‘Love It or List It’ Hosts Hilary Farr and David Visentin’s Friendship Quotes

Love It or List It hosts Hilary Farr and David Visentin have established themselves as one of HGTV’s most iconic duos. The first season of the home design show aired in 2008 and was only just the beginning of their friendship. After more than a decade of helping clients find their dream homes, Hilary and David’s bond has withstood the test of time.

Though the premise of Love It or List It sees David and Hilary competing against each other to win clients over, their friendship offscreen is playful and fun. The pair met for the first time during the audition process for the show.

“Once I was chosen as Love It or List It’s on-air designer, I was paired with a few realtors [as potential costars],” Hilary explained to TV Insider in July 2018. “I had my eye on a tall, dark-haired guy with blue eyes, but David beat the competition, and the rest is history. We were put together like an arranged marriage.”

Both the interior designer and the real estate agent are from Canada. Hilary grew up performing in theater and landed a role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975. She balanced an entertainment career and passion for home renovation before landing the life-changing hosting role on Love It or List It. David followed in his father’s footsteps and got his real estate license after high school. He initially wanted to attend theater school before making his big career move.

“Not only does real estate run in the family, but both my brothers and sister have done theater! It was a dream extension for me to take my real estate skills and confidence in front of the camera and put them together for the show,” the Country Living Realty agent told AZ Central in September 2016. “I am going to say the mesh has been very successful as we are now busy taping episode 165! I have to give credit to Hilary. The banter we enjoy is because of what we are able to create together.”

The HGTV duo does get along outside of the show but have done their fair share of bickering on camera. Their competitive nature is part of the reason why Love It or List It has become so successful and expanded with spinoffs in other countries.

“We are good friends,” the Run For Your Wife actress told Star Tribune in February 2017. “But sometimes, it’s like having a brother around — he’s annoying but you make each other laugh.”

Keep scrolling to see Hilary and David’s best quotes about their friendship.

Hilary on Competing With David

On Love It or List It, Hilary is tasked with re-designing parts of a client’s existing home. David finds new listings for the client, who then gets to choose if they want to stay in their existing home or move. The all-important decision has caused some tension on screen over the seasons, but it’s all in good fun.

“There’s a genuine deep affection between us and a really good, genuine, healthy competition,” the Tough Love with Hilary Farr host told Streets of Toronto in September 2012. “What you see is what you get. We do bicker. We are exact opposites. We adore each other. We make each other laugh a lot.”

David on Their Special Bond

Sharing the screen together has led to a ton of great memories for both Hilary and David. When they are not filming the show, they still meet up when they can.

“We’re good friends, we hang out outside of the show. We go out for dinners, talk about the show, talk about life,” he told Realtor.com in November 2021. “But we’re both fairly competitive. So even outside of the show, we’ve been known to banter and we have to be very careful when we’re in public because sometimes we’ll just start in on each other. What you see on the show is kind of our relationship.”

David on Hilary’s Eye for Design

After seeing the home design expert transform homes for more than a decade, it is clear that Hilary knows how to turn a house into a home. In an August 2020 interview, David gave props to Hilary and shared whether or not he would hire her to design his home.

“I think she’s got a great sense for design, and she’s got a great team working alongside her,” he said. “I would love to have her do my house, but I just can’t imagine it going swimmingly.”