Is ‘Love It or List It’ Real or Fake?

HGTV's reality series Love It or List It is currently airing its eighteenth season. It debuted on television in 2008.

According to the show's synopsis, interior designer Hilary Farr and real estate agent David Visentin renovate homes and ask their owners whether they want to stay or sell.

But despite the growing popularity, there have been claims of the show being fake.

Is Love It or List It Real?

The long-running show has kept the same format since its inception.

Each episode begins with homeowners having issues with their homes and are thus offered a proposal for renovation.

While one-half of the owners deny accepting the offer, the other half pushes for it. Then, the restored structure is put on sale.

Farr and Visentin help the owners in their decision-making process, creating a division between them for dramatic effect.

While designer Farr suggests keeping the property, Visentin recommends selling it.

In addition, the series' producers encourage the owners and potential buyers to pick opposite sides despite the two parties having a natural inclination toward each other, according to a revelation by ChetSheet.

The show also showcases a distinct pattern where the homeowners don't initially go by Farr's plans, and they reject the first new home suggestion put forward by Visentin.

Farr then conquers a construction/financial crisis that forces her to eliminate one of her projects, and toward the end, Visentin, the agent, dramatically finds a new home.

The show ends with the owners being asked whether they want to "Love" Farr's recommendation or go with the agent by listing their home on the market.

Overall, the divide between Farr and Visentin drives the show, which some keen-eyed fans have claimed to be fake.

Is 'Love It or List It' Scripted?

Reportedly, the show Love It or List It runs on a script where participants are told what to say and how to act during the filming.

Per Country Living, who cited someone previously on the show, the owners who want to remain in their renovated homes end up moving elsewhere.

Likewise, those who propose to list it end up living in their home.

Interior designer Hilary Farr and real estate agent David Visentin from the show Love It or List It. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

If a Reddit thread by a user, whose relatives were previously on the show, is anything to go by, the showrunners film dual endings and later decide which recording makes the final cut.

The process results in showcasing a fake output.

The Redditor claimed that their uncle and aunt were on the show once, and were forced to record two parts of their final decision.

However, they still lived in their own house despite listing it for sale.

Going by another reveal, the houses depicted to be on sale aren't actually listed on the market, as portrayed in the series.

Another claim suggests that Farr and Visentin rarely see the owners, as shown in their episodes. The scenes involving the interior designer and the real estate agent are filmed as rehearsed.

However, when Farr was reportedly contacted for her comments regarding the allegations related to the show, she denied it, claiming the show is "not scripted at all" and the homeowners' reactions, including the crisis they go through, are not fake.