Aubrey and Bristol Marunde hope to be the next Tarek and Christina El Moussa.
On the professional front, at least.
Tarek and Christina filed to divorce in December, of course, and have been making headlines over the past few weeks for their revealing Instagram photos and passive aggressive shots at one another.
But it’s easy to forget that they remain best known for their roles on Flip or Flop.
The estranged husband and wife are still filming episodes of the HGTV home renovation series, in fact, as they await to learn whether the network picks up the show for Season 8.
It seems unlikely.
However, executives are keen on expanding the franchise, having announced last month that FIVE Flip or Flop spinoffs are on tap, none of which will feautre the El Moussas.
Instead, new couples will follow Christina and Tarek’s lead by purchasing dilapidated homes across the country, fixing them up and trying to sell them for a profit.
The new shows will be based on Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Texas and Las Vegas.
Explained Allison Page (general manager, U.S. programming and development for HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel) in announcing this decision:
“Because every market is unique, there was an opportunity to highlight what works in various regions by featuring successful people in different locations who had mastered the art of flipping in their town.”
So… this brings us back to Aubrey Marunde and Bristol Marunde.
The couple will anchor Flip or Flop: Las Vegas, which is the first spinoff to receive an air date and which will premiere on Thursday, April 6 at 9/8c on HGTV.
What do we know about Aubrey and Bristol? Well…
- Bristol is 34 years old and competes as a mixed martial artist.
- The couple met in 2009 while watching an MMA fight in person with a group of friends.
- They went for coffee on their first date.
- And got married six years later in their backyard.
“We decided right then and there that we wanted to settle down and be together,” Bristol tells HGTV of how great that first date went.
They have a six-ear old son named Kale and a three-year old son named Kane.
“Kale is just like me and pretty amazing when it comes to colors,” Aubrey explains, adding:
“I handed him the huge paint swatch book yesterday and said, ‘I’m thinking light blue accent wall…’ He flipped through, and in about 30 seconds said, ‘This one.’
“It was the exact color I had picked from an online swatch book earlier in the day! It’s a pretty cool thing to see yourself shine through in your kids.”
Aubrey bought her first home at age 20.
They love animals.
“Bristol is always bringing something home for the kids from job sites,” Aubrey says. “Last week, it was a huge lizard in a drywall bucket he found, and before that, a baby bunny.”
The family has two dogs, two parakeets, two turtles, four chickens and two fish.
Neither is a Las Vegas native.
Aubrey moved to Sin City after high school from small town Milton, Pennsylvania; while Bristol grew up in Sequim, Washington.
“I always knew I would own my own business, and the challenges of starting from nothing and building your business was exciting for me,” Aubrey tells the network.
Will you give the new Flip or Flop a shot?
Will the fact that this version features another pretty blonde and another well-muscled brunette bode badly for the couple’s future?
We’ll soon find out!