Tragic Details Of HGTV's Good Bones Star Mina Hawk
The following article contains references to child abuse, mental illness, and substance misuse.
Thanks to HGTV's "Good Bones," Mina Starsiak Hawk went from running her Two Chicks and a Hammer home renovation business to becoming a beloved reality TV star. "We built the company from the ground up with no debt," she told USA Today of working with her mother in 2015. "I would go wait tables and she would literally go lawyer some stuff. We would come back and say, 'This is how much we've got. Let's go lay some tile!'" Working in the male-dominated construction industry, Hawk is an inspirational figure dismantling gender stereotypes and undoubtedly paving the way for future female construction workers.
Although she enjoyed considerable success following the hit reality series, which ran from 2016 to 2023, Mina Starsiak Hawk's life has been far from a fairytale. During the show's run, the HGTV star faced the hard consequences of working with her family, as well as the stresses of her newfound fame, which ended up conjuring past traumas. Get the hankies ready as we run down tragic details of HGTV's "Good Bones" star Mina Hawk.
Mina Starsiak Hawk had a nightmarish childhood
Mina Starsiak Hawk's childhood was far from ideal. The reality star has described the severe neglect she allegedly suffered at the hands of her parents. During an episode of her "Mina AF" podcast, Hawk opened up about her childhood trauma. She revealed that she was left to her own devices as a kid, frequently exploring the sketchy neighborhood in which her family lived without parental supervision. For instance, she recalled going on so-called adventures with her siblings and the family's eight dogs, unwittingly stealing from people who were unhoused. "As a kid, I had so many fun adventures," she said. "Looking back as an adult, I'm like, 'What the f*** was I doing and where were my parents?'"
Moreover, her parents put Hawk and her siblings at risk of harming themselves. "We would play hide and seek in the backyard," she recalled, "and there was this outhouse with like a broken down boat and, like, you know, shattered windows and we would have trash can fires in the middle [of the] trashcan." Hawk still has a scar on her wrist from touching a metal trashcan when she was around 7 years old.
As she gets older, she has been able to reflect on these experiences, which taught her about dysfunctional family dynamics. Accordingly, she said that her trauma has ultimately helped her become a better parent to her own kids.
She's struggled with anxiety and medication withdrawal
On a 2023 episode of "Mina AF," Mina Starsiak Hawk opened up about her long history of mental health issues. From a young age, she started undergoing therapy in the wake of her parents' divorce, but found it to be an unhelpful experience as a child. "I'm not gonna lie, I did not have a great relationship with therapy," she admitted. "I thought it was just kind of, you know, what you have to do to check the box to say ... 'Yeah, I tried to help my kids get through this.'"
She began taking ADHD medication in college, but her anxiety came to the forefront once she reached her 20s. Such anxiety was exacerbated by her budding TV career; feeling overwhelmed with all the changes in her life, she was put on the antidepressants Wellbutrin and Lexapro. "It keeps me myself, but just not as high [a] level of anxiety," she said. "Because I get, like, I physically manifest my anxiety: My jaw locks up, I clench my fists, I get nauseous ... So the addition of the Lexapro was really, really helpful for me."
In time, she decided to come off the Lexapro as she found that it was negatively affecting her sex drive. However, this resulted in severe SSRI withdrawal. "It felt like my brain was having these little zappy seizures all the time, all day," she said. After several months, the withdrawal symptoms subsided.
Her sister-in-law died young
In 2020, Mina Starsiak Hawk's sister-in-law, Stefanie Hawk, died at just 31. In an emotional Instagram post, Mina paid tribute to her late loved one, whom she has referred to as her own sister. "She was such a bright light in all of our lives for such a long time," she wrote. "There is nothing to say that makes it easier or better, especially in this time where our access to loved ones and friends is so limited."
Her cause of death was later confirmed as ethanol poisoning. Since Stefanie died in March 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mina was unable to hold a memorial service for her sister-in-law.
Nearly a year later, Mina welcomed her daughter, Charlie. In an Instagram post in January 2021, she reflected on the tragedy of losing her sister-in-law and the concurrent joy of welcoming her daughter. "As I'm sitting here, rocking Charlie in the dark, crying, reading these words I found saved in my phone," she wrote, "I'm both eternally grateful for 2020 while on the other hand, hate it for all it took from my family ... It took Stef. And our ability to come together as a family to share our love for her as she so deserved." Despite all the pain, she revealed that she saw Stefanie every time she looked at her daughter, something that provided her with immense comfort.
