Woman Barely Recognizes Shaggy Ex-Husband After Wild Professional Makeover

Ian Cook desperately needed a change. He’d had his long gray locks and wild beard for years, and to be honest they were making him look a little scruffy. Basically, his long-suffering family really wanted to see him switch up his style. But even they never expected just how far Ian’s makeover would go...

Way Overdue

The makeover was an extremely long time coming. Ian, who was a utility worker in his fifties, casually admitted a shocking secret to Rachael Ray. His last haircut, he said, had been four years ago! But his ex-wife was so keen for him to change that she had put his name forward for one of Rachael Ray’s famous transformations.

Unusual Nomination

During the episode, Rachael excitedly pointed out that it was the first time a former spouse had nominated anyone for anything on the show. Whatever the reason, though, it was clearly serious. Ian’s ex-wife, Karen, felt that his wild look was actually affecting his day-to-day life. There was something else he had to consider, too.

Not Cool, Dad

Well, more like someone... Ian and Karen had twin sons, Benjamin and Cameron, who lived with their mom in Milford, CT. That wasn’t far from where their dad was, but Ian’s appearance was beginning to put some emotional distance between him and his boys. Karen was worried that the shaggy-haired father was beginning to seriously cramp the twins’ style.

Front Row Seats

Benjamin, Cameron, and Karen were in the audience when Rachael introduced style expert Kyan Douglas. And the professional groomer explained Ian’s motivation, saying, “He’s doing this for his sons. Because they get a little embarrassed sometimes when they bring the ladies home, and they’ve got the Gandalf guy in the living room.” The twins squirmed in their seats, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. We don’t blame them!

Getting It Out In The Open

But someone else had been needed to bring the crisis to a head. And that person – somewhat unconventionally – turned out to be Ian’s ex-wife. Karen explained to the host, “The boys are getting older now, and things have been said, and I think I have to be the go-between.”

Haha...Seriously

“You’re trying to broker the deal,” Rachael suggested to Karen. But her style expert colleague had a different explanation. “I think the boys are trying to be sweet, and Karen is like, ‘Get out there!’” Kyan quipped, making a kicking action. What did Ian himself think about it all, though?

Feeling Proud

Well, the loving father was more than ready for an image overhaul. In fact, Ian was maybe keener than anyone not to be the subject of ridicule any longer. “I want them to be as proud of me as I am of them,” he said of his teenage sons. At that point, he had no idea what was to come.

Always Hairy

Ian hadn’t always had unkempt gray hair, mind you. A picture taken back in the day showed him with lustrous, dark locks and a matching handlebar mustache. And he’d switched up his style as the years progressed – although one of his past ’dos was particularly tragic.

Expressive Style

“So you went into this kind of knowing what you were getting, by the by,” Rachael joked to Karen about the relationship. Maybe, but Karen may not have foreseen the crazy, almost beehive-like hairstyle Ian had when he was younger.

Good On The Inside

As the audience giggled at the embarrassing old pictures, Rachael jokingly told them off. She gestured to Ian, saying, “We have to knock it off. He’s right here! He’s a perfectly lovely man inside.” And given the amount of teasing Ian was prepared to put up with, that appeared to be true. So, how had things gotten so bad?

Handsome Underneath

The presenters agreed that underneath all that gray hair, Ian was still a bit of a catch. “Well, obviously, the hair is a situation. [But] he’s a handsome guy,” Kyan said. “I love his eyes. He’s got a strong cheekbone.” And Rachael was very quick to concur.

Too Comfortable

But Ian had fallen into a trap common to many middle-aged men: somewhere along the line, he’d stopped making an effort. Kyan added, “When I look at him, I see a guy who’s gotten comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable, like we all do from time to time… I just want to do a version of him that’s better.” It was time, then, for the much-needed makeover.

Completely Unrecognizable

Behind the screens, Rachael Ray’s team worked their magic. Then, finally, Ian was ready to present his new look. And when he stepped out from behind the screen, his ex-wife and twin sons were completely blown away.

In Total Shock

“When [Ian] came around the corner, he looked like someone on TV,” Karen said. “I don’t know who, but I was like, ‘Who is that?’” Clearly impressed by her ex’s appearance, she added, “I’ve never seen him look like that.”

