EXCLUSIVE: Drew and Jonathan Scott Reveal They Were Raised on the ‘Cowboy Code’ as They Return to Their Roots in New HGTV Show ‘Chasing the West’

Drew and Jonathan Scott have saddled up to help homebuyers wrangle their own ranch on the new HGTV series “Chasing the West“—and in the process, the show has spurred a real longing in both Property Brothers to leave Los Angeles for a home on the range.

The 47-year-old real estate icons have each been happily settled in L.A. for several years: Drew lives with wife Linda Phan and their children, Parker and Piper, in a 1921-built Tudor-style estate he renovated on “Property Brothers at Home: Drew’s Honeymoon House,” while Jonathan shares a 1938-built Georgian Revival residence with fiancée Zooey Deschanel.

Nevertheless, the twins reveal to Realtor.com® they got roped into the fantasy of the Wild West when their latest TV franchise had them touring expansive estates across Arizona, California, and Texas.

“When you see all the things that are so beautiful about the country, and wanting to have that little bit of extra space—I would consider going,” admits Jonathan, though he clarifies he wouldn’t be packing up for good. “Would I spend all year isolated out in the country? I don’t know if I would do all year, but I would love to spend more time out there. We do have an acreage within the city, so it’s nice to have some breathing room. But there’s nothing like having a big, big ranch.”

Acquiring more land outside of city limits is something Drew attempted in recent years, but he ultimately determined the lifestyle that came with added acreage wasn’t what his family was looking for.

“Linda and I dream of having more space, but I took her a couple years ago to look at properties surrounding L.A., and she didn’t realize how much work it is to upkeep the kind of look that she wants,” he says. “Linda I don’t think would be as into looking at the horses or the cattle or the crop. She would just want flowers and beautiful gardens everywhere, and I’m like, ‘Linda, that’s even more work on a big property!’”

Regardless of whether the brothers ever make the move, they do believe in the spirit of the west and aspire to adopt its slower pace no matter where they call home.

“I think for us it’s just about, you know, really reassessing what’s important in life when you have time to think, room to breathe, and no distractions,” explains Jonathan. “I really do think it’s good for the soul. What’s important? We don’t want to live to work, and these days I find that a lot of people do.”

For Drew and Jonathan, any future involving a country lifestyle would actually be a return to their roots, as they grew up on a 160-acre horse ranch in Canada that was “nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.”

“Our beautiful 160-acre property was untouched when we bought it,” shares Jonathan. “We had our family farm, which was right on the edge of the forestry, where it was millions and millions of acres of national park. The national trail went right through our property, so we could literally saddle up the horses and just ride for days. It was really special. 

“Our parents found the property after years and years of searching and then when we were 14, we built the family ranch on that property.”

“We built the family barn first,” adds Drew. “Jonathan and my dad lived in the barn. I was there for a short period while they built the main house, and then we built all the fences and everything else. We had horses and we had crop. And then our neighbors actually had cattle, so we did a crop and cattle share with them.”

The unique upbringing of “literally” being raised in a barn for a period of time and tending to the land and animals as teens is what Drew and Jonathan say molded them into the hardworking men they are today.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the early mornings, all the ranch work, mending fences, you know, you can’t just call, like, a plumber or somebody to show up and fix [something] right away, you’ve got to do a lot of the stuff yourself,” reflects Jonathan. “That gave us the work ethic that we have today. So, did I love picking rocks and shoveling horse stalls? No. But would I change it or trade it for anything? No.”

Drew further explains that their parents raised them on “the cowboy code”.

“You’re not complaining, you just get in and get it done, and you support those around you. Every way we were raised and all the lessons our parents taught us has shaped us into who we are today, and I would never trade that for anything,” he says.

The “Chasing the West” stars specifically credit their father, Jim Scott, for inspiring the family’s cowboy code creed in the first place.

“Our dad, he’s from Scotland, and back in the ’40s, he would watch cowboy movies and he just dreamed of being a cowboy, and when he was 16 years old, he worked his way over to live in the Rockies and be a cowboy, so he worked on ranches for decades,” reveals Drew. “It’s where he met our mom, and his experiences in life is what made us who we are with our cowboy code and being raised by the cowboy code by our dad.”

“Dad was a rancher,” continues Jonathan. “He was a bronc rider. He rode in the Calgary Stampede and a lot of other rodeos as a bronc rider. He was seen riding a bronc and hired to do a Labatt commercial and it became so popular that he became the Labatt Man. For two or three years that commercial played, and that’s how he eventually started doing horse stunts in the movies.”

Just as Jonathan and Drew’s dad made his personal cowboy dreams come true, the brothers want to fulfill the wishes of the buyers they work with on “Chasing the West“—though, some will need a reality check.

“They were in dreamland,” says Drew. “These homeowners were all like, ‘It’s going to be glorious. I want thousands of acres!’ And this one homeowner, he kept going on how he wanted 1,000 acres, [but] he had never been to an acreage before. He had only looked at it online or seen it in movies. We’re like, ‘You got to go and experience it!’ 

“The other homeowner, she wanted chickens,” Drew shares. “She wanted hundreds of chickens. She wanted a chicken farm, and we took her to a chicken farm only to find out she’s deathly afraid of chickens! So it was sort of like pulling the cover off their eyes so they can actually see what they’re getting into, and I was surprised that they still all moved forward with picking one of the properties. I thought some of them would run back to the city with their tail between their legs.”  

After giving buyers a realistic crash course in ranch life, the brothers are able emphasize the more enjoyable aspects of leaving city life behind, like not having to pony up as much cash for desirable features as one might expect.

“Some of them didn’t realize how far their dollar would stretch,” says Drew. “Instead of saying, ‘I want a pool,’ they could say, ‘I want a lake.’ Like, some of these properties had their own lake on the property. Or, you know, ‘I just want to have a beautiful garden.’ Instead of [a] beautiful garden, they would have mountains on their property. It was kind of cool to see what you can get—a lot of lush, green properties down in Texas and Arizona. It wasn’t all just a desert scape.”

Indeed, the variety of properties they visit truly underscores how each homeowner can determine their own cowboy destiny. 

Beyond a better quality of life, many of the buyers share a desire for the classic country aesthetic, though the brothers caution them on taking it too far.

“A lot of people are always asking for big windows that are showcasing the view [and] chunky wood beams everywhere,” shares Jonathan. “But keep in mind, which we did see on some of these properties, sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Too much wood is a bad thing, so some of these properties were, like, cowboy overkill.

Drew and Jonathan appear to have struck that balance in themselves, having retained many of the country skills they developed in childhood as adults now living in the big city. They chop wood and ride horses on “Chasing the West,” activities that invite a bit of brother-versus-brother sibling rivalry to play out on screen and off.

“Jonathan beat me with the rope thing, like, he was a little better,” admits Drew. “But I don’t know. I think there are aspects of the country life I would still have [him] on.”

“You were tossing hay bails more than I did,” concedes Jonathan.

In the end, the brothers agree that when it comes to joining forces to maximize their complementary skills—whether on a ranch or in real estate—this isn’t their first rodeo.

“This is the perfect twin combo here,” says Drew. “That’s why we run businesses together. We round out each other really well.”

“Chasing the West” premieres Wednesday, July 30 at 9 p.m. on HGTV.