Tragic Details About HGTV Unsellable Houses Stars Lyndsay & Leslie

Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis are best known for turning impossible odds into rewarding wins on their HGTV show "Unsellable Houses", and the truth is that the same can be said for the health journey they've been on together. Their story starts at the very beginning, with the two sisters being born as mirror twins, which means "identical twins whose features are matched as though they're reflected in a mirror. This means birthmarks and dominant hands are, for example, on opposite sides," according to their bio on HGTV's website. The two do act like one another's reflection, claiming on their blog that they've never gone without talking for more than a day and a half and both married their high school sweethearts. "We are together every day, so don't get us wrong, we definitely get on each other's nerves, but we hardly ever fight," Davis said.

The home renovation duo have taken their daily chit-chat to the next level by launching a podcast, and in a recent episode, Lamb and Davis went on the record to talk about Lamb's lifelong health journey. Together they discussed Lamb's connective tissue and autoimmune disorders, which stem from the way that they were born. On their podcast "Twin Win Unfiltered," Davis says, "As identical twins, it's very common for one of the babies to get more of the nutrients ... More of the basic health genes. So growing up, it was pretty evident that I was just the healthier twin." However, like on television, the two are open, honest, and always have each other's back despite the lifetime of hardship that Lamb kept private until the twins decided to talk it out.

On the "Twin Win Unfiltered" podcast, Lyndsay Lamb talked about how they saw differences in her and her sister's health and lifestyle from a young age. They talked about both being on their school's basketball team, though Leslie Davis was always the one playing and Lyndsay was the team manager left to the sidelines, later attributing it to the fact that she was always "a little weaker." However, Davis was quick to pay her twin a compliment, saying, "She looked the best in the basketball shorts."

The disparity between the two grew as they got older. "You would do the STP, the Seattle to Portland bike ride. I couldn't physically do that," Lamb said as an example. "I would be able to do a triathlon, but I would be able to do one. And you would then literally do another one next month. My body needed a lot more recovery time." 

Lamb said that watching Davis and their friends be able to hop on a bike and take off while she was dealing with migraines and unable to get off the couch made her upset. "It was taking a mental toll on me," she said. Lamb also talked about how her weight would noticeably change every six months, with Davis chiming in to acknowledge that Lyndsay's appearance drew online comments, though Lamb said she would giggle at people wondering if she was on Ozempic. Only the sisters knew that it was far more complicated than people thought. "That's what people see," Leslie said. "That's just the exterior part of your health journey."

Lyndsay Lamb's connective tissue disorder also resulted in multiple surgeries that tied her up in the hospital for weeks. She didn't go into specifics regarding her official diagnosis on the "Twin Win Unfiltered" podcast, but she said that the connective tissue disorder made her organs more likely to move around. According to the Cleveland Clinic, "'Connective tissue disease' is an umbrella term for a wide range of diseases that can affect your connective tissues. These are the tissues that connect and support your organs and body structure. They hold your muscle fibers together and cover and protect your nerves." Davis recalled four different hospital stays in which Lamb had to remain in the hospital for week-long recoveries from surgery.

On the podcast, the twins went back and forth telling a story about an instance where Lamb was on a trip to Hawaii with her family, but due to the high altitude of flying, she had to go to the hospital because her intestines "got twisted up." What was supposed to be a paradise vacation resulted in her being stuck in a hospital for nine out of the ten days that they were there. Now Lamb fasts for 24 hours before she has to fly anywhere. While Davis is not directly affected, the twin bond remains strong between the two, with Leslie saying that she often felt guilty and wondered, "Why am I not the sick sister?"

Lyndsay Lamb also talked on the "Twin Win Unfiltered" podcast about all the different ways that she tried to alleviate the effects of her health conditions to no avail. Despite trying doctors' recommendations of yoga, swimming, and cutting out gluten and dairy, she could only temporarily alleviate her symptoms only to still have unresolved pain. Eventually, she found a doctor who specialized in integrative medicine, which "combines complementary and alternative medicine practices with conventional medicine," according to the Mayo Clinic. After undergoing a complete lifestyle change that included an intense elimination diet, she finally found some freedom from her ailments. She said she has reduced her daily medications by ten prescriptions, has found a consistent, healthy weight for herself, and no longer has trouble sleeping. 

Despite her health hardships, the reason that Lamb has always been silent about her health struggles is that she never wanted it to define who she was. "I've always been super quiet about it ... I've never wanted it to be who I am," she said. "Because that's just not what I want to be known for." Leslie Davis gave more context as to just how much her twin sister had been through, saying, "Almost to a fault. Because you would like push through things when it wasn't in your best interest. When it was making it more detrimental for you, because you didn't want to miss out or not be there for [Lyndsay's son] Miles."

The entire time that Lyndsay Lamb was going through her own health struggles, she also had to deal with her son Miles being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma when he was 7 years old. The news changed their lives completely and upended both the sisters' careers. "I went into survival mode with him and cared about nothing other than taking care of him," Lamb said in a 2020 interview with artist Hilary Winfield. "Leslie knew how much I loved my business and knew that I would be heartbroken if the business was not there when I was ready to come back ... She could see that there would be an end to my son's treatment." Leslie Davis stepped up to the challenge for her sister, even obtaining her real estate license to better take over Lamb's business for a time. Offering a beautiful silver lining, the difficult situation led to the sisters starting their business together, which has now turned into a TV show on its fifth season with HGTV.

In 2023, the sisters wanted to give back to Seattle Children's Hospital where Miles received his cancer care, so they decided to raffle off the opportunity to win a customized playhouse. During the middle of a hometown football game, children submitted drawings of their dream playhouse and Davis and Lamb picked one at random to bring to life. In a moment of karmic serendipity, the winner was a young girl named Naia who was both a friend of the families and also had once been a patient at Seattle Children's Hospital. The event also raised money for the hospital, with the duo bringing in $28,000. "There aren't enough words to show the appreciation we have for every single person and small business who showed their support and helped make the event a reality, including sweet little Naia who won her custom-designed playhouse," the twins wrote on their @lambandcompany Instagram page.

In October 2024, Leslie Davis revealed that she had had a health scare of her own, which she shared in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The designer said that she had undergone a regular mammogram and the results were concerning. "They found some suspicious tissue and calcification so I had to go back for a biopsy," she wrote on Instagram. "These procedures and appointments can seem very scary so I am so lucky to have my amazing support system." Luckily, the biopsy results came back negative for cancer, so Davis was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Davis decided to use her experience to also highlight the importance of regular mammograms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "For many women, mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat." The American Cancer Society recommends that women start getting regular mammograms at age 40, noting that "breast cancers found during screening exams are more likely to be smaller and less likely to have spread outside the breast." Several commenters on Davis' post shared similar advice, urging women to take care of themselves and sharing their own breast-cancer-related stories. "it's so scary! Happy to hear your results were normal! I'm 3 years out from breast cancer. Caught early and cancer free. Everyone please get your mammogram!" one wrote.

While Davis said she was in the clear for now, she wrote that she was working with her doctor on a care plan and that, since they were able to discover the abnormality early, they could keep an eye on it. It's also clear to us that, no matter what comes their way, the dynamic duo of Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davies will be there to support each other!