The Scary Accident That Ended Ty Pennington's Modeling Career Before HGTV Stardom

Today, Ty Pennington is most famous for being a HGTV star, former host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and for appearing on "Trading Spaces." But did you know he almost hit it big as a model? Yep, Pennington once thought his career would be more "America's Next Top Model" than "Rock That Block." That's because this popular TV personality, who's undergone quite the dramatic transformation, was a successful model before a horrific accident ended his modeling dreams. 

When he was 27 years old, Pennington was going from strength to strength as a model (one of the multiple jobs he had before finding fame). He even appeared on the cover of a J.Crew catalog, which was a massive deal in the modeling world at the time, and was on the cusp of even bigger things. But everything changed when he was thrown from his vehicle and was left in such bad shape there was no way he could return to his career as a model. "The universe literally wiped me away from that future," he admitted to Too Fab in 2023.

 The star elaborated on just how bad the incident was to People that same year, recalling, "I had stitches in my head and all kinds of stuff, and scar tissue that had to grow back." But while that was understandably devastating news for Pennington at the time, the accident actually ended up being the catalyst for the hugely successful life he's living today.

Because Ty Pennington could no longer pursue his modeling career, he instead returned to the career he'd dabbled in before — construction and carpentry. And that led to him becoming one of the most recognizable construction stars on TV. Pennington explained on Instagram in 2023 while recreating his old J.Crew shot that it was nine years after he returned to his day job that "Trading Spaces" came knocking. "[The accident] made me go back to just doing construction and I would have never gone on the audition for 'Trading Spaces' if I had not been going back to construction," he told Too Fab, revealing he was no longer getting any work from his modeling agency post-accident. As Pennington put it to People, the accident actually ended up creating "crazy doors of opportunity" for him to walk through.

In another twist of fate, Pennington's somewhat short-lived time as a model may also have helped him learn how to be in front of the camera. Back in 2015, he told Indy Star that a Japanese scout discovered him when he was younger and he actually went to Asia to model for a while, where he found out what it was like to have cameras around. "Over time I [got] comfortable with being in front of camera," Pennington recalled, which may explain why he's such a natural on TV today.

Those who follow Ty Pennington on social media will know that he's treated fans to throwbacks from his modeling days a few times. In February 2021, Pennington got fans excited with a sepia-toned photo from his old portfolio which showed him posing up against a window in black pants and a classic white t-shirt. "And this is why I only did catalog work," he joked in the caption of the Instagram upload. "What would you call this face??!" But while Pennington was poking a little fun at himself, his fans sure loved seeing him in his modeling prime. "I'd call it handsome," one person commented on the upload. "Well whatever it's called, I'm here for it!!!" another wrote.

Two months after that, Pennington took to Instagram again to share another model shot with his fans. That time, he took a photo of an old catalog he was featured in wearing a white tank top and red shorts while posing with his hands on his hips. "Remember when I said I only did catalog work? I wasn't kidding," he teased in the caption. Despite some tough times, it seems like things definitely worked out just the way they were supposed to for this star.