With the 100th episode of HGTV’s hit show “Ugliest House in America” set to premiere on January 28, 2026, Retta has seen too many jaw-dropping designs and decorations to count.
But while appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on January 26, it was easy for the comedian to name the grossest thing she’s seen while hosting all seven seasons of the show: carpet in bathrooms and even surrounding a pool.
Retta Says She Can’t Figure Out Why So Many Homes on ‘Ugliest House in America’ Have Carpet in Weird Places
Retta appeared on Clarkson’s talk show alongside her longtime friend and fellow comedian Chelsea Handler, and the trio had a blast laughing together. When Clarkson asked Retta to share the craziest thing she’s seen while filming “Ugliest House in America,” Handler interjected, “Do you ever see people’s sex toys 6:41or anything like that?”
Retta replied, “No. ‘Cause they go through, they remove guns, and that kind of thing.” Handler’s eyes popped open at that response and both Clarkson and the audience laughed as she quipped, “Well, that’s for the best!”
After noting that she once saw a house with four kitchens — including a stove in the hallway — Retta said, “I’m always still thrown by the carpeted bathrooms.”
“My parents had that,” Handler replied, as producers showed a photo of Retta in a bathroom with deep purple carpet everywhere. “I had carpeted bathrooms growing up in my family’s house, my parents had that, and it was disgusting. There should never be a carpet in a bathroom.”
“But that was years ago, when I feel like they didn’t get it,” Retta replied. “At this point…”
NBCUniversalHandler then quipped, “What, they didn’t get urine? I mean we all, it’s always been wet. I mean, what is there to get? I mean, carpeted bathrooms — no go.”
Clarkson noted that she once bought a house that had a carpeted garage, and Retta told her, “I’ve been in one that has a pool, a covered pool with carpeting around the pool.”
“Ew,” Clarkson responded. “That’s like you want mold.”
Retta Recently Shared Some of the ‘Distressing’ Aspects of Filming ‘Ugliest House in America’
In June 2025, Retta opened up to Realtor.com about some of the more “distressing” parts of her job hosting “Ugliest House in America,” including visting areas of the U.S. that are extremely remote.
She told the outlet, “Let me tell you something, some of these places, I’m like: ‘Do they even get cable out here? And Wi-Fi? How do they even know about this show?’ Because it can be so remote, sometimes we have to do a caravan drive, where everybody’s together, because we don’t want anybody to get lost.”
Retta continued, “That’s because of 1) terrain, and 2) there’s no way to connect. There’s no cell service. They don’t have Wi-Fi, so we’re essentially off the grid and roughing it. It’s only a day; but still, to have zero connection for the day is scary.”
Another frightening element? Creepy critters she said pop up in many of the homes.
“The snakes, especially when the snakes are missing, that’s always problematic,” she quipped, noting that in the last season, there was “a home in which, in the daughter’s room, which is in the basement, there’s a curtain in her room—and behind the curtain, basically a hole into darkness. I don’t know why it’s there. But like, you know, there’s always critters in a house, whether you see them or not; and to know that that hole is there, and they can come visit at any time, is very distressing. I was like, ‘Girl, what are you doing?'”
Love Rhetta! She does an awesome job with some super difficult properties! It’s apparent many of these are “taste specific” and quite creative. Interesting to think people have actually lived with and enjoyed these creations! Cheers!