Kamohai Kalama met his wife at a treatment center who not only worked as an intern but was also the daughter of the center’s CEO.
Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama’s relationship began under unusual circumstances.
While HGTV hosts have become known for their renovation business, they met after Kamohai got sober and was working at a treatment center where Tristyn was an intern.
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Kamohai grew up in a supportive family, but began to develop a habit of partying that included alcohol and drug use. This led to repeated prison terms before he entered the treatment center.
The facility helped him get sober and he was later hired to work there. That job would eventually lead to him meeting Tristyn, whose mother was the center’s executive director and who herself was interning there at the time.
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Tristyn’s mother, herself a former patient at the center, gave her approval before Tristyn pursued a relationship with Kamohai. The couple have since told the full story of their meeting on their real estate podcast, Offers & Alohawhich they published on their YouTube channel in 2022.
A thriving business, backed by a large family
The couple have been married for almost a decade, while building a family and a thriving business. They have two children: a daughter, Yasiel, born in 2016, and a son, Vale, born in 2018, according to Yahoo.
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Their extended family is unusually large, a fact the couple often mentions. Kamohai has 87 first cousins, a result of his father being one of 11 siblings, and many of these relatives have their own skills in construction or home improvement.
“In the family we have contractors, cabinet makers and garbage collectors,” Kamohai has said. “We have someone to help with every aspect of our business.”
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The shift from clothing retail to real estate was largely driven by Tristyn. Kamohai and his brother had operated three retail locations for their store, but the difficulty of maintaining a brick-and-mortar business meant that while they could cover bills and wages, they were unable to build long-term financial security.
The birth of their first child pushed them towards renovation
After the birth of their first child, Tristyn told Kamohai that it was time to find another path if they intended to stay in Hawaii.
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That conversation pushed him to attend a real estate investment seminar she had seen advertised on television, a decision that became the foundation of their current renovation business and eventually their HGTV series.
The couple has faced a number of challenges, both personal and professional, over the years. An example came when a newly renovated house appeared Renovation Aloha was damaged by severe flooding. The couple worked to save the renovation despite the setback.
