boost the rental value and appeal of run-down beachfront vacation properties in South Carolina, competing for a $50,000 grand prize. Each team receives $100,000 to fund their renovations over seven weeks, with guidance from mentors Baeumler, Ty Pennington and Mika Kleinschmidt. Renovation Aloha stars Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama serve as judges.