There’s a version of Hilary Farr we all know: crisp, polished, the straight-talking designer who sizes up a room and tells you exactly what’s wrong with it. But there’s another layer — quieter, messier, a bit prickly — that hasn’t gotten nearly as much air time. Call it impatience, honesty, or just plain restlessness. Whatever you want to label it, it’s worth looking at, because it changes how you hear the person behind the designer persona.
Why she left — the straightforward explanation
For nearly two decades Hilary Farr was the face of “Love It or List It.” Nineteen years is a long run on any show. She framed her exit as a natural next step: she’d given a big chunk of her life to the program and it had seen her through rough patches. That’s the tidy version she offered in some interviews — mature, grateful, the sort of statement that eases the transition for fans and colleagues.
But then the story takes a turn. When she talked to Vulture, she didn’t reach for softness or nostalgia. She called the show “boring,” “stale,” and “formulaic.” That’s blunt. Maybe refreshingly blunt. Or maybe — and this is the catch — unnecessarily cutting about a thing that had been her professional home for years.
There’s a mismatch here, and it’s interesting because it reveals how we, as viewers and industry people, expect celebrities to behave. You can admire candor. But there’s also a cost when you’re frank about something that supported you for almost two decades. People notice that. I noticed it. And I think some fans did, too.
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When honesty becomes risky
Honesty is usually a virtue. But in show business, honesty is complicated. Amy Prenner, a communications expert, pointed out how public statements can reshape a career image. I’m paraphrasing here, but the gist is: being truthful is good — until it becomes a liability. If your bluntness comes across as disparaging the very vehicle that made you, then you risk looking ungrateful or, worse, petty.
I don’t want to suggest Hilary was trying to be mean. Perhaps she was tired. Perhaps the repetitive template of a long-running reality show genuinely grated on her. I get that. I get bored with things, too. But there’s a difference between saying, “This isn’t for me anymore,” and saying, “This was boring.” The latter lands differently — it’s sharper and, whether intentionally or not, it shifts the narrative from graceful departure to a critique of the show itself.
Sharing the stage — at first, then not
For years Farr and David Visentin worked together in a kind of rhythmic back-and-forth. They teased, they argued, they had that comfortable on-screen chemistry people mistook for marriage or long-term domesticity. The banter worked. It made the show feel lived-in, a little like a tense but affectionate household.
Yet later comments hinted that Farr grew weary of the shared spotlight. When she spoke about having her own show, she celebrated the fact that she could deal with homeowners’ problems by herself — not split time or split focus. That’s understandable. Creatives want control. They want to steer the ship instead of sharing the wheel. But there’s a side effect: confessing relief at not sharing screen time can make a former partner look like a co-star you’re happy to leave behind.
You can see how fans might read that as a bit… distant. Not rude, necessarily, but cool. Real people are messy about change. We wave goodbye and then, sometimes, we say things we don’t entirely mean or that sound harsher than intended. I’ve done it. You probably have, too.
Ambition, restlessness, and a touch of contradiction
There’s also ambition here. After so many years on a formulaic program, wanting to branch out makes sense. Hilary’s desire to create something that belonged to her — a format where she could dig deeper into homeowners’ issues — reads as professional evolution. It’s also a little defensive. In interviews, she alternates between grateful and frank, between affectionate memories and crisp critiques. That flip-flop is human. It’s also strategically awkward.
We like our TV personalities to be consistent, but people don’t always line up with that expectation. We change. Perspectives shift. And sometimes we say something that contradicts what we said before. That doesn’t make us dishonest — it makes us human. Still, in a world of PR teams and carefully curated messaging, those contradictions stand out.
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The way forward — and how this shapes her image
The larger point isn’t to pin blame or to rank who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about noticing how small public moments — a few blunt words, a casual admission — build an image. For Hilary Farr, those moments add a thread of impatience and independence to a public persona that was once mostly warmth and expertise. You can admire the candor or you can wince at the timing. I tend to do both: I respect someone who speaks their mind, but I also notice the ripple effects.
Maybe she wanted a fresh challenge. Maybe she was tired of repeating the same bits. Maybe she got careless with her phrasing in the heat of wanting something new. All plausible. All human. And yes, a little shady to some viewers — though I’d argue it’s less about malice and more about a person leaning toward honesty, even when it’s inconvenient.
Final thought
People evolve. So do careers. Sometimes the evolution is graceful; sometimes it’s awkward. Hilary Farr’s story feels like the latter and the former at the same time: a smart professional deciding to move on, and a candid speaker whose comments complicated that exit. That’s the part we haven’t talked about enough — not because it’s scandalous, but because it’s quietly revealing. It shows what happens when honesty meets a long career and a public stage: you get someone interestingly human, with all the small contradictions that come with being that.
In December 2023, Hilary Farr sent shockwaves through the HGTV universe when she announced she was leaving “Love It or List It” after 19 years with the popular home design reality show. “I’ve given it so many years of my life,” she declared during an exclusive interview with People. “It’s got me through hard times. It’s got the audiences through hard times … But now it’s time for me to move on and meet new challenges.”
Alas, later, her reasons for exiting the show were … shall we say, less flowery? “It was becoming boring and I don’t want to be bored,” she told Vulture. She added, “It felt very stale. It’s a very formulaic show.” Perhaps, in the end, that’s why so many HGTV fans couldn’t stand her.
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Either way, according to communications expert Amy Prenner of The Prenner Group, who spoke exclusively with our sister site The List, Farr’s admission, coupled with her rather sudden departure, reveals a side of Farr that is a bit less professional than the one she presented over the years. “Her pointed comments about the show being ‘stale,’ ‘boring,’ and ‘formulaic’ raise some interesting questions about how public statements can shape a professional image,” Prenner said. “As someone who’s worked in communications for years, I see this as a classic example of how honesty can be both a strength and a potential liability in the entertainment industry.”
Hilary Farr no longer wanted to ‘share’ her time on a show
In the past, Hilary Farr appeared to be getting along swimmingly with her co-host David Visentin. Aside from trading friendly barbs, the relationship that Farr and Visentin shared seemed like one of mutual respect and admiration for one another. “I love the crew, and I love my co-host, David. I’m doing what I love to do,” she gushed during a 2015 interview with Baltimore Media Blog about starring on “Love It or List It.” Some fans even mistakenly thought Farr and Visentin were married due to their tendency to bicker like an old married couple.
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But in January 2022, Farr painted a slightly different picture, one that seemed to indicate that she no longer wished to share the spotlight. During an interview with Realtor.com, Farr admitted that she was happy to have her new show, “Tough Love with Hilary Farr,” all to herself. “I have the full show just to deal with the issues of the homeowners, as opposed to ‘Love It or List It’ where the one-hour show is being shared.” Ruh-roh.
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