An update on the Homestead Rescue lawsuit

The outcome of the Homestead Rescue lawsuit has not been made public, which leaves many questions about the truth still unanswered.

Usually, when fans debate whether or not their favorite reality show has been staged or faked for the camera, they are referring to a few scenes that may have been shot more than once.

Or they may be referring to a few clever editing tricks that can up the drama.

However, when Kim and Josh Zabec alleged that their episode of Homestead Rescue was fabricated, they were referring to the entire premise of the show.

The lingering question

In case you missed it, this couple, which was featured in Homestead Rescue’s season one “Under Siege”, eventually sued the series, alleging that they were initially given the impression that they would be featured as examples of successful homesteaders.

But instead, the show made it seem as if they did know what they were doing.

And while the outcome of this particular lawsuit has not yet been shared publicly, the show’s frontman, Marty Raney, maintains that the show is as ‘real’ as it gets.

Marty spoke to Jaime Schwartzwald on KXD’s News 13 a few months after the Zabecs’ episode of Homestead Rescue and really emphasized that he, Misty and Matt were a “real” Alaskan family.

He emphasized that they were not interested in “faking it” and could “get along” with other real Alaskan homesteaders.

However, the star of a reality show emphasizing how ‘real’ it is means little when multiple other “real Alaskan homesteaders” have differing opinions.

And unfortunately, this means that there still many unanswered questions about the show’s authenticity.

The history of Homestead Rescue

Though the series managed to drum up this level of controversy and legal troubles within its very first year on the air, Homestead Rescue actually went on to air nine more seasons:

Were the Zabecs telling the truth?

Whilst the Zabecs posted various long explanations about their experience on the show when their episode aired, all evidence of these posts has now been scrubbed from social media.

This could just be as a result of whatever the outcome of their lawsuit was (if they have reached an agreement yet), but Kim also admitted that the online hate had dissuaded her from posting on social media as recently as 2023.

However, from what we know about the couple before the camera crews showed up, it really does seem like Revolutionary Roots Farm was operating successfully before 2016.

In fact, Josh’s LinkedIn profile shows that he had experience in the contracting industry prior to their big move to Kinsale, and this November 2015 interview with Kim for Modern Farmer confirms that the Zabecs were well on their way to creating their own family farm.

This farm had cleared raw land, a well and fencing, and animals ranging from free-ranging hogs, to chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea fowl, geese and even goats.

Does Homestead Rescue lie to its participants?

Since the Zabecs’ lawsuit against the show has been kept so tightly under wraps, we do not know what evidence this couple provided to back up their claims that the Homestead Rescue producers lied to them.

However, the Zabecs were not the only couple that admitted to being misled by these producers.

Wren and Ini, a couple who appeared in a 2018 episode of Homestead Rescue spoke to the Ozark County Times about their experience.

And though Wren and Ini expressed their gratitude towards the show, the couple admitted that the producers did change “little details here and there”.

How the Revolutionary Roots Farm is doing now

Regardless of how this lawsuit played out behind closed doors, the Zabecs have seemingly kept at it with their homesteading adventure, as the Revolutionary Roots Farm is still currently up and running.

Moreover, a few of the most recent posts on the Revolutionary Roots Farm Facebook page reveals that they have now even added a few cows to the long list of creatures that inhabit this 20-acre plot of land.

However, it does seem like Kim and Josh no longer share much about their personal lives, publicly.