Ty Pennington Was a J.Crew Catalog Cover Model Before a Serious Car Accident Derailed His Career

Ty Pennington/Instagram (2)

Ty Pennington had a taste of success as a model before a serious accident derailed his dream — and fatefully, led him to a career in carpentry.

The Trading Spaces and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition alum, 58, took to Instagram Tuesday posting a recreation of a J. Crew catalog cover he shot over 30 years ago and offering a peek into his short-lived modeling career. In both photos, Pennington dons nothing but swim trunks as he sits with a razor in hand ready to shave his face under a layer of shaving cream.

He revealed the vintage photo was from the first big modeling gig he booked.

"Looking back, I remember the absolute shock of hearing I was on the @jcrew cover," he wrote. "This one image finally gave my sad attempt at being a professional "Male Model" a glimmer of hope. Overnight my career seemed to explode… but alas, fate had other plans."

He continued, "Only one week later I would be in a horrible car accident — catapulted out of a barreling jeep, sliding across a razor sharp road on my backside. Somehow, I survived… my buttocks sadly did not."

He recalls he received staples and stitches to treat the wounds he suffered but jokes they "couldn't revive my new found 'body of work' in modeling."

RELATED: Ty Pennington Celebrates 1-Year Wedding Anniversary with 'Best Friend' Kellee Merrell in Sweet Post

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

The story takes an even more unexpected turn as the HGTV star reveals he left his portfolio of pictures in his unlocked car and someone found them and inexplicably used them "as toilet paper."

Discouraged, he writes, "I hung up my one decent headshot, picked up my trusty tool bag and went back to construction and carpentry."

Thankfully, his handyman skills garnered him another star turn. "Nine years later I would get a call to audition for Trading Spaces… and the rest is ✨ history ✨," Pennington concludes.

Pennington's career took off with the cult favorite TLC show, which ran from 2000 to 2009 and got a reboot in 2019. He later landed a major role as host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC, and later, on several HGTV shows including Ty Breaker and Rock the Block.

RELATED: Ty Pennington Strips Down and Dances to Michael Bolton While Quarantining in a Hotel Room

ty pennington/instagram

Pennington's personal life is in full bloom, too. In November, the HGTV star and his wife, Kellee Merrell, 34, celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary.

In a sweet tribute to his wife on Instagram, Pennington called marrying the Canadian social media manager the "best (and easiest) decision" of his life in the caption of a video montage of clips and photographs captured on their wedding day in 2021. "10/10 recommend marrying your best friend," he wrote in the caption.

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