Who are Dean Poulton and Borja de Maqua? Real estate couple is all set to co-host HGTV’s new show Saving the Manor

The real estate couple, Dean Poulton and Borja de Maqua, are all set to co-host HGTV’s new show Saving the Manor, airing on Friday, October 7, 2022, at 10/9c on HGTV. Dean and Borja will:

“single-handedly renovate a magnificent, yet dilapidated, ten-building, 65-room historic English estate that dates back more than 500 years.”

The couple will spend their “life savings” to fully restore the “property with a nod to authentic preservation” on Saving the Manor.

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Saving The Manor's Dean Poulton and Borja de Maqua complement each other's skills

British national Dean Poulton and Spanish-born Borja de Maqua were born in March 1987 and March 1989, respectively.

Dean looks after the plumbing and electricity, whereas Borja has now become an expert at cabinet work. As per his official website, mytinyestate.com, Dean has spent:

“10 years practicing as an Architect and 25 years enjoying the art of construction from Lego and Knex, all the way up to designing studio showrooms and housing developments."

Spanish-born Borja was “working in the property market for the past seven years as an Estate Agent and Surveyor.” He moved to England in 2011 and became a British citizen in 2021.

Borja not only knows the market and a good property but has got a keen eye for “gardening and an obsession with anything to do with it!” However, he did not know anything about DIY until he met Dean. He “couldn’t even hold a paintbrush.” He told HGT:

“I never did anything before I met [Dean]. I just thought that you paid different people to do things!”

But now, Borja is a jack of all trades. Explaining his skills, Dean said:

“I mean, how big is your CV now? You can do glass cutting, you can do plastering, you can do bricklaying, carpentry … you’ve got so many skills under your belt!”

Since being together, the couple have “lived in six houses, redecorated two and refurbished four.”

The Saving the Manor couple are now working on a 65-room Warwickshire estate, which they bought after falling in “love” with the place. The couple are renovating the mansion and trying to "save this property". The couple will spend their own earnings to bring back the charm of the estate. Dean said:

“We’re in a throwaway society; even houses now [are] only supposed to last thirty years. This house has lasted a couple of hundred, and once we’re finished with it, we hope it will last another couple of hundred.”

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Saving the Manor's Dean Poulton and Borja de Maqua met on a dating app

Borja connected with Englishman Dean via GPS and dating app. Speaking about their first meeting, Dean said:

“It was a location-based app, and Borja was flying into England from Paris and I was passing by the airport at that exact time … it was just meant to be!”

The couple then met five days later and fell in love with each other. Taking their relationship a step further, they moved in together two months later and bought their first home together after three months.

Dean and Borja recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. The couple are ready to overcome any obstacles as teamwork has given their life partnership a rock-solid foundation. Dean believes that if they could "do a restoration together in a relationship", then they "can survive anything.”

Tune in on HGTV on Friday to watch Dean and Borja’s work on Saving the Manor.