Christina Haack Drops Major Surprises About Future of HGTV’s ‘Christina on the Coast’

For months, Christina Haack’s been in the headlines between news of her ongoing divorce battle, her newfound love, and the drama unfolding on HGTV’s competition show “The Flip Off,” co-starring her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather Rae El Moussa. But the designer and mom of three made news for another reason on February 23, 2025.

Haack announced via her Instagram Stories that she’s been filming additional episodes for the fifth season of her other series, “Christina on the Coast,” providing a sneak peek of designs (which was later deleted) that will be part of shows to begin airing on February 27. Perhaps even more surprising, based on the Stories Haack shared, it appears her new design firm co-founder, Kylie Wing, has replaced her longtime onscreen creative partner, James Bender.

Fifth Season of Christina Haack’s Show Will Pick Up 7 Months After It Premiered

The fifth season of “Christina on the Coast” premiered on HGTV on July 11, 2024, days before she and her third husband, Josh Hall, filed for divorce. The drama surrounding their split dominated the headlines, including his appearances on the series, which were filmed before their split.

At the time, HGTV said that the new season would feature 11 episodes. But only eight episodes aired, finishing up on August 29, according to IMDb. An episode guide on the site shows four new episodes remain in the season, bringing the total to 12.

According to HGTV’s schedule for February 27, it will re-air the previous night’s episode of “The Flip Off” at 7 p.m. Eastern time, then the first new episode of “Christina on the Coast” at 8 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the newest episode of “The Flipping El Moussas” at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

The synopsis of the new “Christina on the Coast” episode says, “A couple were finally able to land the home they wanted, but it has a clunky design and safety concerns. Now, Christina works her magic to comply with code and give the homeowners the living space they need, all with a surprise for their dog, Charlie.”

James Bender Has Not Posted on Instagram Since the Season 5 Premiere of ‘Christina on the Coast’

The first episodes of season 5 of “Christina on the Coast” included design work by Bender, whom HGTV called Haack’s “fellow designer and project manager” in its press release about the season.

Bender has appeared on all five seasons of “Christina on the Coast,” competed with her on HGTV’s “Barbie’s Dream House” competition in 2023, and served as her designer on “Christina in the Country,” which aired its second season in November and December.

But an image Haack shared in her February 23 Instagram Stories showed her with the crew of “Christina on the Coast,” with Wing front and center — and no sign of Bender. Haack wrote over the photo of her crew, “And that’s a wrap on season 5!! new episodes of #christinaonthecoast begin airing on 2/27”

As of February 23, Bender and Haack still follow each other on Instagram, but the last post in his feed is an HGTV video celebrating the August 29 airing of what HGTV then called the “season finale” of “Christina on the Coast.” Multiple fans have left comments on the post, inquiring about where he’s been, including one who wrote, “Where are you? I don’t see you anymore and miss you! ❤️”

Meanwhile, Haack met Wing during the pandemic when Wing opened up a boutique design firm, according to TV Insider. The two women announced in October that they were joining forces with a new luxury design firm called Christina & Kylie, and Haack has leaned on Wing for design help on “The Flip Off.”

Though “Christina on the Coast” is returning with new episodes, Haack revealed in January that she will not continue filming “Christina in the Country.” The show filmed two seasons in the Nashville area, where Hall now lives full-time and she’s hoping to sell the six-bedroom luxury farmhouse she purchased there in 2022.