Despite the fact that 33% of renters move each year, moving can be an emotionally charged event for many people — especially if your former partner has decided to move out and start a new life. But instead of resigning yourself to spending the next few months on the couch alternating between crying jags and emotional eating, you can take control of your surroundings. That’s what HGTV is hoping, anyway, with their brand new renovation series that has a relationship twist.
Although rats thrive in urban environments, including cities like Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., the truth is that they can live anywhere. You might even consider your ex to be one. So if you want to clear out the clutter and remove all remnants of that particular rodent in your life, you might need a little bit of help.
That’s where HGTV and its new show, “Unspouse My House,” comes in. The series centers around homeowners who are newly single and who want their personal spaces to be more reflective of their personal tastes and their emotional states. Approximately 40% to 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce every year, and it’s often tough to move on when you’re surrounded by your ex’s belongings and the memories you made together.
Host Orlando Soria, a self-proclaimed relationship expert and renovation visionary, has the solution. He believes that recently uncoupled homeowners deserve a fresh start — and that it all starts with making over their homes.
As Soria told Domino.com, “The point of the show is to erase bad memories and help people get their heads out of the gutter, in addition to showing them how they can imprint their personalities onto their homes if they’ve never done it before.”
In fact, the catalyst for the show came from Soria’s own breakup, which completely threw him for a loop. He had initially renovated a home with his partner, but it turned out that the relationship wasn’t meant to last forever like he had imagined. Designing the West Hollywood apartment he moved into post-breakup was a means for healing and self-care, as creating a beautiful space for yourself can cement your own worth and bolster your self-esteem when it’s taken a hit. And since 48% of homeowners planned to redecorate their homes in 2018, there’s no better time than after a divorce to put your personal stamp on your home.
In a statement to Distractify.com, Orlando noted, “When you have a partner, you have to take their needs and tastes into account. But when you’re doing it for yourself, you just get to be selfish. I think of it as a silver lining to a breakup. You don’t have to worry about the other person’s style; you can just be 100% you.”
In each episode of the show, Soria helps men and women who are struggling to come to terms with their new reality and who don’t want to be constantly reminded of their pain.
As he explained to Vogue, “There’s so much history and baggage that goes into the things that surround us. But one of the main reasons for this show is that when people are going through breakups, logistically, it’s a nightmare…Houses are in disarray. When your house is not settled, it’s very hard to feel settled yourself.”
But with Soria’s help and vision, homeowners can create a space that feels decidedly their own and can even sort through those complex emotions. Some individuals featured get the chance to turn their formerly shared home offices into their private sanctuaries, while others take pleasure in throwing out the ugly easy chairs their exes could never seem to get rid of.
It’s Orlando’s view that designers are much like therapists — they figure out what an individual wants and needs and determines how to create a place that’s representative of who they are. And while some might be quick to argue that a home improvement television show won’t be nearly enough to work through the emotional issues at-hand, this heartwarming and relatable series might serve as a great start.
