Former NFL player, Fort Myers native now tackles Weather Channel reality TV show with wife

As a former NFL player and sports commentator, Tre Boston is used to the spotlight. But this is something entirely new: A national home-renovation TV show premiering Sunday on The Weather Channel.

Boston and his wife Cierra are the new co-hosts of “Fast: Home Rescue.” The reality show gives them just five days per episode to rebuild homes damaged by severe weather and natural disaster.

This season, that includes three homes struck by Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida.

It's been a fulfilling experience helping people get back into their homes again, Tre says. Everyone wants to have a home to call their own.

“All of us can relate," he says. "This is our peace of mind, being able to lay our heads down at night.

"So for them to have that feeling back and know that this is theirs ― that they can have and they can own ― it’s a blessing.”

The North Fort Myers High graduate played safety with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers released him from his second stint with that team in 2021.

Since then, Tre and Cierra have spent their time operating the nonprofit Tre Boston Beyond Belief Foundation in Fort Myers to help underprivileged children and also volunteering for the national organization Rebuilding Together.

It’s through the latter nonprofit ― which helps homeowners in need with essential repairs ― that they were connected last winter with Fight or Flight Studios, the producers of “Fast: Home Rescue.”

The Weather Channel spotlight

Tre says he’s comfortable being on national TV. In addition to his football career, he was previously co-host and sports commentator for the ACC Network show ACC PM.

“It was three hours a day, live,” Tre says. “So it was something that I had grown accustomed to.”

Cierra, not so much.

She’s a former sixth-grade language-arts teacher in her home state of North Carolina. So being on TV is something entirely new for her.

“I was not in the TV realm,” she says. “I have not been a professional athlete (laughs). So I was hesitant. Because I’m definitely a more behind-the-scenes kind of person.”

Together, though, they quickly learned the ins and outs of reality television.

“I thought it was a great opportunity that we could do together as a family,” Tre says. “And it’s just being able to help the communities and just help people, in general.”

The Bostons ― both 30 years old ― are raising two toddlers. They split their time between their homes in Fort Myers and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Helping people come home after Hurricane Ian

For their debut season, The Bostons helped repair 10 homes in all, including four in Florida ― one in Fort Lauderdale and three in Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach.

And they didn't have much time to do it, either.

“Each home rescue is really fast,” Cierra says. “It’s five days.”

All three Southwest Florida homes suffered damage from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, including flooding, destroyed furniture and more, Cierra says. The Bostons started repairing the first of those homes in February.

For this season, they also worked on homes damaged by a deep freeze in Austin, Texas, (including flooding from burst pipes) and more hurricane-stricken homes in New Orleans.

In each case, The Bostons got to spend time getting to know the families that lived there. For Cierra, that was one of the best parts of the new gig.

“That’s a really cool aspect of this show,” Cierra says. “It’s not just focused on the house and the renovation. …

“What we get to know about a family goes into what we put into their home. If they have a specific interest ― I won’t give anything away ― but if they have a specific interest in a certain thing, we try to incorporate that into something we create for them.”

Weather science and getting your hands dirty

Both Tre and Cierra already had some experience in home renovation, thanks to their work with Rebuilding Together, Habitat For Humanity and other nonprofits.

“(It’s) getting your hands dirty, going on job sites," Tre says. "You might not do every bit of every job, but you definitely learn the trades of a lot of different jobs.”

Now they’re learning even more ― and they’re doing it on national television. That includes learning about hurricanes and other disasters.

“It IS a home-renovation show,” Cierra says. “It’s also a weather show, so it’s a lot of science and information.”

Getting people back home isn't always easy. But The Bostons aren't doing it alone: Other nonprofits and organizations ― including Rebuilding Together ― step up for each episode and donate money, supplies and volunteers for each project.

“So we’ve gotten to work with some really cool people,” Cierra says.

The size of each work crew depends on the size of the project, she says. Some crews are just four or five people. Others are 15-20.

It takes a lot of hands," Cierra says. "And it also takes a lot of dedication and planning, for sure."

All that hard work has been worth it, though. Especially when the family walks through the door and sees their newly renovated home.

Tears are often involved.

“It’s very fulfilling,” Tre says. “It’s just to see their faces, how grateful they are.

"I mean, it doesn’t get better than truly putting families back in their homes.”

How to watch “Fast: Home Rescue”

The new season of “Fast: Home Rescue” premieres at 10 p.m. Sunday, June 18, on The Weather Channel. You can also watch it on the Weather Channel streaming app.

For more information, visit weather.com, facebook.com/TheWeatherChannel or twitter.com/weatherchannel.

— Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ex-NFL player Tre Boston hosts Weather Channel home show with wife