Why HGTV’s Alison Victoria Isn’t Thinking About Marriage with Partner Brandt Andersen: ‘Happy with Being Happy’ (Exclusive)

Stacy LambeThu, October 15, 2026 at 6:25 PM UTC

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Brandt Andersen and Alison Victoria at the Reality TV Awards on Nov. 18, 2024Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty -

Alison Victoria says past relationships made marriage feel like a source of internal conflict

The HGTV star and filmmaker Brandt Andersen met at a wellness retreat before going public in June 2024

Andersen’s support during a difficult renovation project will be featured on season 2 of Sin City Rehab

Alison Victoria says marriage is not on her radar, “at least, right now.”

The Sin City Rehab designer recently opened up about her relationship with boyfriend Brandt Andersen while discussing the new season of her show with PEOPLE. She and the 49-year-old filmmaker went public in June 2024 after first meeting at a wellness retreat, but they’re not rushing into any next steps, due in part to Victoria’s experience in past relationships, she shares.

“I guess because I do feel like I’ve been in a relationship before where that was always on the radar, and I think it just caused this internal conflict and then conflict between me and that person,” Victoria, 44, explains.

“I’m like, ‘I don’t need anything but a good partner, at least right now.’ So it feels really good to just be happy with being happy,” she adds.

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The two have put their love on display while walking the red carpet at events and via Instagram, where Victoria sparked engagement rumors by posting a selfie of a ring on that finger in April. PEOPLE later confirmed that the pair were not engaged. “Alison and Brandt are still happily in love and in partnership with one another,” a source said at the time.

Victoria says the wellness retreat where the couple met taught her to be “open to real love again and meet my true love” and calls attending the week-long program the “greatest decision that I made.”

Brandt Andersen and Alison Victoria at the Daytime Emmy Creative Arts & Lifestyle Awards on June 8, 2024Credit: Unique Nicole/Getty

Now, she says Andersen is more than just a boyfriend — he’s her “partner.” Revealing that she uses the term “all the time” after previously never calling anyone “my partner” in past relationships, the interior designer says it’s a fitting moniker, especially for someone who was by her side during a particularly difficult time while producing her series.

Reflecting on the harsh realities of the home renovation industry, which she has proudly put on display with both Windy City Rehab and Sin City Rehab, Victoria recalled how Andersen supported her in real time.

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Just two weeks before chatting with PEOPLE, she shared she felt like she had been taken advantage of and made to feel “like a fool” while working on one of her home design projects. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this, I don’t know how I’m going to finish this.’ And Brandt was like, ‘I’m going to take over. Give me everyone’s numbers. I’m going to get on the phone with them.’“

That was something she hadn’t experienced before. “I mean, I’ve never had anyone do that in my life,” she says, adding that Andersen is “a partner who’s like, ‘I see your pain and I want to take it from you.’“

Brandt Andersen and Alison Victoria on vacation via InstagramCredit: Alison Victoria/Instagram (2)

All of that, Victoria says, will be on Sin City Rehab this season. “You’re going to see a lot of it in the show,” she shares. “I’m telling you, it came to a head where I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone with a lot of people.”

As for Andersen, “he really is my best friend,” she says later. “I used to hear people say that all the time, ‘Oh, I’m married to my best friend.’ I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, right.’ And now I get it because I have it, and things couldn’t be better.”

“I’m just very, very happy and celebrating him is one of my favorite things to do. We do such a good job of that,” she says, noting how they’ve made time for each other as they marked their respective birthdays with a getaway to Santa Barbara, Calif. for Andersen’s on Sept. 13 and an upcoming trip for hers on Oct. 31.

When it comes to turning 45, she reveals that “he’s taking me somewhere I don’t know where. He’s just like, ‘I’ll tell you what to pack.’ I don’t know where I’m going for this birthday, but I’m so excited.”

As for putting their relationship on the show, Victoria says, “I’ve been very protective of that and of him. And then I was like, ‘But wait, if I’m being real, this is really a part of my life and a part of my story.’ So yeah, I’m sharing a lot and it feels good. You get to see Brandt and our lives together. It’s going to be cool.”

Sin City Rehab airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and is available to stream the next day on HBO Max.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”