Inside HGTV Star Ty Pennington and His Wife Kellee Merrell's Love Story
Updated March 6 2023, 1:55 p.m. ET
It's been almost two decades since we first heard Ty Pennington (real name Gary Tygert Burton) shout his signature phrase, "Move that bus!" on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The host/carpenter won fans over with his ability to bond with the homeowners whose lives he was changing on each episode of the feel-good renovation show.
Since the first run of the show ended in 2012, Ty has continued appearing on home, lifestyle, and food shows. And in 2020, he brought his skills to HGTV.
He briefly starred in his own show,Ty Breaker, in which he helped clients decide whether to re-do their current properties or to take on something new. He also makes appearances on other network series. In fact, he teamed up with Erin and Ben Napier and a handful of other HGTV stars for Home Town Kickstart Presented by People. Ty also hosts the HGTV competition series, Rock the Block.
His professional life is clearly going well, but what's the deal with his love life? Is Ty Pennington married?
Ty Pennington has been married to his wife Kellee Merrell since November 2021.
Ty Pennington married Kellee Merrell in November 2021. They tied the knot in a tiny backyard ceremony while renovating their historic home in Savannah, Ga. You can see pictures from their big day on his Instagram.
Kellee, who is 24 years his junior, is originally from Canada and works as a social media manager. She and Ty began dating in early 2020. They got engaged on July 28, 2021, which he documented via an Instagram post of their rings captioned with, "It's the 'yes' for me."
People reports that Ty and Kellee met back in 2010 while filming a show in Toronto and have remained friends ever since. When they reconnected around the time the pandemic began, they decided to quarantine with each other.
Per the outlet, Ty proposed to Kellee over a mug of morning coffee while they both lounged on the dock of his Palm Coast, Fla. home.
Ty Pennington previously dated Drea Brock for 13 years.
Ty and Andrea "Drea" Bock reportedly began dating in 1996, eventually splitting in 2009 but remaining "great friends," as Ty said in a June 2021 Instagram comment (per People).
She served as his assistant when he was the carpenter on Trading Spaces from 2000 to 2003. She had also been Ty's manager. The couple never officially tied the knot.
Ty Pennington and Andrea Bock
Does Ty Pennington have kids?
The home reno expert does not have any kids. However, he does share a lot of photos of his family online.
He is known to post photos with his nieces, which explains why fans sometimes flood his comments section with questions about whether or not he's a dad. His mom, Yvonne Burton, is also a staple on his page.
