Brandt Andersen and Alison Victoria. Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Alison Victoria is over the moon in love with boyfriend Brandt Andersen — but is she ready for an engagement?
“I don’t like that kind of stuff,” Victoria, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 11th Annual American Reality Television Awards on Monday, November 18, talking about taking her relationship to the next level. “I like living in the moment. I really do.”
The Windy City Rehab star explained, “I feel like we’ve both been married before” so an engagement is not part of their immediate plan. (Victoria was married to Luke Harding from 2013 to 2019, while Andersen’s past marriage has not been publicly revealed.)
“I just love being with him,” Victoria gushed. “So every day [I’m] staying present, not thinking about the future, and just doing it right now.”
The couple, who went public in June while walking the Daytime Emmys red carpet, is currently focused on their first holiday season together.
“We’re doing Thanksgiving together with my kids,” Andersen, 47, told Us at the awards show, which took place at Avalon Hollywood. “We’re gonna be together all through the holidays.”
Courtesy of HGTV
Victoria teased that she and Andersen are “winging it” for the festive season. The HGTV star, however, has already planned to bring her boyfriend along for her big family trip.
“I do a sibling weekend every year in Michigan with my siblings and my nieces and nephews, and he’ll be with [me],” she said.
While Victoria is smitten with her partner now, she said it didn’t come easily — so fans shouldn’t give up on love. “Kiss the frogs,” she told Us of her advice to single women. “You gotta do it. Not so many of them but kiss them. See what happens.”
After kissing her fair share of Mr. Wrongs, Victoria found Andersen and said she “wouldn’t change a thing” about her journey.
“Of course, I wish I met him earlier,” she added. “But I wouldn’t be the person that I am able [or be able] to give the way that I do in this relationship if I hadn’t kissed a few toads.”
Related: HGTV Stars‘ Dating Histories Through the Years
Over the years, the hosts and personalities on various HGTV series have been outspoken about their relationships. Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack made a splash on the network when their show Flip or Flop debuted in April 2013, chronicling their property flips in Southern California and their family life as a then-married couple and parents of two. The real estate […]
Victoria revealed that heading into Thanksgiving week she has a lot to be grateful for, including her man. “I’m thankful every day that we found each other, but I’m more thankful for just the fact that we just keep getting better and better,” she told Us. “We keep growing and laughing. I literally said to him on the way here, ‘You are the funniest person I’ve ever met’ and he just makes me die laughing.”
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Andersen said he feels the same way about Victoria. “She’s saved me in so many ways. Our time together is the best time together,” he gushed. “It’s meaningful and it’s fun and it’s enlightening and it’s honest. It’s just different than what I’ve experienced.”
You can watch the 11th Annual American Reality Television Awards on Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Xumo Friday, November 29.
With reporting at Mike Vulpo
