The Little Couple returns for its newest season tonight on TLC, and the recent hurricane drama in Texas and Florida will feature prominently in tonight’s season-opener. That’s because the couple, Dr. Jen Arnold and her husband, Bill Klein, moved from Texas to Florida, right smack in the middle of hurricane season, and found their plans upended by both hurricanes.
As InTouch Weekly reported , it seems as though the pair were simply the victims of impeccably bad timing.
Earlier this summer, the couple put their Houston home, described by Realtor.com as a “ colorful luxury home ” listed at $1,225,000, up for sale. Then Hurricane Harvey came through town, burying parts of Houston under water. Fortunately for the couple, their Houston home was elevated from their street by a few feet, sparing the home from being flooded.
Bill and his brothers headed to Houston to help out with Harvey relief efforts.
In the midst of it all, the couple had bought a new home in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Jen had taken a new job, and moved there. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma came through town right as the family was moving in. And when Florida authorities issued mandatory evacuation, the family scrambled to get away.
The family packed up what they could and headed north to wait out the storm with Jen’s family.
A post shared by Jennifer Arnold (@jenarnoldmd) on
Fortunately, the couple’s St. Petersburg home withstood Irma without any real damage, according to Realtor.com. That’s because the $2.1-million mansion had a lot of things going for it, including a ground-floor space taken up mostly by garages (and living areas above the water line), as well as a new seawall to protect it from storm surges.
Now that the dust has more-or-less settled from both hurricanes, the family is looking to the future as Jen starts her new job as medical director at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
“I’m thrilled to return home to Florida. The opportunity at Johns Hopkins All Children’s is a perfect fit personally for me, my husband and two kids and professionally with the growing education and research resources at the hospital.”
Bill, meanwhile, admits that the timing of the move could have been better. And, he noted that moving is never easy. But like Jen, he’s glad the family made the move.
“While there might be a bit of remorse, at the end of the day, this is going to be a good move for everybody. There are so many big benefits to moving to Florida. We’ll be closer to family and they’ll have new things to explore.”
The latest season of The Little Couple premiers Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on TLC.
[Featured Image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Shorty Awards]
