The Most Bizarre House Matt Paxton Saw On Hoarders

When Matt Paxton quit Hoarders back in 2017, after a decade on the show, hearts all over the world broke. As he admitted in an interview with Reality Blurred, in August 2020, although "it provided for my family," taking part in the show was often "overwhelming." As Paxton, an extreme cleaning specialist who visited the typically decrepit homes of so-called hoarders put it succinctly, "It can be a lot." However, one of the only pieces of good news in a garbage year was that Paxton is finally returning to the show that made his name. 

Season 11 began filming in fall 2019, under strict COVID-19 guidelines of course, with six designated days of cleaning instead of the usual two. Paxton was surprised a new production company picked it up, but was impressed with the positive direction of the show. "I'm all in on positive content; I just believe that's the future. I'm not doing anything if it's not positive," he explained. Given some of the horrifying encounters he had on Hoarders past, it's surprising Paxton wanted to return at all. One, in particular, surely haunts his nightmares. 

Paxton is used to finding insane mess and overflowing clutter, but in one home he discovered something much worse. As Paxton told Cleveland, the property in question belonged to a "sweet lady." Shockingly, this woman had filled up her refrigerator with the bodies of her deceased cats, stacked up to bursting point alongside whatever else was in there, from food to condiments. It was easily one of the most disturbing discoveries on the show. "You want bad?" said Paxton. "That's bad." Paxton noted that Hoarders assisted with the condition officially being categorized as a mental disorder. 

He made a point of telling Reality Blurred that, on the new iteration of the hit A&E show, "What you really don't see is the therapist gets a lot of one on one time with individual family members. You're able to deal with the root cause, you're not just throwing s*** away. You actually get to address what caused it, what trauma, what tragedy." Paxton is delighted to have a licensed professional on set for the entire week they're shooting with the participants, noting, "It allows you to do a better job."