She was devastated by her dogs' deaths
Mina Starsiak Hawk suffered further loss in 2020 when her beloved dog, Beatrice, died. On Instagram, she shared a poignant illustration of dogs waiting for their owners after they've passed on, along with a poem entitled "Waiting at the Door." "Beatrice has been with me for most of my adult life," she wrote in the caption. "She was my girl. Always by my side for a snuggle. If you saw me, she was there; my shadow. Life will be just a little less sweet without her."
The following year, Hawk's other dog, Sophie, fell ill and was not unexpected to make it. Posting a video on Instagram, a tearful Hawk opened up about feeling overwhelmed by the myriad concurrent stresses in her life.
Sadly, Sophie did succumb to her illness. Subsequently, Hawk penned a heartbreaking tribute to her late pup, in which she addressed the other losses she suffered in the past year. "Nowhere in my brain would today end without Sophie, but it has," she wrote. "Much like B, she's saved me far many more times than I saved her. She's with her sister and with Stefie gone one year, she's with her. They're taking care of each other now [because] they both knew we'd all be ok here."
During the filming of Good Bones, her relationship with her mom reached a breaking point
During "Good Bones'" run, there were signs that Mina Starsiak Hawk's relationship with her mom was falling apart. Hawk and her mother (and "Good Bones" co-star), Karen E. Laine, have had a strained relationship since the former was a child. "We've had moments where we were probably dysfunctionally close and then moments where we didn't speak for years," Hawk told Collider. But at one point, it appeared that the pair were in the midst of patching things up.
In 2021, Mina Hawk dished to Women Lifestyle about her relationship with her mom. "When we were filming full-time, you don't have time to go to your corners. You're just with each other all day, every day, and that can be really intense," she told us. Nevertheless, she revealed that she and Laine tried their best to remain close despite their frequent contretemps — both on and off screen.
However, in time, the pair drifted further apart. By the last season of "Good Bones," mother and daughter were constantly feuding, and the pair's relationship has remained strained ever since. "There were definitely some challenging [moments] because my mom and I were in some of the most challenging places I felt we've been," Hawk told People in 2023.
Mina Starsiak Hawk suffered from infertility while filming Good Bones
After welcoming their first child, Jack Richard, in 2018, Mina Starsiak Hawk and husband Steve Hawk struggled to conceive a second child. In a 2020 interview with People, Mina opened up about her fertility struggles while filming "Good Bones." After visiting a specialist, Mina was told that her AMH range — essentially the number of eggs one has left — was extremely low for a 35-year-old woman. She was highly distraught at the news. "It feels like your body is failing you and letting you down," she explained.
Eventually, Mina and Steve opted to undergo IVF in the hopes of conceiving a second child, an experience that Mina found daunting. "You have all these meds and packs of needles that have different gauges, lengths and thicknesses," she said. "I couldn't even figure out how to open one of the packages. It was terrifying."
In time, the IVF treatments worked and Mina fell pregnant with her second child. But the trauma of her infertility remained. When "Good Bones" aired a Mother's Day special in 2020, for instance, Mina was distraught after being reminded of her painful fertility struggles. "It had the scene where our doctor told us we could only probably have another kid with an egg donor," she told People. "And afterwards I took that video in my car where I'm crying and I didn't want to do that then at all."
Struggling to find work, she suffered from financial uncertainty
Opening up on her "Mina AF" podcast in October 2023, Mina Starsiak Hawk revealed that she's been struggling with insecure employment ever since "Good Bones" ended. "For the last eight years, while it's not been, you know, earth-shattering, the regular income I've had is from the show, and I don't have any regular income anymore," an emotional Hawk divulged. "I actually don't have any income, unless I do something to create it ... It's a very unsure time for me."
On an episode of "Mina AF" that aired two months later, she opened up about the pain of being invited to New York for a work trip, only for the job to fall through. The reality star explained that she was promised that the work opportunity was locked in. "Turns out, you can unlock things that are locked," she said.
Although she did decide to go ahead with her New York trip, since she had booked non-refundable tickets, she returned home feeling a distinct sense of malaise. "The thing I was supposed to go for that I can't really talk about yet, that didn't happen ... I don't know if, like, that's what kicked it off, but the last few days I've just been feeling funky, like down," she said. She acknowledged that she was making matters worse by comparing herself to other people, which was leading to her fighting intense feelings of envy.
