Hilary Farr and David Visentin often clash Like or mention, when they compete to convince families to choose between remodeling or selling their home.
The design expert, who announced Friday that she is leaving the HGTV series after 19 seasons, tells PEOPLE that their relationship in real life is “pretty much the same” as it is on TV, but that underneath the bickering is love.
“We are who we are on that show,” she says. “Think of your brother as his most obnoxious and boring, that’s David.”
As further proof, Farr shared a funny anecdote from a trip to Los Angeles she took with Visentino, with whom she’s worked on the hit series since 2008.
“We were on a flight once,” she says. “We were just talking and half arguing. I mean, the way we do it. It also makes each other laugh. We noticed something happening on the other side of the aisle and someone was actually begging the flight attendant to find him a new seat because we were so obnoxious and annoying. … We are not aware of how it is, but we are simply like that. Something happens when we’re together.”
courtesy of Hilary Farr
When Farr broke the news to Vicenta that she was leaving the show, she says, “He didn’t believe me. He said, ‘Oh, you say that’.”
Farr says she will miss “everything” about working with Visentina, recalling how he supported her when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and underwent three lumpectomies and radiation. He is now in remission.
Hilary Farr is leaving Like or mention After 19 seasons: ‘I gave so many years of my life’ (exclusive)
“I worked all the way through cancer and it was always there,” she says. “And he had his little rough patches here and there, and we were there for each other. Yes, it’s a big deal. I don’t know if that will change.”
He adds that the long-standing friendship “will not just disappear because we don’t work together.”
Lucia Graco
Farr, who also hosted two seasons of HGTV Tough Love with Hilary Farr, reflected on Like or mention’influence on the genre of home design and real estate television.
‘Love It or List It’ Hilary Farr reveals breast cancer for the first time: ‘I could have died’
“One of the most satisfying things is that I’m very involved in every aspect of the design on that show,” she says. “It doesn’t normally work that way, but I’m a bit of a control freak and it has to be the way I like it. That’s actually been a bonus, because I have such a loyal group of followers and they’ve been watching the show for so many years that they really follow what has become a relatively recognizable design style.”
Farr especially likes what her longtime fans share Like or mention with their children.
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“I meet 18-year-old girls and the occasional young man who has been watching this show with their parents since they were 10, they grew up with the show and they want to be designers, and that’s incredibly me,” she adds. “It’s extraordinary. You can have two or even three generations that watched the show and were influenced by it. That means a lot.”
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Source: HIS Education