When Rebel Wilson first moved to Hollywood from Australia in 2010, she was in search of two things: friendship and a good dye job. Lucky for Rebel, she met Nicole. “She came to me to get her hair and makeup done,” Nicole said of the day she and Rebel met. “I was told that she was an Australian comedian and immediately I thought that she was going to be so mean to me.” Nicole couldn’t have been more wrong. She and Rebel hit it off, and they soon went from hairdresser and client to close friends who consider each other family. “She’s so genuine and heartfelt and when she gives me advice it’s from the heart,” Rebel said about Nicole. “She’s just an awesome person.”

Wanting to give back to her closest and first friend in America, Rebel saw the perfect opportunity to surprise Nicole with a backyard renovation at her home in Burbank, California. Together with Jonathan and Drew Scott, Rebel transformed Nicole’s barren backyard into an outdoor oasis complete with a living space, dining area, fireplace and pool.

Nicole’s backyard was pretty much a blank slate so there wasn’t much to do demo-wise aside from leveling the land off. In order to do so, a large concrete slab needed to be removed. Rebel hopped in the excavator armed with a jackhammer attachment and got to work. “I loved it,” Rebel said of the experience. “Normally I’m just sitting at home at a computer writing jokes, or I don’t know, getting glamorous for a red carpet. Very different, but I’ll tell you what — I really, really enjoyed it.”

Rebel played the part of general contractor really well — it’s a shame there wasn’t more demo for her to tackle! Even Rebel started thinking that maybe this was a missed career opportunity. “I wish these two were my brothers and then I could’ve been a Property Sister and been part of it from the beginning,” Rebel said. “At least I’m in one episode, so that’s good.”

Rebel mentioned that Nicole and her husband had put their entire savings into purchasing this house in Burbank, California, and were unable to allocate any funds to the backyard. One good thing about the original patio was that it was already wired for electrical.