"Good Bones," the popular HGTV show that followed the mother-daughter duo Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak Hawk as they renovated homes in Indianapolis, captivated audiences for eight seasons. While the show focused on home renovation, the personal lives and journeys of its stars also drew significant attention. Karen Laine's recent decision to return to practicing law and Mina Starsiak Hawk's openness about her "mommy makeover" and fitness journey have both sparked considerable interest among fans. The series ended after eight seasons, with Mina citing difficulties with permits in Indianapolis and relationship challenges with her mother.
Karen Laine's Unexpected Career Twist
After nine seasons on HGTV's "Good Bones", Karen E. Laine, 62, surprised fans by announcing her return to practicing law. On May 28, Laine shared on Instagram that she would be rejoining Josiah Swinney to restart her criminal defense practice, highlighting her 30 years of experience as a lawyer. Despite her success in home renovation, Laine believes her skills translate well to the legal field. She explained that both professions involve understanding problems and using her skills to create positive change.
Laine expressed that she meets people charged with a crime or a rundown house on their worst day. It is her job to understand what went wrong and then use her skills to turn the story in a new direction. Laine's followers responded positively to her announcement, praising her commitment to helping people and expressing excitement for her new journey.
Mina Starsiak Hawk's "Mommy Makeover" and Fitness Journey
Mina Starsiak Hawk has been open about her post-pregnancy body transformation. After welcoming her children, Jack and Charlotte, with her husband, Steve Hawk, Mina underwent a "mommy makeover." She has been transparent about the procedures she had, including a tummy tuck, liposuction, and a blepharoplasty, a surgery to remove excess skin from her eyelids.
Details of the Procedures
Mina had her stomach muscles repaired along with a tummy tuck. She also had lipo, and some of that fat was put in an odd dent she had in her butt. She traveled to Toledo, Ohio, in December 2020 for her procedures. She wanted to repair her diastasis recti (when the stomach muscles separate, causing an individual's stomach to bulge out) and get rid of her C-section scar.
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Weightlifting and Fitness
After her mommy makeover, Mina began lifting weights with her husband, Steve. She estimates she lost an additional 20 pounds that year. Mina noted that she cares about how she looks, and that her appearance affects her self-esteem. Mina found that weightlifting helped her see and feel the results she desired. Clothes all fit, which is huge, getting dressed each morning was on autopilot, where before it had been a battle that often ended in frustration and tears.
Addressing Criticism
Mina has received both praise and criticism for her openness about plastic surgery and weight loss. In 2022, some individuals criticized her decision to undergo surgery. In response, Mina addressed the negative feedback on her podcast, "Mina AF," emphasizing that she worked hard to feel strong and that her choices are her own, regardless of whether the results came easily.
Mina Starsiak Hawk's Reflections on Childhood
During a recent episode of her podcast, Mina reflected on her childhood, expressing that, as a kid, she had so many fun adventures… looking back, I’m like, ‘What the f*** was I doing and where were my parents?'. In the episode, titled “What Is Normal Parenting?” Mina sees the dangers that surrounded her then that she had never even noticed. Her husband elaborated, expressing his horror the first time he saw one of the places she lived while on a date early in their relationship.
She explained that her family lived in front of a warehouse her stepfather did business out of, and they lived in a makeshift home in front of it. Mina expanded on what it was like living there as a kid, saying, “Looking back on it as a parent, what I refer to it now is it was like a wonderland, but with, like, knives and broken glass… We would play hide and seek in the backyard and there was this outhouse with, like, a broken down boat and, you know, shattered windows. And we would have trash can fires in the metal trash can. Like, I have a small scar on my wrist because I put my wrist down on the metal trash can when I was, I don’t know, like seven or something.” She also remembered having fun swimming in the streets during a bad flood, something that people should generally never do, as flood water contains all kinds of dangerous contaminants.
Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E. Laine's Complicated Relationship
Hawk has been forthright about her relationship with her mother, Laine. When she spoke with Collider, Hawk opened up about the pair’s “up-and-down” relationship. “We’ve had moments where we were probably dysfunctionally close and then moments where we didn’t speak for years. The start of the show was one of those times when we were really, really close…We were like each other’s number one, we were doing this together and as we’ve gotten older, she got married, and I got married, and I’ve had [two] kids; so many things have happened since the show started. She retired.
