“Renovation Aloha” stars Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama are pushing back against the belief that their real estate success was built on family money. The married HGTV personalities revealed that they were once carrying approximately $80,000 in debt and occasionally needed assistance paying their rent before establishing their business. Although Kamohai’s father, banking executive Corbett Kalama, has achieved considerable success, the television star insists he never received money from him to launch the couple’s real estate company.
In an Instagram video shared Tuesday, Kamohai opened up about the financial hardship he and Tristyn endured before entering the real estate industry. According to the HGTV star, the couple was in a “dire situation when we found real estate” and had accumulated “like $80,000 in bad debt.”
Kamohai said their struggle reflected the financial pressure experienced by many residents of Hawaii because “like a lot of people here in Hawaii, just because it’s so expensive” to live there. At their lowest point, the couple reportedly found themselves “asking for help for rent some months.”
‘Renovation Aloha’ Stars Deny Having Trust Funds
Kamohai also addressed assumptions about his upbringing and his father’s success in the banking industry. He insisted that he did not grow up with a “silver spoon” and is not a “trust fund baby.”
Tristyn joked that she would not necessarily object to receiving one in the future. “I’ll still take a trust fund if anyone wants to make me a beneficiary,” she quipped.
Kamohai explained that “his whole family started from nothing” and denied receiving a loan or investment from his father when launching the couple’s company. “The fact of the matter is, I’ve never taken a penny from my dad to start a real estate company, nor has he invested in it at all,” Kamohai said. “I think a lot of people get that twisted.”
The Couple Says Their Success Came From Taking Risks
Tristyn and Kamohai expanded upon their story in the caption accompanying their Instagram video. They began by emphasizing that “hard work doesn’t always look the way people think it does.”
“We didn’t come from money. We didn’t have trust funds. We didn’t have family writing checks to make our dreams happen,” they wrote.
Instead, the couple said their journey began with serious financial uncertainty and difficult decisions. “We came from debt. From wondering how we were going to pay the bills some months. From taking risks that could’ve gone either way. From failing, learning, and getting back up again.”
Their eventual success did not eliminate public criticism. According to the pair, the scrutiny became more intense as their business and television profiles grew.
Tristyn And Kamohai Kalama Address Assumptions About Their Success
The HGTV stars explained that as they have “grown, the criticism hasn’t gotten quieter,” but instead has become “louder.” They believe some people would rather create their own explanations for the couple’s achievements than accept how much work went into building their career.
“People create stories to explain your success,” they said, “because it’s easier than believing it came from years of sacrifice, consistency, and relentless work.”
According to the pair, criticism can come from people at every level. They wrote that “the ones above you try to keep you down, and the ones below you think you got it handed to you.”
However, the couple said their actual path was much less dramatic than the stories people may tell about them. The TV personalities declared that “the truth is far less glamorous,” explaining that they “just kept showing up.”
HGTV Couple Encourages Followers Not To Give Up
Tristyn and Kamohai concluded their message by encouraging those currently facing financial or professional uncertainty to continue working toward their goals. “If you’re in a season where it feels impossible, keep going. Don’t let someone else’s assumptions make you question your own journey. Your story isn’t finished yet,” they advised.
Their own journey ultimately took them from mounting debt and difficulties covering rent to a successful real estate business and a television series centered on their work in O’ahu, Hawaii. “Renovation Aloha” premiered on HGTV in 2024. The series follows Tristyn and Kamohai as they renovate neglected properties on the island before transforming them into homes for local families.
The program has aired 30 episodes across three seasons.
