Reality television has a way of making characters out of real people, and Tyler Cameron is no exception. He won America’s heart (and almost Hannah Brown’s) as a contestant on The Bachelorette in 2019, and he hasn’t lost it in the years since. But that’s only part of his story.
It's been a few years since he found Bachelor Nation fame, and Cameron is here to remind everyone that he had a life before his stint on the show—by reconnecting to it on his own show, on his terms.
“I wasn’t sure [how to answer], ‘What do you want to do to after the Bachelorette?’” Cameron tells Better Homes and Gardens. “I was like, ‘What if I could blend one of my passions with reality television?’ I’ve always loved home renovation shows. And to put this all together into one show about me coming back home to Jupiter, to a place I love with the people I love—I think it makes for a great show.”
That show, aptly named Going Home with Tyler Cameron, finds Cameron “going home” in more ways than one: His decision to move from New York City to his South Florida hometown came after the sudden loss of his mother. Surrounded by loved ones in a familiar place, he also found it was the right time to bring his long-time dream of bringing a construction business, Image One, to life.
Growing up watching the HGTV greats like Chip and Joanna Gaines (who he calls “the mark of excellence in that space”), Good Bones, and Renovation Island, to name a few, Cameron has always been a fan of the home reno genre. If not for The Bachelorette, that’s what he would’ve spent the last few years doing—in fact, Cameron was in the middle of building his first home when he got called to join the cast.
“I was like, ‘Pops, you can take the houses over, I’m good,’” he says, referring to leaving the construction world for television (his father owns a construction business). “I was still very new to it. And I think that’s what you see on this show. I’m still very new [to renovating] when I start this show, and I wanted it to be true and honest. So what’s cool is I really think you grow with me as I go from episode 1 to episode 8.”
The series, which you can stream on Amazon Prime, shows Cameron navigating bigger and more complex projects as he goes. Along with house-flipping expert Robb Ritch and Miami-based interior designer Jessica Quintero, he works with clients to give them their dream home—but sets himself apart by aiming to take it to the next level.
You'll see this with the first episode's remodel: "[We worried], 'Can we do this? Can we make somebody really excited for the renovation?'" Cameron says, but the clients happy-cried upon seeing their new home. This response (which in turn made him cry) served as motivation to outdo himself in every project.
“I always try to reiterate to Robb and Jessica, ‘We have to go above and beyond what they want,’” Cameron says. “You know, let’s take their vision, and let’s make it better. And you take some risk doing that, especially with the budget, and especially kind of not doing everything they say but trying to do something even better for them. There was risk in that as well—but the reward was so sweet when these people saw their homes.”
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The main thing about this endeavor that surprised him? “The beast of what home renovations are,” Cameron says. The team ended up completing nine houses in seven months, a marathon project that Cameron justifiably calls a grind.
An average day of filming started with Cameron trying to get in a workout, shower, and breakfast before getting to the jobsite at 7 a.m. Sometimes, the team worked on three or four houses at once, so they’d be running all over the place. Most days, they’d be going until 9 or 10 at night.
Cameron’s passion for the job is clear—and perhaps trumped only by his love for his hometown. When Cameron talks about Jupiter, you can tell it’s where he’s meant to be. Describing it as a little boat town with “the best water out of all the cities in Florida,” he says it’s the “small town heart and sense of community” that make it a special place.
“I think it's a place that I’ll be forever,” he says. “I really just put my roots there now, and I don’t want to leave. I want this to be home, and to be back there, to be part of such a special place. Now I get to share that with everybody—I’m excited. I think everyone’s gonna see Jupiter for the gem that it is.”
This theme of “home” carries viewers throughout the show: how it feels once you’ve found it; getting support from those around you. But the process is the main event, and Cameron learned a lot about what goes into the making of a home.
If you’re thinking of renovating your own home, he’s doing the same—and he advises not following exactly in his footsteps.
“Live in a space for a little bit, feel it out, understand the things you like, what things you don't like, what spaces you probably spend most time in—that’s where you want to spend your money, and you’re gonna want to really make sure it’s a really good design,” he says. “I’m renovating my house, and I just ripped it apart. So we’ll figure it out as we go—it is costing me more money and more time than I want it to. So that’s definitely one of the big keys to it all. The biggest lesson [I’ve learned] from it is just to live in it and really, really plan it because that’ll help you stick to your budget and timeline.”
And if you’re a novice in the home reno world, know that Cameron was, too. That’s the main thing he wants you to take away from this show—it’s a learning experience.
“I start from Ground Zero doing this,” he says. “So I think if you watch the show, you’re gonna get to learn until episode 1 to 8. But I also want you to see me for all I am. This is the first show where you really get to dive in deep with me and not just see bits and pieces like you have with all the other shows—like this is a true show; it’s raw, it’s real. It’s got a lot of heart and emotion. You get to see me let it all out, and I hope people get to enjoy that.”
All eight episodes of Going Home with Tyler Cameron are available for streaming on Amazon Prime as of April 18.