Karen E. Laine Is ‘Not Working for a Paycheck Anymore’ as She Reunites With ‘Good Bones’ Costars

Karen E. Laine has embarked on one of her most ambitious projects yet with her Wilmington, North Carolina, home renovation. The Good Bones star brought some familiar faces along to help her transform her new space, which was in very poor shape when she purchased it.

“I’m not working for a paycheck anymore,” she said in a clip from Good Bones’ upcoming Wednesday, August 21, episode obtained by People. “I retired in 2019, and I can do anything I want.”

For the first eight seasons of the show, Karen starred with daughter Mina Starsiak Hawk as they renovated homes around Indianapolis. Now in the new season, the mother-daughter duo are tackling their own personal projects amid a family rift, which Mina revealed on her “Mina AF” podcast.

“I’ve been doing everything I want to do,” the DIY expert said. “I’ve been doing some landscaping projects. I’ve been doing some lawyering.”

Karen retired from the Two Chicks and a Hammer business in 2019 but continued to appear on the show. It was initially announced that Good Bones was officially ending after season 8, but HGTV surprised fans with a new season announcement in July. The first episode premiered on August 14 and featured Mina’s lake house renovation.

As for what else Karen has been up to since season 8, she revealed “Taking care of grandkids, that’s fun.”

In the clip, Karen reunited with Good Bones favorites MJ Coyle, Cory Miller and Austin Aynes. She explained to them her reasoning for buying a home in Wilmington.

“I am tired of Indiana winter,” she told them. “And I had this idea: Wouldn’t it be nice to retire in Wilmington?”

“I went there once and I loved it,” Karen added. “So I went back in January. It was 80 degrees during the day. So I got on the interwebs and I found a house for sale and I bought it.”

Karen described the state of the house as “wretched” and said that it “needs a lot of love” to make it the perfect place to enjoy her retirement.

Ahead of the show’s premiere, Good Bones fans got to see glimpses of Karen’s home renovation on her Instagram account. As she promoted the new season of the show, fans grew curious about how her strained relationship with Mina would impact filming. It appears the duo did not film any scenes together as they focused on their respective home renovations in different states.

“So are you doing a show by yourself? What is your new show going to be called, ‘Mother hen with a bottle jack’?” one person asked Karen in an Instagram comment to which she replied, “Definitely not by myself! I have a great team who made it possible. HGTV is calling it good bones new beginnings.”

And it hasn’t just been a new beginning for Good Bones as we’ve known it. Karen also showed off her dramatic makeover in July, cutting her locks short into a pixie cut. However, she admitted “I’m not convinced I like it this short” in a subsequent Instagram comment.