Why Did HGTV’s Alison Victoria Move to Las Vegas?

After years of living in Chicago and hosting the show Windy City Rehab, HGTV star Alison Victoria is now embarking on a new chapter in Las Vegas. Her move has been documented on her new series, Sin City Rehab.

Victoria, who is from Chicago, has actually spent time in Vegas in the past. Before moving back to the Windy City, she moved to Vegas at just 19, went to college, and even started a business there. Now, she’s ready to leave Chicago behind her. Scroll down for everything we know about her move.

Why did Alison Victoria move to Las Vegas?

“For me, it was a sense of trying to get back out West,” Victoria told TV Insider. “I’ve been really longing for it for a while and working towards it.”

In an interview with House Beautiful, she specified that the legal drama she was dealing with in Chicago (more on that below) affected her desire to stay there. “After what I went through with the multiple lawsuits and the building department in Chicago, it just… I don’t know how to explain it,” she admitted. “It’s like you’re in a relationship, right? I was in a relationship with the city that I loved and lived in, and then it didn’t treat me well. It just didn’t, and I needed a break. I just needed to get out of there. I wasn’t my happiest self. I wasn’t living my best life.”

She said that she was no longer happy in Chicago, which was affecting her creativity.

Is Alison Victoria selling her dream home?

Victoria’s residence in Chicago was once described as her “dream home,” but it’s currently on the market for $2.9 million. As of March, the home had been on the market for more than two years.

“Seven thousand square feet to yourself seems opulent and dreamy, but in reality, it became a bit lonely, so I decided to downsize and find something that suited my lifestyle better,” Victoria told Us Weekly. “I travel so much for work and wasn’t really there to enjoy it as much as the space deserves to be enjoyed.”

She also told House Beautiful that she would consider selling the house fully furnished. “Everything’s negotiable,” the designer added.

What was Alison Victoria’s legal trouble?

Victoria and her former partner, Donovan Eckhardt, faced a number of accusations from clients in Chicago. The drama started in 2019 when the two were hit with a stop-work order for doing construction work without a permit, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Two months later, Victoria and Eckhardt were banned from starting any new construction projects in the city, and he also had his contractor’s license suspended for one year (they both appealed the decisions). At the end of July 2019, Eckhardt’s license suspension was changed to be for 45 days, while the permit suspensions for him and Victoria were upheld.

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The pair also faced lawsuits from clients who claimed shoddy work was done on their homes. One customer sued Victoria and Eckhardt in January 2020, claiming their home leaked gallons of water, among other issues, per the Chicago Sun Times. More homebuyers sued Victoria that April, asking that her show be taken off the air because it’s “deceptive.”

Amid the drama, Victoria and Eckhardt had a falling out after she found out he was mishandling their finances. He sued Discovery Inc. for defamation based on claims Victoria made against him on the show, but the case was dismissed.

Sin City Rehab, Wednesdays, 9/8c, HGTV