Sad Details About HGTV Star Alison Victoria Fans Don

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“Windy City Rehab” may give HGTV viewers a glimpse into Alison Victoria’s quest to give old homes a new lease on life, but there’s a ton that goes on behind the scenes that we don’t see. From bad business partnerships to personal things Victoria has gone through over the years, let’s get into it. 

Perhaps the first thing to come to mind when thinking of sad things Victoria has endured are the major legal issues she faced after the first season of “Windy City Rehab” aired. As was reported by Chicago Sun-Times in early 2020, a couple whose home had been included in the season had filed a lawsuit against Victoria, her business partner Donovan Eckhardt, and their respective companies for poor workmanship in December 2019. Among their complaints were major leaks throughout the home and even a skewed front door. That wasn’t all, though. A few months later, the HGTV co-stars were sued again for poor workmanship on a different project that had also been featured in “Windy City Rehab.” In a word: yikes. 

It does bear mentioning that some of the legal goings on were actually documented on “Windy City Rehab.” As viewers may remember, in one Season 2 episode, Victoria made a point of noting that she wasn’t actually involved in the construction side of things. “I’m not even the contractor, I’m not the builder, I didn’t pull permits, I don’t do that work. And now I’m dealing with structural things that are falling apart for all these homeowners that live in homes that I designed,” she explained (via People). Even so, she added that although she wasn’t responsible for that part of the business, she had to take accountability as the co-owner of the development company she shared with Eckhardt.

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Take accountability, Alison Victoria did — and as it turns out, the situation with her and Donovan Eckhardt’s disgruntled ex-clients came at a massive cost to her. Per the Chicago Sun-Times report, one of the costs the original suing couple incurred was a roof replacement. Both Victoria and Eckhardt’s companies were supposed to reimburse the couple for that, but it seems only the former’s payment actually went through. 

Unsurprisingly, Victoria wasn’t particularly thrilled about that. And, while she agreed to foot the rest of the bill, she didn’t exactly hide her displeasure over the situation. According to Chicago-Sun Times, Victoria sent a text complaining, “If I have to cover his portion I will. I do not want him to f*** with my life or business any more than he already has.” TBH, we can see where she was coming from. 

Unfortunately for Victoria, the couple wasn’t finished with her. Per People, they also tried to have the presiding judge freeze her assets. This, in a bid to prevent her from hiding anything or dissolving companies to avoid a payout. Luckily for the HGTV star, it seems the judge wasn’t on board with that particular request — something Victoria’s attorney confirmed to the outlet. 

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Alison Victoria ultimately got through her legal woes and even ended her business partnership with Donovan Eckhardt (who, some may remember, was accused of financial mismanagement on the show). However, that’s not to say she emerged entirely unscathed. Quite the contrary — in one interview with People, she admitted that in the immediate aftermath of what became one of HGTV’s biggest scandals, part of her wanted to walk away from design. 

“I was at a place where I didn’t know if I even wanted to do this anymore,” she admitted. Things were so bad that she decided she needed to get away from it all, and she booked a trip to Paris to recuperate. It’s a good thing she did, as the city immediately inspired her, and she knew without question that she loved design and wanted to keep doing it. “I ended up calling production and I was like, ‘Okay, fine, we can film. Let’s film.’ A week later, I had camera crews in Paris and we were filming,” she recounted to the outlet. 

Given that the HGTV star’s personal net worth took quite a knock in the wake of all the legal woes she faced, it’s great to hear she was able to get to Paris and find that inspo again. 

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While Alison Victoria is the host of “Windy City Rehab” today, she first became a public figure as the host of “Kitchen Crashers.” During that time, she sat down with ADrinkWith.com — and in the interview, she opened up about her relationship with her then-fiance (now ex-husband) Luke Harding. She revealed that they’d met on Match.com and that she’d been very impressed by his own design skills when she saw his house IRL. High praise, for a designer, so it certainly sounded as though they were the perfect pairing. Another interview conducted post-wedding saw Victoria gush to Chicago Splash (via Distractify) about him being her biggest supporter. Other than these sit-downs, their relationship was kept under wraps. 

As for where things turned tragic, it turns out Victoria and Harding weren’t to last. Granted, sticking with their previous preference for privacy, neither has been particularly (read: at all) forthcoming with any details. With that in mind, perhaps the split was an amicable one.

Either way, Victoria has since moved on with producer Brandt Andersen, and this time around, she’s been significantly more open about her affections. Speaking to Us Weekly, she gushed, “He is the most amazing human I’ve ever met … I could just be so proud to be next to him.” She also joked that she wouldn’t rule out having him cameo on “Windy City Rehab,” but there were no finite plans for anything just yet. Given just how in love she seems to be with Andersen, perhaps Victoria’s divorce shouldn’t be on a list of the sadder details of her life, after all!

While Alison Victoria never went into detail about her divorce from Luke Harding, one thing she has been open about was the fact that after the split, she regretted not freezing her eggs sooner. 

Taking to Instagram in May 2022, Victoria explained that after meeting her former partner, she’d decided against freezing her eggs. At the time, she didn’t think much of it, as she’d begun the process already and knew she had a number of follicles. However, she shared, “4 years later that relationship didn’t work out and I found myself single and ready to finally freeze these bad boys … Only this time I didn’t get great news. Apparently my follicle count was super low and my levels weren’t looking great.” 

Of course, fans of “Windy City Rehab” likely know of Victoria’s fertility journey from the show, as well. In Season 3 of the HGTV series, Victoria opened up about her experience with IVF for the cameras. “I just don’t want any more time to go by; I really want to have an insurance policy that one day, I can have a family, if and when I’m ready,” she said (via People). As with other celebs who have had IVF treatments and spoken about them, Victoria’s decision to share her fertility concerns with the world was a brave one, and we’re wishing her the best with the process. 

Another heartbreaking experience Alison Victoria has gone through over the past few years is the death of her father, James Gramenos. Victoria took to Instagram to announce his passing. “Newsboy, boy scout, FBI agent, public defender, federal judge, but above all, dad. A principled man whose extraordinary work ethic was exceeded only by his dedication to his children,” she began. Victoria went on to describe Gramenos as “the epitome of a great father.”

As with the IVF journey and the lawsuit, Victoria also addressed her father’s passing in “Windy City Rehab.” In fact, she actually credited her father’s influence for the reason she’d been able to persevere through it all. “He’d be the one that said, ‘Stand up, dust yourself off and keep fighting the good fight,” she said (via People). She also pointed out that it was thanks to that stance that she knew she was able to handle whatever life threw her way, going forward. “I know that nothing will take me down,” she said. 

There’s no denying that Victoria has dealt with a ton of ups and downs in the last few years. However, she’s also shown time and again just how resilient she is. A business partner-turned-HGTV-co-star with a shady side, divorce, fertility woes and even a death in the family — none of that was able to hold her back. Even so, we’re hoping she won’t have quite as much heartache for the foreseeable future.