Home design guru Alison Victoria has claimed that HGTV fired her from her co-hosting duties on “Battle on the Beach” because she told fans the series had been “canceled,” instead of stating that it had not been “renewed.”
Victoria, 44, fronted the show for four seasons, alongside co-hosts Ty Pennington and Taniya Nayak. But in July 2025, during an episode of her podcast “The Pap Smear,” she told her “Ugliest Houses in America” co-star Retta that the series had been “canceled” as part of a sweeping program cull carried out by HGTV during that summer.
Awkwardly for Victoria, the series actually did end up being revived by the home renovation network just 10 months later—but without her or Nayak picking back up their hosting duties. Instead, Pennington continued to lead the series, this time along with Mika Kleinschmidt and Sarah Baeumler.
Now, the on-air host has opened up about her removal from “Battle on the Beach,” telling the Daily Mail that she thinks it was her use of the word “canceled”—rather than her insinuation that the series would not be returning—that led to her axing as a host.
“I said that ‘Battle on the Beach’ was canceled,” she recalled. “Now, that word should not have been used. I should have said it was ‘not renewed.’ That’s the language that I should have used.”
In her podcast, Victoria also made several claims about why she believed the show had been left on the chopping block, describing it as being like “adult spring break” and hinting that the editing of the series was to blame for its poor performance.
“‘Battle on the Beach’ did not get picked back up, which is sad, because it was like adult spring break. But I believe it was all editing,” she said at the time.
Addressing the moment, Victoria noted to the Daily Mail that she does little to really prepare for her podcast—and that the episodes go through limited editing, noting that, in hindsight, she should have been better prepped for the discussion with Retta.
“It’s just conversation. I don’t have notes. I should be more prepared, but I’m not and she and I were just talking about different shows and I had said that ‘Battle on the Beach’ was canceled,” she shared.
The HGTV star added that she learned of the new season through pal Nayak, 53, explaining, “She was like, ‘They picked up “Battle on the Beach,” and neither of us are gonna be on,’ and I looked at her and I just said, ‘I expected that.'”
“For me, we loved that show and we just had fun. We made great television, and now it’s time to pass the torch and see what they’ve got. So only time will tell, and you know, the ratings will be the feedback, and I hope that the ratings are amazing.”
Meanwhile, Victoria—who is now hosting “Sin City Rehab,” and working on “Scariest House in America” and “Ugliest House in America,” revealed that she has a very busy schedule, and wouldn’t actually have been able to take part in the show.
“I’m working very hard on my show, so even let’s say I did get asked to be back—which I did not, but let’s say I did—I wouldn’t have been able to do it because there was no way to juggle it. Part of me hopes that maybe they didn’t ask me back because they knew I didn’t have time,” she added.
A lot has also changed in the renovation expert’s personal life since she was cut from “Battle on the Beach,” namely her relocation from Chicago to Las Vegas in fall 2025, a move that she later admitted was prompted by a messy lawsuit in the Windy City.
Victoria and her former costar, Donovan Eckhardt, were both sued by several clients—and Victoria then sued Eckhardt for mishandling finances and shady behavior.
“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. 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,” she explained.
“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.”
The HGTV star added, “When I’m happy, I’m my most creative self. My creativity was dying in Chicago, and I felt that in my work.
“I literally up and left. I left the most beautiful dream home, which is just perfect. It’s just stuck the way that I left it—fully furnished, all my clothes are there. I just was like, ‘I’m out.’”
The designer now lives in a Spanish-style pad in Henderson, NV, which she has branded her “sanctuary.”
Now that she has settled in her Nevada home, Victoria revealed that she hopes to change the city “one house at a time, to show people that it doesn’t have to all look the same.”
She later told Realtor.com® that she feels as though Vegas is her be-all and end-all home, explaining: “I’ll tell you this much: I’m home. I am finally, for the first time in my life, I am home. I mean, I design houses all over the country. So my business will constantly be growing and doing jobs all over the country.
“So that will never change, and I will be spending a lot of time in California. My boyfriend lives in Malibu, so we’ll be going between Malibu and Las Vegas. But I finally feel like I’m living my best life, and it feels really, really safe, and it feels really good.”
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