The Wild Way HGTV's Alison Victoria Discovered Her Former Costar's Shady Business Practices

True HGTV fans know the truth about Donovan Eckhardt from "Windy City Rehab." Eckhardt was the show's contractor, working with interior designer and host Alison Victoria. However, their professional relationship fell apart like a poorly constructed house when the two were hit with legal troubles. They had their new permit privileges suspended by the city of Chicago. Eckhardt was reportedly in trouble for working without a permit at 11 properties, each of which received a stop-work order. Since unlicensed workers also contributed to the construction of those houses, the city of Chicago said the work "poses an immediate or imminent threat to the health and safety of workers or the public" (via Chicago Sun-Times).

Four properties Eckhardt worked on didn't have final inspections either, and there were problems with a variety of the properties Eckhardt and Victoria worked on. The city was poised to suspend Eckhardt's residential real estate developer and general contractor licenses for a year. The scandals plaguing "Windy City Rehab" and its stars also include lawsuits from homeowners.

HGTV viewers saw the drama unfold on screen. A Season 2 episode of "Windy City Rehab" explored the stop-work orders and Eckhardt's suspension — which ended up being 45 days instead of a full year. In the episode, Victoria said she learned about Eckhardt's suspensions through the media and had no prior knowledge of his misdeeds.

In the "Windy City Rehab" episode discussing Donovan Eckhardt's actions, Alison Victoria said, "That's a massive, massive problem." She said the deputy commissioner of Chicago "had made it very clear that [Eckhardt] hadn't gotten inspections or final inspections on 20 plus properties that he did before he even met [her]."

Season 2 of "Windy City Rehab" also included money-related drama because the house-flipping duo was turned down for a loan. Victoria didn't realize that the budget for one of their projects had been paid directly to Eckhardt's company. "I don't know what to believe anymore," Victoria said. "For so long, I was letting [Eckhardt] run all the budgets, do all the bank draws, deal with the bank accounts, and I was just designing. It's been shocking."

Eventually, the business partners were able to work again — although, at first, any work they were allowed to do was conditional. They weren't able to get permits to build anything new but could continue working on in-progress properties. "It's only to correct past violations," Gregg Cunningham from the Department of Buildings said, according to Block Club Chicago. However, the show's troubles ruined the pair's friendship, and Eckhardt didn't stay much longer on the show after everything went down.

In a "Windy City Rehab" episode aired in October 2020, viewers saw Alison Victoria and Donovan Eckhardt's partnership officially end. Victoria found an invoice for payment to Eckhardt's company that she believed was incorrect because he wasn't able to do the construction work described while suspended. When confronted with the invoice, Eckhardt tried to explain what it was for by bringing up things like conversations with investors. He eventually said, "I don't care anymore. Fine. Don't write the check." It was never confirmed if Victoria's accusation that the money wasn't properly earned for some other kind of work was correct.

After the drama unfolded and Eckhardt and "Windy City Rehab" parted ways, he sued Discovery Inc. and the show's production company, Big Table Media. Although Eckhardt didn't sue Alison Victoria directly, he claimed the accusations lobbed his way about mishandling finances were false. He also said the show was scripted and that it was Big Table Media's fault that they had all the construction and legal troubles due to the pressure to get things done quickly. Eckhardt sued for $2.2 million for "defamation," "intentional infliction of emotional distress," and "trade libel." His case was dismissed, and when he appealed, it was dismissed again.

Unsurprisingly, Victoria refuses to watch "Windy City Rehab" Season 2 after all the drama, and she is grateful for her fresh start on the show without Eckhardt.

Alison Victoria has decided to keep moving on from the drama and is doing so by embracing radical honesty — and by re-entering the home flipping business. Fans of "Windy City Rehab: Alison's Dream Home" who enjoyed watching Victoria renovate her sprawling live-work warehouse might have been surprised to see that a major point of 2024's "Windy City Rehab" season was her decision to sell it. In an interview with People, the HGTV star notes that getting back into the re-selling game has garnered her a necessary level of detachment. "It has allowed me to not become so attached to things," she said. "I can love it, but I can also let it go."

Watching Alison Victoria power through a devastating time has been refreshing for herself and fans alike. "There was no choice but to go through it," she admits to People. Since refocusing on herself, Victoria has also been able to get back to what brought her into the business in the first place: helping people find and design the homes of their dreams. When asked about any previous controversy involving Donovan Eckhardt, Victoria told People she has a practiced answer — a simple and biting "Donovan who?"