This SC couple went on ‘House Hunters’ TV show to find their dream home. See what they picked

Ashley Wingo’s aunt had shown her and her husband eight or nine houses before chiding them, “Y’all need to go on ‘House Hunters,’ all this fighting.”

Ashley and Marcus Wingo thought Kalisha Bruster was kidding.

She wasn’t.

Bruster owns Belle Realty and Associates in Spartanburg and was on House Hunters In 2003.

She fired off an email, the producers looked at the earlier appearance, interviewed the Wingos via Zoom and before the couple knew it, a producer and camera crew were at their door in Spartanburg. That was late February. The show aired ion HGTV in mid-June.

Their differences were apparent from the start. He wanted a farmhouse; she wanted something with a wow factor.

He wanted to spend $300,000 to $400,000. She thought $550,000.

He wanted one floor. She said all modern homes have two.

There was a lot of head shaking and eye rolling — all with smiles on their faces — and at one point Mrs. Wingo said, “You know you’re … difficult.”

He laughed.

They’ve moved four times in seven years of marriage and want this house to be the one. They have a 5-year-old daughter Olivia, and he has shared custody of his 14-year-old son, Aiden.

He is a business process specialist — think information technology — for Milliken and Co. She owns Grace Catering. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Charleston and previously worked for High Cotton in Charleston and at Milliken as an executive chef.

The couple met when his sister married a man she grew up with and considers a brother.

Both are Spartanburg County natives.

Bruster picked three houses for them to see on air. One was a way out in the country ranch on three acres with a pool (listed for $434,900), another a two-story brick open to roof with a second floor mezzanine-like walkway leading to the upstairs bedrooms ($525,000) and an updated ranch with a modern and bright kitchen and a big front yard ($455,000).

Needless to say, they both saw different things in each. He liked the one level on house one and three. She liked the wow factor of house two with a palm tree inside and a backyard playhouse with electricity. House one had way too much paneling for Ashley. And house three was an “eyesore.”

“Oh, come on now,” he responded.

In an interview Tuesday, Ashley Wingo said they pick at each other all the time so their banter came naturally. She had two priorities. Of course, a nice kitchen and an extra room for what she calls her glam room.

Normally in a chef’s jacket, when she fixes up she goes all out. She needed a room for a makeup table and comfortable chairs and a place to hold her 100 pairs of shoes.

Asked if that was an exaggeration she said it wasn’t. She has shoes from way back, some she doesn’t wear. Shoes all day.

The house they chose offered her the perfect glam room — house three.

She fell in love with it because of the kitchen, big and modern, bright and functional. The house at just over 3,000-square feet on 1.83 aces fits the family’s needs.

He liked it because of the big yard and one story. They paid $479,000.

They are planning to add a patio and a pool later this year.

They moved in right after filming ended in March. It involved five eight-hour days, which surprised her. And they didn’t see the finished product until the show aired.

“It was fun,” she said.

Bruster said she enjoyed everything about it, especially finding the perfect house for her niece and nephew-in-law. And she’s heard from a couple in Georgia about house two. They are going to Spartanburg this weekend to see it.

She sold three houses from her 2003 appearance on the show, which premiered in 1999.

The best thing for the Wingos: they’re home. No more moving.

This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 9:00 AM.