Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Stories That Ended In Tragedy

There’s nothing quite like the story of a community coming together to help out a family in need to really tug at the heartstrings. For an original nine seasons beginning in 2003, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” did just that. The show featured families that had fallen on hard times who were gifted with home remodels, and, in some cases, entirely new houses.
Though "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" gave well-deserving families both a new home and a fresh start, life still found a way to wreak havoc on some of the recipients after the fact. From divorce, to foreclosure, to lawsuits, here are the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" stories that ended in tragedy.

#ExtremeMakeover #RealityTV #HGTV

The Oatman family | 0:00
The Higgins family | 1:39
The Okvath family | 3:02
The Nickless family | 4:29
The Beach family | 5:50

[TheList]

Which "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" story is your favorite?

[gingersnapped]

A struggling family doesn't need a mansion, they need a home that they can manage as a family. So sad to hear that the hike in property taxes in these new homes drove most of them out. Hope they all are living a more manageable life now.

[joyr]

I don't think most people realized the tax and utility cost of living in a huge mansion before they agreed to the show. Maybe if the show would have used solar panels to cut some of the cost or just upgraded to a nicer house, but not a mansion. I read that most of the people ended up selling the house or going bankrupt.

[Elizabeth-tbwh]

Wow! That mom who lost her husband and then to lose her home. They did her no favor. Just brought on more heartbreak. 😢

[bonnie]

Breaks my heart to see how excited families are only to see their dreams crumble.

[Moosemonni]

I feel like they should have focused more on the little things that the families needed. Most of the houses were built way bigger than what those families actually needed. There were many families that needed this makeover for everyday purposes - a family member was in a wheelchair that didn't fit through doorways. Some families needed more accessible bathroom and possibly a lift to get a family member out from the bed and to the shower. Some needed to get rid of the mold/toxic gas etc. All they really needed was to get these issues fixed, no big mansions that would eventually turn into a new nightmare.

[darleneaitken]

If they couldn't afford what they had how can they afford what they were given?

[napnaps]

I remember all these shows as a teen, I loved it! But as a 32yo woman this is so so heartbreaking 😢 to understand the struggles, no dreams were actually made 😣

[l]

A free super upgraded house vs an upgraded, reasonable, safe and paid for house would have made the difference in these cases.
SO MUCH waste in the over the top furnishings, unnecessary way-to-extras....
Instead how about taxes and a utility bill fund for at least a year or so after donation of the "plenty enough" redone house?

[jubilee.x]

I worked with one of the Higgins kids…the family that adopted them TREATED THEM HORRIBLY. Absolutely horribly. The Higgins kid was a amazing person, very polite, hard working and gentle. If you’re reading this, from a K employee to another, I hope you’re doing well.

[dallasstarsfan]

I always thought the theme based rooms “especially for the younger ones” wasn’t a good idea. You should keep it more neutral so as the child grows your not having to change much or if you need to sale. Also the houses should be way smaller and not so over the top. Nothing wrong with shared rooms within reason.

[kimberlysliter-hawkins]

The sentiment was very heartwarming. I used to watch this show regularly. Realistically (in the back of my mind) I wondered how these families could afford to heat the home, do maintenance, property taxes etc.

[karenleemallonee]

These stories are truly sad, my heart hurts for all of them. I had often wondered about all of the families that were blessed with these beautiful homes. Instead of going through them so quickly, maybe someone could do an hour show and make it much easier to follow the story of each family. There just might be some help out there somewhere for some of them! 🌼

[MissionaryForMexico]

I knew this was going to occur, when they increased the square footage of homes the tv program built. And I thought about the increase in taxes but also utilities would increase big time! What the focus of the tv program should have been from the very beginning. To improve or update the home they were living in. And stay within a budget that is comparable to homes in there subdivision! That would have been wisdom!

[BlaQSheep]

I use to watch this as a kid just thinking these people got a free mansion

[frances]

Home maintenance, property taxes, family/social issues, etc. can cause havoc as time rolls on and that's what has to be considered when getting a huge house.

[goblin_corpse]

This is also the problem with give-aways, yeah a mansion or a fancy car is nice but for most people the upkeep is just financially crippling. These people aren't rich and if they have medical bills, then I just don't know how they'd make ends meet. It's honestly kinda cruel.

[artismyheart]

They always built these houses with specific themed bedrooms, over the top designs that may have been “cool” for that particular family but certainly not good for the resale values. Who wants to spend close to 1million and have to rip out Pirate Ships, Robots, or giant animal shaped built in beds out of their homes? Do you really need 8 bedrooms? It’s not going to kill anyone to have siblings sharing a room. For the ones that had older teenagers, did they really need huge houses when they were close to being empty nesters?

[stephaniefox]

If you watch later episodes they build smaller homes that are more to what a family could afford I think at the beginning they just wanted to wow people but they went to far.

[jacobknopik]

Sucks that poor people are always just taken advantage of for entertainment for the masses.🤢