Jonathan Knight has been living the life of a rock star and a design star.
The New Kids on the Block singer spent most of the summer touring around the country with his bandmates and filming episodes for the second season of HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer — the series that follows Knight and his interior designer partner Kristina Crestin as they restore historic homes around New England.
“I would say this year was definitely a challenge because I basically had to be in both places at the same time,” Knight, 53, tells PEOPLE. “Of all the times that the New Kids have reunited, this was the most vigorous tour schedule for us. There would be days when I would get off the stage at 11 at night, jump on a plane right after the show, fly all night, film all day, and then get back on a plane and go perform the next show.”
The New Kids’ 2022 Mixtape Tour, which included Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue and Rick Astley, traveled to more than 50 different cities across the U.S.
“I think [during] the whole tour, I maybe had three days off,” says the singer, who first shot to fame in the late ’80s with his NKOTB bandmates: younger brother Jordan, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. “When I got home after the tour finished, I went into my room, shut the door and said, ‘Nobody bother me until I come out.’ I think I slept for 48 hours straight.”
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Despite the “insane schedule,” Knight says he’s thankful for the experience that allowed him to indulge in both his passions: music and home renovation. “In the moment, I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this sucks.’ But I look back on it now and I’m proud I was able to accomplish that. I definitely pushed myself, but it was the best time. I’m just lucky that I can balance both now.”
It helped, he says, knowing that Crestin was able to focus on their home projects while his music life took priority. “The good thing is that Kristina wasn’t on tour because she’s not a big pop star,” Knight jokes. “I knew things were in great hands back home. She was always a phone call away.”
One particular project that needed Knight’s full attention, though, was the home renovation he worked on for — and with — his own family. It’s documented on the new season of Farmhouse Fixer, which premieres Aug. 25 on HGTV and discovery+. “We moved a house onto our property in Massachusetts and my family was part of the entire process,” he says.
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Although Knight is no stranger to working with members of his family — he and brother Jordan have been making music and performing together for decades — he admits that having them involved with his restoration and design life took some adjustment.
“It was a little weird at first,” says Knight, who began renovating and flipping homes in 1994. “I’m so used to doing things that are New Kids related with my brother but then, all of a sudden, we’re talking about kitchen sinks and stuff. But it was pretty cool to have him and the family on the show.”
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Crestin, who worked to bring everyone’s different design vision and requests to life, says viewers are going to enjoy seeing the Knight family’s interactions on the show. “Everyone will have to wait until the end of the season to see the reveal, but I think it’s going to be one of the best episodes,” she says. “Watching his family is so funny because they have so many opinions and things that they wanted. But it’s going to be amazing to watch.”
Knight says that he’s as excited to watch the new season as he hopes the fans are. “Kristina and I haven’t seen the entire show yet, so we’ll get to experience a lot of it with the viewers,” he says.
He’s especially interested in seeing the homeowners’ reactions again when their restored houses are revealed. “Even though we lived it, I get really emotional watching the owners see their homes for the first time. Kristina jokes that she’ll catch me crying but the reveal days are really emotionally draining for the owners and for both of us.”
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Although their home renovations take several months and “lots of hard work” to complete, the pair say it’s all worth it when the owners finally see the finished and fully staged homes.
“The morning of the reveal, me and Kristina would always go over early and do some cleaning and touchups. And it’s just me and her in the house and we are just like two giddy school kids filled with excitement waiting for the homeowners to walk in,” he says. “And that moment they actually step in the door, it’s so exciting and so relieving at the same time. You finally can breathe and say, ‘we did it.'”
Says Crestin: “When Jon says that we’re cleaning last minute, well, that’s Jon and his nervous energy. He’s vacuuming and wiping everything down — and it’s adorable because he just wants it to look perfect for them.”
The second season of Farmhouse Fixer premieres Wednesday, August 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and Discovery+.