Trim And Smoking

Gone was the wild, neglected mane, and in its place was a trendy combed-back style. The beard and mustache had been tastefully trimmed and tidied, too. Now, Ian was a sleek silver fox. And he seemed thoroughly delighted with his new image.

Taking Another Look

Rachael teased Karen, saying, “I think she’s rethinking that whole ‘ex’ thing!” Would Ian go in for it, though? Not exactly. In fact, he was having none of it. “Oh nooo!” he jokingly replied, shaking his head from side to side. Awkward!

Sexy Hair

Rachael suggested, though, that this was the best Ian had ever looked. She turned to the audience and asked, “You saw their wedding pictures, right? He didn’t even look like this on their wedding day!” And the host appeared particularly impressed by his hair. Speaking directly to Ian, Rachael ran a hand through his locks and said, “It’s very hot for women. Just long enough to push behind your ear is super-sexy, man.”

Happy Sons

But it didn’t really matter what Rachael thought. Benjamin and Cameron were the ones Ian had done this for. And after filming had finished, the twins found their voices and revealed their real thoughts on their dad’s makeover.

Travis Herman

What did the boys think? Well, fortunately, they loved their father’s new look! Karen’s sneaky plan looked to have paid off after all. And perhaps she had been inspired to put her ex forward after seeing Travis Herman on the show. He too had a lot of hair until Rachael Ray’s stylists had gotten hold of him.

A New Husband

Connie Herman found her husband Travis’ big and bushy beard annoying for the longest time. And as the top of her head only reaches the bottom of her husband’s chin, she had had to face up to this problem in their marriage for years. All in all, she longed to see the face of the man she had fallen in love with once more. Then, in the middle of an eventful night, Travis subjected himself to a secret makeover – and when Connie woke up, it was to both a brand-new day and a brand-new husband.

Fitting Look

Travis’ scruffy, hirsute appearance therefore fitted perfectly with his job as a brewmaster and brewery owner. His beard was long, black and bushy – very much the backwoodsman look – and his clothes were casual and functional. Furthermore, the hair on Travis’ head was similarly unkempt to that on his cheeks and chin. Years of buzz-cutting it all to one length had rendered his crowning glory thick and unmanageable.

Shedding Beard

However, Travis’ wife, Connie, wasn’t so enamored with his shaggy look. What’s more, by September 2016 things had gotten serious, as the brewer explained at the time in a video since uploaded to YouTube. He admitted, “My wife thinks my beard is a little bit unruly,” adding that maintaining his facial hair was what annoyed his wife the most. He further explained, “You have to brush [the beard] to keep it looking somewhat right, and you end up leaving a little trail of hair everywhere. It drives her insane to see it in the sink.”

Secret Makeover

So, in secret, Travis enlisted the help of a makeover team from The Rachael Ray Show. The makeover segment of the show is led by personal groomer Kyan Douglas, and he agreed to turn Travis from shabby to chic. Indeed, the brewer subsequently underwent a radical personal rebrand – from the hair on his head down to his footwear on the floor. And when the style professionals had finished, he had been transformed into a completely different-looking dude.

Makeover Master

Stylist and television personality Kyan Douglas originally came to fame as the grooming expert on the hit TV program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The show offers tips and advice on culture, fashion, food and wine, personal style and interior design for unsophisticated types. Now working as part of The Rachael Ray Show, Douglas has overseen more than 400 makeovers. However, in regard to Travis’ imminent transformation in the middle of a September night, Douglas stated, “We have never done anything like this.”

Midnight Invasion

Then at 4:00 a.m. one morning, Douglas and his makeover team descended on the Herman household. What better way to keep the whole process a secret from Connie than by completing it while she was asleep? Following the stylist and his posse was a team of camera operatives and sound technicians ready to record the whole scene as it unraveled. From the makeover to the grand reveal, the mobile TV production unit would capture it all, and this footage would be aired on The Rachael Ray Show at a later date.

Blissfully Asleep

And when Douglas and the crew arrived at the suburban house, Travis was waiting for them and quietly let them in. Hugging Douglas as he entered, he welcomed the team into his home. His wife, on the other hand, was fast asleep upstairs along with the children and oblivious to what was going on just a few feet below. When she woke up, however, Connie would see her husband in a totally new light.

The Plan

The first step of the makeover saw Douglas introducing Patricia, a master barber, who helped with some cutting suggestions. Then, before they could begin the transformation, the stylist quickly discussed what they were planning to do with Travis. Douglas said to him, “So Patricia and I have been talking about your look a little bit.”

