HGTV star Alison Victoria and her boyfriend, Brandt Andersen, never expected going Instagram official would become major news.
“We did not think it was that big of a deal. But to me, I just love him,” Victoria, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 6th Annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards on Saturday, June 15. “He is the most amazing human I’ve ever met. I love that everybody already knew how amazing he was. And now I could just be so proud to be next to him.”
The Windy City Rehab personality and film producer Andersen, 46, debuted their romance via Instagram earlier this month and made headlines in the process. According to Victoria, the connection caught her off-guard.
“Surprises are good,” she quipped at Saturday’s awards fest, where she rocked a Paco Rabanne gown.
Andersen, who attended the event with Victoria, further told Us that they “were friends first” before their bond turned romantic.
“I have no friends who I laugh with like I did with her,” Andersen, wearing a self-styled Louis Vuitton look, said on the red carpet. “It just became something more because we just love being with each other.”
Andersen also had “never” previously watched Victoria on Windy City Rehab before they got together.
“As soon as we met, I binge-watched [her show] like crazy,” he told Us. “Now, I’m like an expert on her show. She’s amazing.”
Anderson is also Victoria’s No. 1 fan off-camera.
“She’s just very honest. We have a very honest relationship where we just laugh and we laugh and we just have a great time all the time,” he gushed. “No matter what’s going on in our lives, we kind of laugh our way through. We dance.”
Victoria also said grooving with her man is one of her favorite activities.
“We love cooking and dancing and laughing. It’s all about the simple things,” she stressed.
While Victoria and Andersen are basking in their blossoming romance, it likely won’t be captivated onscreen anytime soon.
“Oh, God. I mean, never say never,” Victoria joked. “We’ll see. You never know.”
Victoria has starred on HGTV’s Windy City Rehab since 2019, flipping houses in her hometown of Chicago. On the four-season show, Victoria has shown her prowess renovating fixer-uppers in historic neighborhoods.
“When I created Windy City Rehab, it was to really be different and to show the truth of the business and the good, the bad, the ugly and never hide from it,” she told Us. “I think a lot of [HGTV] shows tend to be a little more fluffy and pretty and I wanted to be more raw and real [and] that’s what I want my new production company to fully encompass and embody is just that truth and that rawness and that realness.”
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
