When Patti Baker lost her husband of 37 years she decided to make a fresh start and bought a new property in Waco, Texas.
The fact that her home needed a lot of work didn’t faze Patti as she enlisted the help of well-known home makeover team Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Patti was hoping the experience would help her move on from her loss, but she had no idea just how much of a new start she would be making.
Her husband Robert had died from cancer in 2013, leaving his loving widow heartbroken.
She initially moved from their home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the East Coast but then decided to leave and move to Waco, Texas to be closer to her adult sons.
Patti found her dream bungalow through Magnolia Realty, a real estate company founded and co-owned by Chip Gaines, and although it needed some TLC she never dreamed that she would be chosen by Chip and Joanna Gaines for the final season of HGTV’s Fixer Upper.
“I thought ‘there’s not a chance in the world that I get picked,’ ” she says.
Things couldn’t get more perfect for Patti as she was able to move in with one of her sons while demo work took place in December 2016.
In no time Patti’s home was transformed from a bland bungalow into a beautiful oasis, and Patti couldn’t be happier with the final result.
“It took my breath away to walk in the house,” she says.
Patti was not only blown away by her new home but raved about how wonderful it was working with the Gaines.
“They are exactly how you see them on TV,” she said. “They’re so down to earth – what you see is what they are.”
The big reveal took place in March 2017, and Pattie decided to invite an old friend Pastor Finfrock to see the finished bungalow. The two had recently connected at a graduation party.
A widower himself, Pastor Finfrock had known the Baker family since 2009. When the two bumped into each other at the graduation party, there were sparks.
Romance blossomed
The pastor made the three-hour trip to Patti’s new home. “There was a connection,” Patti says. “I thought it was a pastoral visit, but I wanted it to be something more.”
The two of them felt a spark and it wasn’t long before a romance between them blossomed and the pastor was proposing.
The two married in August, and Patti’s two sons walked her down the aisle.
As for her new home, Patti was soon putting it back on the market so she could move in with Pastor Finfrock.
Patti and the pastor found their happy ever after. Help us congratulate these two by sharing this story.
