HGTV star David Bromstad bravely opened up about dealing with substance abuse issues during the special “My Lottery Dream Home: David’s Happy Ending,” explaining how childhood bullying led to depression.
David Bromstad Experienced a Setback While Designing His Dream Home
Bromstad, 52, was mid-renovation on this Florida dream home when a major storm nearly destroyed the progress he had made. According to the “My Lottery Dream Home” star, he “got into some unhealthy behaviors” due to the stress.
“Back when I was a teenager, I didn’t deal with what really happened,” he explained during the Friday, December 19, speical. “I was exactly this amount of gay, this amount of perfect, but that was not celebrated, that was looked [at] in a different way back then.”
Bromstad continued, “I was super depressed. I was super bullied. And so for me to idealize my childhood was a complete defense mechanism that was beautiful; it saved me.”
The house suffered extreme water damage and mold that required remediation, which essentially set him back to square one.
Bromstad explained that after the storm destroyed his dream house, he saw his “childhood fantasy” as “broken.”
“I decided it’s time. I need to put my house on hold and I need to check myself into some sort of program,” he recalled. “I need to talk. I need to climb out of this hole. I need to understand why I climbed into it in the first place.”
David Bromstad Treated Himself After Receiving Treatment
The longtime HGTV star reached his milestone 50th birthday after leaving treatment, saying, “I could not be more grateful for every aspect of my existence.”
“I’ve earned every wrinkle and grey hair. Mentally, emotionally and spiritually content. It’s been the most unique year of my life,” he shared via Instagram from his trip to Norway in August 2023. “Learning to love myself, warts and all, has been the hardest and most beautiful process.”
He added, “I decided to celebrate in Norway to see how my ancestors lived and the air they breathed. Being here has answered so many questions about why I love the things I do. It was a perfect day hiking, kayaking and communing with nature and all her glory. Thank u for allowing me another trip around the sun.”
Bromstad credits his childhood traumas for shaping him into the man he is today.
“I think it’s important for people to understand that I’m human, that I struggle, that I am innately a bright and shiny person,” he told TV Insider ahead of the premiere. “And that version of myself came from past childhood traumas, and that version of myself saved me back then. It got me the job on HGTV, it has propelled so many unique and beautiful versions of myself, until it started to destroy me. Because it’s unsustainable for someone to be that authentically happy. You can’t have the bright and shining times without the darkness. I don’t push away the darkness. I bring it in because I know the darkness only makes my bright and shiny parts shine that much bigger.”
I admire David so much and am happy that he had the insight and opportunity to take the deep dive he did and get healthy . I love the show and wish him the very best of everything. Stay true to yourself and be well. Xoxo