HGTV’s Alison Victoria Calls Out ‘A—–‘ Contractor for Disrespecting Her on “Sin City Rehab” (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Alison Victoria is speaking out after her experience working with a difficult general contractor on Sin City Rehab captured fans’ attention

• The home renovation expert says “there’s no forgiving” him for how he disrespected her on her new show

• The HGTV star also reflects on being a woman in the industry and why she has to stand up for herself — especially as she establishes her business in a new city

With Sin City Rehab, Alison Victoria is looking to make a splash in Las Vegas — even if that means butting heads with a few people along the way.

The move to Nevada comes after 14 years in Chicago, where the designer chronicled the ups and downs of her home renovation business on five seasons of HGTV’s Windy City Rehab. While Victoria, 43, proved herself to be a formidable force in the flipping space — her kitchens have become one of her signatures — she experienced a number of setbacks that she claims were in large part due to a falling out with her former business partner and costar Donovan Eckhardt. He left the series in 2020 after she alleged he mishandled company finances among other grievances and he later filed a lawsuit against Victoria claiming defamation.

With the Las Vegas-based spinoff, Victoria is washing her hands of past drama and charging forward by reestablishing herself in a city she once called home.

However, her re-entry into the Vegas market has come with its own unexpected bumps in the road. One of them notably being a general contractor named Jeff, whom she was tasked with collaborating with after he was hired by her clients, Jeremy and Deborah.

As seen in the first two episodes, Victoria and Jeff were immediately at odds, with the contractor saying that he did not like her design style. “You [told] Jeremy that my designs look like s—,” Victoria said to Jeff after the two had an overdue confrontation to hash out their differences.

While the designer acknowledged she’s been told she’s “very direct” and “aggressive,” she made it clear that she wasn’t going to roll over when someone challenged her brand and reputation. The meeting ended with Jeff telling her, “I don’t want to work with you.”

In the end, Victoria sought out new general contractors to work with on projects moving forward. But, for the HGTV star, there’s no letting Jeff off the hook for his actions — even now. “There’s no forgiving him,” she tells PEOPLE. “But I’m certainly not somebody who’s gonna try to hold a grudge.”

“But I will tell you, no. 1, if you are that way in life, shame on you,” Victoria says. “No. 2, if you’re that way on camera, something’s off. Like, you don’t even think of putting a feather in your hat when a camera’s rolling, you’re just going to keep being the same? So, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. And I believe Jeff is just an a——.”

She adds, “Sorry, I don’t know how to sugarcoat that.”

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As Victoria has said on Sin City Rehab, she’s not one to back down as she continues to look for new contractors and flipping investors to work with, and will always try to stand strong in the face of adversity.

“I’ve always been that way. I’ve always stood up for myself. I’ve always said what I believe and I’ve always protected those I care about, which include my clients, because my clients become friends and family,” she says. “I don’t let anyone walk all over me and I think that you are seeing that here.”

Reflecting on what she went through on Windy City Rehab, Victoria says, “You saw me in Chicago at one of my lowest points, in my weakest moments of vulnerability and fear.” 

“I don’t take s— from anybody,” she continues. “If I did, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.” She notes that “some people, I think, are put off by that type of confidence.”

One of her clients, Food Network star and chef Antonia Lofaso, whose home was updated on a recent episode of the series, stands up for her friend too. While speaking to PEOPLE, she shared that there’s an amount of misogyny that comes with being a woman in a male-dominated industry.

“There’s this very insane misconception that a woman who is very feminine and beautiful and cares about the way she looks and presents herself somehow makes it seem like they don’t have an ability to do their job,” Lofaso, 48, says, adding that it’s unfortunate “women in these strong roles” have to put up with men who constantly doubt them.

Adding to that, Victoria says, “You are talking to two women who don’t put up with s—. We don’t even look at ourselves as women in our spaces. We’re just people doing what we love and being really damn good at it.”

New episodes of Sin City Rehab air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and are available to stream on HBO Max.

Read the original article on People