What To Know
- Alison Victoria reflected on the legal struggles she faced while filming her previous HGTV series, Windy City Rehab.
- Victoria revealed that HGTV stood by her side and committed to portraying authenticity on the show.
- Victoria’s current series, Sin City Rehab, was recently renewed for a second season.
Alison Victoria may have gotten in trouble with HGTV for incorrectly stating that Battle on the Beach had been canceled, but the network had her back during a difficult period.
“I think for me, what was great with my second season of my last show, called Windy City Rehab, was I wanted to make a great show. I wanted people to see the truth and no more smoke and mirrors around home design, because there’s a lot of it,” she stated on the Thursday, May 21, episode of her Pap Smear podcast. “[People are like,] ‘Oh, I’m going to do your house and we’re going to show the process. And then at the end, you’re going to love it.’ That’s bulls***. What happened in the middle? What did you not show? And so, I always wanted to show that.”
Windy City Rehab ran for five seasons on HGTV from 2019 to 2024 and followed Victoria as she transformed homes across the Chicago area. “It was my second season, and I was going through a s*** storm,” she recalled. “I was being sued by, like, nine people. My ex-business partner f**ked me over. And here I am, hiding my tears from my own camera crew. I’m hiding it, and I’m like, ‘What the f**k am I doing?’ I came on to do this show to show people the truth. And now, all of a sudden, I’m crying in my car because I don’t want them to see me crying. And I’m like, ‘Well then, I’m not doing what I set out to do.’”
Victoria and her former business partner, Donovan Eckhardt, faced numerous legal challenges throughout the show’s run, including lawsuits, stop-work orders, permit violations, fraud allegations, and financial mismanagement.
Alison Victoria on ‘Windy City Rehab’ (HGTV)
Victoria said she was nervous to discuss her legal issues with HGTV. “I went to them, and I said, ‘I’m not going to be able to give you what you wanted. You paid me for 13 episodes. I’m about to get sued by a ton of people. I’m about to sue a ton of people. Maybe I can give you three episodes,’” she notes.
To her surprise, the network supported her. “They stood by my side, and they said, ‘We’re going to show the truth.’ And instead of 13, 60-minute programs, they did five 90-minutes,” she remembered. “And that season is what set me apart because I showed people everything that I went through. And that is what people remember about me. So, I love that because I continue that authentic path, I should say, of just being like, ‘Shoot it. It’s happening, shoot it. This guy’s talking to me like s***, shoot it.’”
Victoria went on to end her personal and professional relationship with Eckhardt. Last year, she returned to HGTV with the Windy City Rehab spinoff Sin City Rehab, which saw her move her business from Chicago to Las Vegas.
Earlier this month, HGTV announced that Sin City Rehab will return for a second season later this year. Per Season 2’s description, the new episodes will follow Victoria “as she navigates make-or-break renovations and business decisions while building her design business out west. With each roll of the dice, she will contend with big egos, tough competition, and wildly aggressive timelines, all while taking on new business partners and juggling multiple high-risk flips.”
Sin City Rehab, Season 2 Premiere, Wednesday, October 7, 9/8c, HGTV
