Couple Who Competed on HGTV Reality Show Reveal They Were Homeless While Filming

During the season 5 premiere episode, married duo Steven and Angelina Jacobs opened up about some of the financial hardships they were going through

NEED TO KNOW

• Steven and Angelina Jacobs faced homelessness while competing on season 5 of HGTV’s Battle on the Beach
• The couple kept their struggles private, staying on a relative’s couch and storing belongings in a U-Haul
• They found stable housing in May after filming and continue to pursue their renovation business in Connecticut

A couple who competed on HGTV's Battle on the Beach is opening up about experiencing homelessness while filming season 5 of the series in South Carolina.

Viewers got to see married couple Steven and Angelina Jacobs of Waterbury, Conn., make their HGTV debut as part of Renovation Island host Sarah Baeumler's team when the show's latest season premiered on June 1. 

Speaking to local Connecticut news outlet The Hour, Angelina said she and her husband were experiencing financial hardships while filming the show and did not have a home at the time. 

According to the outlet, Angelina — who owns her own construction and renovation company, She Buildz Things — and her husband were keeping their situation private while they found temporary solutions at the time, including sleeping on the couch at Angelina's brother's home and keeping their family's belongings in a U-Haul truck.

"We were driving back and forth to jobs. We didn't tell nobody. …We kept it to ourselves and just kept on going, kept on saving the money," Angelina said. 

After the couple won the first renovation challenge in the premiere episode and took home a $3,000 cash prize, they briefly opened up about their situation and how the money was going to help their family. 

“This win is very important because we've been going through our own situation, you know, from sleeping on other people's couches,” Angelina says during the episode as she begins to get emotional. “This money would literally help us be more comfortable.”

Steven adds, “This opportunity…” before trailing off as his wife chimes in, “one in a million. We need to keep this winning momentum going.”

The couple — who have been married for 11 years and share four children together — were still without a house for a month after filming wrapped earlier this year, according to The Hour. In May, they found an apartment in Waterbury that they moved into with their family, per the outlet. 

PEOPLE has reached out to the couple for comment. 

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Last month, PEOPLE got an exclusive first-look at the extended trailer for the new season of Battle on the Beach. 

The show follows three teams of two up-and-coming renovators — including Steven and Angelina, husband-wife team Anna and Josiah Julian, and mother-daughter duo Michelle Mueller and Sydney Lorence — as they compete to increase the rental value and appeal of derelict beachfront vacation properties in order to win a cash prize of $50,000.

Throughout seven weeks, the teams have $100,000 to tackle all the updates to the properties while being guided through the challenges by their mentors, which include Baeumler, Ty Pennington and Mika Kleinschmidt. Renovation Aloha stars Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama serve as judges this season.

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