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Hawk went on to discuss why Laine’s involvement in the show decreased, citing the pair’s mismatched needs as her mother headed toward retirement. “I’m trying to build an empire, she wants to slow down, and until we got on the same page with that and what that looked like, it was tough.” On her podcast, Mina stated, “As I’ve gotten older, I think you get to a point where you can start seeing your parents more as just, like, humans that exist versus just your parents. And I don’t think that makes excuses for a lot of things, but I think it helps me understand things.” She continued, "And if you can understand it, even though it wasn’t okay and it should have been different or whatever, you can understand why it was the way it was.
New Beginnings: Mina and Karen's Separate Journeys
For many long-time fans of Good Bones, they were given a shock as HGTV revealed that the beloved series would be returning to television for an abbreviated special season. Despite the conflict between mother and daughter, Good Bones: New Beginnings has given the women a chance at reconciliation. Except not exactly; the series focuses on Mina and Karen on their own personal journeys.
The limited-run special season showcases Mina as she tackles a lakehouse in Martinsville, Indiana. For Karen, she is working on her own beach bungalow in Wilmington, North Carolina. But without the women sharing any projects, only the televised title, it continues to hammer home the fact that reconciliation between families might not be on the horizon.
Mina's Lake House Project
The show's 90-minute premiere focused on Mina renovating a lakeside retreat to enjoy with her husband, Steve Hawk, and their two children. Mina said the lake house is going to feel very healing for Steve because he’s lost so much. Steve’s mother died from stomach cancer in 2018, and six months later, his father died unexpectedly after falling down the stairs. In 2020, his younger sister, Stefanie, died from ethanol poisoning.
Mina explained, "He’s going through life the best way he can after just some really, really epic loss in a very, very short amount of time. And because his time with his family was cut short, that’s really why we wanted this lake house for Jack and Charlie - really, for the long term, for the memories, for the experiences. So that’s, I think, why it’s really important to both of us.”
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Karen's Beach Bungalow Transformation
In Good Bones’ new spinoff, Karen E. Laine buys a fixer upper in Wilmington, N.C., to transform into her dream beach house. Laine explains what inspired the purchase while reflecting on her family life recently. Laine started the Indianapolis-based business Two Chicks and a Hammer with her daughter and Good Bones costar, Mina Starsiak Hawk, in 2007. While Laine stepped back from the company five years ago, she continued to appear on Good Bones until it wrapped its initial eight-season run in October 2023. Laine shares, "I’ve been doing everything I want to do. I’ve been doing some landscaping projects. I’ve been doing some lawyering.”
The clip also shows Laine reuniting with three members of her team from the original Good Bones: MJ Coyle, Cory Miller, and Austin Aynes. Laine tells the trio, "I am tired of Indiana winter. And I had this idea: Wouldn’t it be nice to retire in Wilmington? I went there once and I loved it. So I went back in January. It was 80 degrees during the day. So I got on the interwebs and I found a house for sale and I bought it.”
However, she notes that she has her work cut out for her with the 120-year-old bungalow, which is held up by a jack on a “pile of rickety bricks.”
The End of "Good Bones" and Future Prospects
After seven years and roughly 100 episodes, Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E. Laine are hanging up the proverbial hammer on their popular TV show, "Good Bones," which follows the daughter-mother duo as they renovate houses around Indianapolis. Starsiak Hawk made the announcement on a Tuesday episode of her podcast, "Mina AF.""It's the end of an era," Starsiak Hawk said, adding that production for the show had wrapped months ago. "I had to say goodbye to some people that I have spent my last, almost ten years with."
Starsiak Hawk said the show ending was both a "happy and a sad thing" and said she's looking forward to whatever chapter comes next in her life.
Controversies and Criticisms
The show also faced criticism for allegedly violating a federal lead paint law during renovations at three Indianapolis properties. The EPA said renovations at three Indianapolis properties failed to properly contain and transport lead dust and debris from homes that were built prior to 1978, when the federal government banned lead-based paint.
Additionally, residents frustrated by a lack of affordable housing in Indianapolis have criticized the show, saying it contributes to rising property taxes that displace lower-income residents who can no longer afford to live in gentrified neighborhoods. In response, Laine defended "Good Bones," arguing that rehabilitating vacant housing stock improves neighborhoods.