HGTV Fans Appalled by Karen E. Laine’s Comments About Her Grandchildren

With the last episode of a three-part spin-off of HGTV‘s “Good Bones” set to premiere on August 28, 2024, it’s become clear to fans that the relationship between mother-daughter duo Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak Hawk is still on the rocks. But since HGTV aired the first half of Laine’s North Carolina beach home renovation on August 21, many viewers are also worried she’s cut Starsiak Hawk’s kids out of her life.

When “Good Bones” ended its eight-season run in the fall of 2023, Starsiak Hawk revealed on her podcast that she and her mom had not spoken in months. Starsiak Hawk also admitted that Laine rarely saw her children — Jack, now 5, and Charlie, 3 — whom she shares with her husband Steve Hawk.

Nevertheless, fans called out Laine during the August 21 episode of “Good Bones: New Beginnings,” for not mentioning Jack and Charlie among her grandchildren, especially when she remarked that she’s excited to finally “be the kind of grandparent I want to be.” Starsiak Hawk has since responded to the complaints, admitting that the situation is “complicated.”

Fans Confused Over Karen E. Laine Saying She Only Has 4 Grandkids in Indianapolis

Laine has a complicated family tree but is the mother of four biological children from two of her four marriages. She had Starsiak Hawk and two sons with her ex-husband Casey Starsiak. Laine is also mom to daughter Kelsy Spaeth, whom she shares with her second husband, Randy Gray.

All four of Laine’s children have their own kids. Son CR Starsiak and his wife have four kids, with whom they moved back to Indianapolis in 2023, Laine told the “What’s Up Wilmington” podcast. Laine’s other son, William Starsiak, has one daughter, Samayah, per Closer Weekly, and works as an osteopathic physician in Indianapolis. Spaeth, meanwhile, welcomed her first child in January, but she was still expecting her baby when the “Good Bones” spinoff was filming.

Though all eight of her biological grandchildren live in Indianapolis, viewers were shocked when Laine only mentioned some of them on the August 21 episode of “Good Bones: New Beginnings.”

“The plan, when I bought this house, was to retire to Wilmington,” Laine said of her beach home renovation. “And then my children had different plans, because the one who lives in San Francisco moved back to Indianapolis.”

“So now there’s four grandkids in Indianapolis and my daughter Kelsy got pregnant,” she continued. “So now the scales weigh differently. This is the first time in my life I’m in a position where I can really invest time into being the kind of grandparent I want to be.”

As soon as the episode aired, fans flooded Starsiak Hawk’s social media feeds with comments about her mom not mentioning all of her grandkids.

“I am watching the episode now,” one wrote on Instagram. “So messed up, she mentions her grandchildren but not Jack or Charlotte.”

“After hearing Karen say she has 4 grandchildren, lost all respect for her,” another commented. “Whatever the issues are, those are still her grandchildren. So sad”

Someone else asked, “Love Karen but why didn’t she mention your grandkids living in Indianapolis? did you guys fully move to Martinsville?”

Starsiak Hawk replied to that comment with, “No ma’am. Still live downtown on the same street.”

Mina Starsiak Hawk Says She Did Not Ask Her Mom Not to Talk About Her Kids

So many fans brought up the glaring omission to Starsiak Hawk, that she decided to address it briefly in a video she uploaded to her Instagram Stories on August 24.

“There’s been a lot about this since the last episode,” she said. “A lot of people saying, ‘Well, Mina probably said she couldn’t talk about them, or Karen doesn’t see them’ or, you know, whatever. And I don’t want to get in the weeds, but I do not keep them from her, and she does not refuse to see them. Other than that, it’s just complicated family stuff.”

Starsiak Hawk revealed on her “Mina AF” podcast in September 2023 that Laine had little involvement with her kids. Given the strain in their relationship, she opted not to invite her mom to Jack’s fifth birthday. But she said she was surprised weeks later that on Charlie’s third birthday, Laine made no attempt to reach out.

Starsiak Hawk said at the time, “Charlie’s birthday was this past weekend, and my mom didn’t call or text or give her a card or drop a present on the door and I know she feels like she has very valid reasons for not working on developing relationships with my kids. But I just can’t understand that.”