“My Lottery Dream Home” David Bromstad’s bombshell admission: “I’ll retire from interior design… I fought mental health and drug addiction”

HGTV’s global mega-hit real-estate reality show, My Lottery Dream Home, has made David Bromstad (David Bromstad) its unmistakable icon — but behind the glitz of TV stardom, he admitted to a brutal history of mental-health struggles and drug addiction. He also said he will fully retire as a designer on future interior remodeling and makeover programs, delivering the startling news.

■ “Design in public is over”… The mansion special that became the master’s final spark

According to foreign media reports on the 26th (local time), David Bromstad made the bombshell remarks in a recent interview, referencing the major HGTV special documentary “My Lottery Dream Home: David’s Happy Ending”, which aired in December 2025.

In the interview, he said, “That special broadcast where I renovated my Tudor-style mansion will likely be my first and last time (first and last time) showing off my designs in front of a camera while Americans watch.” The comment sent shockwaves through the home interior industry and the broadcasting world.

Having burst onto the scene in 2006 as the winner of the first season of HGTV’s survival show “Design Star,” leading projects such as “Color Splash” and “Beach Flip,” he confessed, “After years mainly serving as a host, I felt compelled to prove something to the public as an artist and creator — and I suffered from intense pressure and pressure.”

■ Pressure even amid flood damage… a heartbreaking blank period that led to a spiral of addiction and drug dependence

In fact, Bromstad’s home remodeling project, poured with his entire soul, drove him toward mental collapse. To make matters worse, during construction an unexpected storm hit and the entire house flooded, plunging the situation into an unprecedented chaos.

During the one-hour special broadcast, he said, “In an instant, the vision I had for the house disappeared, and everything was chaos. I started spiraling (spiral),” adding, “Under intense stress, I began to start extremely harmful and unhealthy behaviors, including drug misuse and addiction. When you’re in pain, falling into that kind of bottom is just too easy.” In the end, Bromstad had to put a stop to filming altogether and enter professional facilities for mental-health treatment and rehabilitation from drug addiction, where he fought a brutal battle.

■ Return after successful treatment… “I’m a weird and amazing human, and I’ll keep the host role”

After overcoming a hellish stretch of addiction and psychosis and finally succeeding in rehabilitation, Bromstad completed the mansion project and is now showing off a tougher inner core.

He said, “After I recovered my mental health, I realized there was nothing left for me to prove to anyone except myself.” He added, “The finished home is a window into human David. I’m very unique and different, yet I’m a completely strange person, even as I connect and form empathy with the public. My strange self — in the most valuable and amazing way — is captured throughout the house.” He expressed strong attachment to the completed home.

Bromstad said he plans to live in this dream home — one he created perfectly — for the rest of his life, and drew a line by saying he will never bring a camera back into his personal design process again. However, the host role of My Lottery Dream Home, the show that made him a global star, will continue unchanged. His journey as a fun helper who helps nationwide lottery winners find the best homes will not stop.