Beard Be Gone

The stylist observed, “It looks to me like you just use a buzzer or a shaver on your head.” Travis confirmed this as fact. Douglas then continued, stating, “I know Connie wants to probably see the beard go. It’s been a long time since you’ve been clean-shaven, I want to take the beard off completely.” The brewing expert seemed to heartily concur, saying with enthusiasm, “Let’s do it!”

The Buzzing Begins

Thus began the enormous task of turning Travis’ look from hirsute and scruffy to handsome and smart. They started first with the hair atop his head. To stop it being so tufty and untidy, Patricia shaved his hair in a different way than the brewer usually does for himself. Douglas explained, “What we can do to really update his haircut is to give him a fade, so going from longer to shorter just creates a lot of structure. And we’ll just use some product to finesse it a little bit, give it some texture.”

Freeing The Face

Next, it was time to tackle the main task of this makeover and the bane of Connie’s life: the beard. Carefully shearing away the great fuzz of facial hair with an electric shaver, Patricia ensured that Travis’ face could see daylight for the first time in years. And when the barber had buzzed off half of the beard, Douglas asked, “Can you feel a difference right now?” Travis replied, looking thoughtful, “Heavier on one side than the other…”

What Lies Beneath

So, as the tufts of hair piled up on the floor around the beer man’s feet, the beard on his face was swiftly banished. “This is pretty awesome,” Travis conceded when Patricia was finished with the shaver. This new, groomed look not only left the brewer’s face free of fuzz, but it also revealed more of what had been hidden under the hair.

Now, The Outfit

Douglas was not done with Travis just yet, however. To complete the craft beer creator’s new look, the stylist wanted to dress him in smarter clothing to match his neatly shaved face and carefully considered hair. Unpacking a suitcase full of garments on the floor, the stylist was ready and waiting with options for Travis to dress in once his grooming was complete.

Smart Basics

Douglas explained the choice of clothes to the brewery operator. The styling veteran said, “For me, one of the most important things a guy can have in his wardrobe are just really good basic, dark jeans. These go with everything because they’re dark and they’re not faded.” Douglas then added, “The next thing is just a good pair of dark boots.” Holding up a shirt, he stated, “This is just like a really lightweight denim shirt. Because this is so thin, it’s almost like an all-year-round kind of shirt. Dark blue on dark blue, kind of tone-on-tone thing, but because it’s all dark it’s also kind of slimming.”

Calling Down Connie

Then once Travis was dressed in the new clothes, it was time to show off his transformation to his wife. Connie was still upstairs sleeping; since it was about the time she normally woke up, however, it wouldn’t be long before she appeared. Douglas encouraged Travis to send his wife a good morning text message to get the ball rolling on the eagerly anticipated big reveal.

Totally Surprised

“Trap’s set, she’ll be down in just a second,” announced Travis with a twinkle, as the makeover team and camera crew waited for his wife to make her appearance. Connie emerged at the top of the stairs with a sleepy son in her arms. “Oh my gosh! No…”, she exclaimed in delight the moment she saw her husband’s amazing transformation. “I thought you went to a poker game,” she added, before rushing down the steps to embrace her husband.

Happy WIfe

And Connie certainly didn’t hide her joy at the sight of her husband without a beard. She explained to the camera, “That’s how I met him, years and years ago, and it’s nice to see that face again instead of staring at the beard.” She then added, “I’m actually still trying to get past the fact that he doesn’t have a beard on anymore. I really like it – love it.”

Missing His Face

Then, when the couple guested on The Rachael Ray Show, the host asked Connie how she felt. The wife admitted, “Right now, I’m actually going to cry. He looks great. And I’ve missed this face for a very long time, so I’m glad it’s back. Thank you so much, Kyan.” Ray then confirmed with the couple, “You guys met when you were like 16?” She also joked, “He couldn’t even grow a beard when they met.”

The Beard Returns

But what did the man himself think of his new look? Ray inquired, “You love how you look though, right?” Travis replied, “I do, it’s a little higher maintenance than the beard, but you know.” It appears, however, that the beer maker preferred his beard to the clean-shaven look. That’s judging from a photo posted by Connie to Facebook in 2017, in which Travis is shown with yet more facial fuzz.