Mina Starsiak Hawk has a history of substance misuse
On a 2023 episode of "Mina AF," Mina Starsiak Hawk and her husband, Steve Hawk, discussed the ways in which substance misuse shaped their respective childhoods. "I think in my family it was again that term, like, 'functioning alcoholic,'" Mina said. "There was tons of problems. There was emotional stuff, physical stuff, mental stuff that was all ever-present, and I didn't really think anything of it because it was just normal."
This behavior then began to manifest in Mina's adult life, since alcohol was so normalized throughout her childhood. "For me, it's just always existed," Mina said. "And so it's not this like, 'What the heck happened to my life?' It's just always been present and problematic, but not in the way where, you know, jobs are being lost, homes are being lost. It's always been very, like, functional."
On a later episode of "Mina AF," she opened up further about her struggles with substance misuse, and her and Steve's decision to go sober. In time, the presence of alcohol began interfering in their marriage, whereby the couple would have heated, unfiltered arguments. "We definitely were at each other more," Mina said. "Just because it lowers your inhibitions. You're like, 'I'm gonna say this thing and pick the fight." Accordingly, the couple no longer drinks alcohol.
After giving birth, Mina Starsiak Hawk lost all her body confidence
Although she was overjoyed after welcoming her two children, Mina Starsiak Hawk began feeling insecure about her body. This insecurity was partly the result of scars caused by her C-section, as well as developing diastasis recti — separation of the abdominal muscles due to stretching — during pregnancy. "My C-section scar was a very visual and physical reminder of not looking like myself and not feeling like myself anymore," she told People in 2021.
Feeling unhappy with her body and fearing she would never feel like her old self again, Hawk decided to undergo multiple plastic surgeries, including a tummy tuck, liposuction, and breast implants. This, too, resulted in body insecurity, as Hawk struggled to deal with the postoperative effects, such as having drainage bags attached to her hips. "It was uncomfortable," she said. "I felt like an alien, because I had drains to collect this bloody goo. It's like you're peeing and having your period all at the same time." She also couldn't stand due to her tummy tuck causing pain and tension in her abdomen.
Following recovery, Hawk was happy with the results of her surgeries, which gave her renewed body confidence. "Believe me, surgery is hard, recovery is hard, time away from work is hard," she acknowledged. "I also recognize that I'm in a very good, lucky position that I was able to do what I felt like I wanted and needed to do, to ... feel like myself again."
Following the end of Good Bones, Mina Starsiak Hawk was bullied by fans
Due to her very public persona, Mina Starsiak Hawk has found herself the target of obsessive fans, as well as haters. On a 2023 episode of "Mina AF," she opened up about being harassed by stalkers over the span of two seasons of "Good Bones." "I actually had to report this to, like, up in the network of the show because I didn't know if it was real ... Any time the show started airing, it was this number that would text me," she said, "and send me just super, super explicit videos and I was getting voicemails, like really, really explicit, inappropriate voicemails." Thankfully, the number was traced to another state, so Hawk was not in immediate danger.
On a later episode of "Mina AF," she sat down with sociologist Danielle Lindemann and discussed the vitriol that she was subjected to following the end of "Good Bones." Fans were unhappy with Hawk's decision not to continue with the series, leading to them sending the HGTV star hate messages. "It was letting down this whole world of HGTV women," she said, "and they all told me that I did it and they were very upset about it ... It was a very weird six months of emotional, not good, like, headspace ... it's still really hard to have people say nasty s*** all day, every day, and not kind of let it affect you."
Mina Starsiak Hawk had a major falling out with her co-star
Mina Starsiak Hawk had good reason to ditch "Good Bones." Namely, the star was feeling emotionally exhausted by the show's end, and has said that she would need to be offered a million bucks to ever consider returning to her HGTV role. But there were also tensions on set between Hawk and her co-star Cory Miller.
On an episode of "Mina AF" that aired in December 2023, Hawk opened up about the disintegration of her friendship with Miller, with whom she had been childhood friends. "I'm going to try to address this in a respectful way, again, understanding that I have a platform that he maybe doesn't have: Cory and I are not on speaking terms," she divulged. "I am positive that there are things he feels like I did to him."
She explained that a couple of things happened towards the end of the series that she was unable to move on from, though she did not elaborate further on these incidents. "It's a super bummer because I have, historically, had a great relationship with Cory," she said. "And when things end, particularly like they did, you know, people's colors just show a little more, which is a blessing because then I have the choice to make a different choice." Notably, Miller made a comment on Steve Hawk's Instagram post the following month, suggesting that he may be willing to move on from the drama.
If you or anyone you know may be the victim of child abuse or needs help with addiction issues or mental health, contact the relevant resources below:
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The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.