When Retta announces the winner of “Ugliest House in America” during the season seven finale — airing on February 4, 2026 — the winning homeowners will receive a $150,000 home makeover from HGTV star Alison Victoria. And if they look shocked when the transformation is unveiled, that’s because they genuinely are.
Before season seven began, Retta revealed to TV Insider that the winners get very little input into what their renovated space will look like, resulting in Victoria’s final design being a complete surprise.
Retta Says Most ‘Ugliest House’ Winners Are Just ‘Thrilled With Walls & a Ceiling’
HGTVOne season seven winner will be named from the 15 properties Retta toured across the country, all vying for the “Ugliest House in America” title based on three main criteria: ugly appearance, awkward factor, and most surprising feature.
Once the winner is selected, Victoria gets to work on her design, but Retta told TV Insider that Victoria doesn’t consult with the homeowners like she does on her other shows, like “Sin City Rehab.”
“God bless, I don’t know how she does it,” Retta said. “She does try to change it up. You can’t do the same thing over and over. In her other work, she shows the owners what she wants to do. They can say yay or nay. That way the owners get what they want.”
“They don’t have that option here,” Retta revealed about the “Ugliest House” winners. “They give her an idea of what they’re interested in. They can’t say yay or nay. It’s ‘Yay, this is what you’re getting!'”
Retta Says Every Winner Has Been Happy With Their ‘Ugliest House in America’ Makeovers
Despite the lack of input, Retta told TV Insider, “I do feel like every homeowner has been happy. Granted, it’s free too. I do feel like she does make them happy and gives them what they may want, certainly need.”
“Who knows what their pie-in-the-sky wishes are,” Retta continued. “A lot of times they just want doors. They just want a ceiling that doesn’t have bats living in it. When that’s your happiest moment, you’re going to be thrilled with walls and a ceiling.”
The winning home of season six was owned by Justine Mays of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, who told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she loved everything about Victoria’s very pink renovation. The only guidance she gave was that she loves pink — and Victoria delivered.
“It’s a lot and I love all of it,” Mays told the outlet. “I know it’s probably a little gaudy but that’s what I was going for. I did get the ugliest house and I am from Philly, so I’m a bit gaudy.”
“I wanted to keep some character, like somebody lived here,” she continued, “so I do like that nod in the new house to the old house. It’s not about erasing what was there. This is just a new story.”
The season seven finale of “Ugliest House in America” airs on February 4 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
