HGTV’s ‘Windy City Rehab’ Stars Apparently Have Falling Out, But Show Will Continue

Bruce Haring

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The stars of HGTV’s Windy CIty Rehab show apparently are on the outs. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on a series of angry texts from Alison Victoria to some disgruntled clients, saying that she does not want former contractor and partner Donovan Eckhardt “to “f— with my life or business any more than he already has.”

The angry message came after Eckhardt apparently bounced a check. Earlier, Victoria posted on Instagram that she was working with a new general contractor.

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The text came to light as part of a filing in a lawsuit by a Chicago couple alleging shoddy workmanship and fraud. Victoria told the couple she would make good on Eckhardt’s portion of the check, which aimed to reimburse the couple for a new roof. The one they installed after the rehab leaked.

Eckhardt did not respond to a Sun-Times request for comment, and Victoria declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The problems between the stars came to a head after the city issued stop work orders. Allegedly, work was performed on several units without permits. The city has since lifeted the orders.

The show stars have a connection beyond the TV show. They co-won several of the homes featured on the show through a company called Alovan, a combination of their names.

A court date on the leaky roof lawsuit is set for April 28. The show was greenlit for a second season before the stop-work orders went into effect. HGTV insists the show is still in production.

During the hiatus, Alison Victoria Gramenos appeared in the HGTV competition Rock the Block, which was won by Jasmine Roth. HGTV said at this year’s TCA that Windy City Rehab was its highest-rated freshman series in more than a year, which prompted the network to pick up 10 episodes for a second season.

Windy City Rehab, per HGTV, ranked as the No. 1 series for them in viewers P25-34 and is a top 10 cable program among women 25-54 in the Tuesday 9-10 p.m. ET/PT time slot. The first season drew 9.3M-plus viewers since it premiered on Tuesday, Jan. 1, at 9 pm ET/PT.

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