15 HGTV Hosts Who Are Members Of The LGBTQ Community

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

In 2006, HGTV history was made when the winner of the first season of "Design Star" went on to become one of the first openly gay hosts on the network. The LGBTQ+ representation on the network would only grow, as the channel has continued to feature queer designers, real estate pros, contractors, and homeowners. 

The LGBTQ+ hosts who have appeared on HGTV over the years have not only showcased their skilled craftsmanship, design skills, and real estate knowledge, but have opened up about their personal lives. As the aforementioned "Design Star" winner told TV Insider in 2025, "HGTV always continues to surprise me with the encouragement of authenticity, even when it isn't pretty."

While they may be household names, many HGTV stars happen to live surprisingly normal lives, spending their free time with loved ones. The HGTV hosts we've included on our list balance work and family while still finding time to to use their platform for good. From their homes to our television screens, these HGTV stars have really made their mark.

HGTV host, designer, and producer Brian Patrick Flynn goes all out on everything, including both his interior designs and personal celebrations. Before his 2018 winter wonderland wedding in Antarctica, Flynn made a name for himself as a beloved designer and television personality. The Atlanta-based designer has appeared on "HGTV Dream Home" and "HGTV Urban Oasis," and he's also appeared on the Magnolia Network program "Mind for Design." While his interior design creations are beautiful, his gorgeous arctic wedding with costume designer Hollis Smith was truly something to behold. 

The two tied the knot near the South Pole in 2018 — however, the trip was initially planned as Flynn's 40th birthday celebration, as reported by Harper's Bazaar. "About three months after paying for it, I started to think that we should get married," Flynn told the outlet following their nuptials. "I said to him randomly, '[H]ow do you feel about us getting married in Antarctica?'" The couple now lives in Atlanta in a midcentury home of Flynn's own design. In a 2020 interview with Atlanta Magazine, Flynn called their Buckhead residence their "forever house." The couple welcomed a daughter via surrogate in 2024.

On "Inside Out," realtor and designer Carmine Sabatella joined forces with Mike Pyle and totally redid homes, well, from the inside out. Long before he landed a hosting gig on HGTV, Sabatella was married to a woman whose identity has remained private. The two share a daughter, Gianna, but eventually divorced in 2006. Then, Sabatella would go on to find the love of his life. In 2014, Sabatella went on a first date with his now-husband, Ryan Declair. In a 2022 Instagram post, Sabatella reflected on how supportive and loving Declair has been through all of life's ups and downs. "I can say this man is my rock," he wrote. "At times I'm exhausted when I get home to the point where I just need to collapse on the bed. You know what he does? He brings me a glass of wine. Now that's a hubby!"

Sabatella is proud to be an out gay man and a father. As he wrote on Instagram in 2021, "People often ask me how it is to be a gay dad? [It's] Pride month and being a gay dad means many things to me. I came home the other day and Gianna said 'dad, I got my report card, all A's!' This kid amazes me every day. She will be a junior next year and I couldn't be more proud of all that she is!"

When you think of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the Home & Garden Television network may not be the first thing that comes to mind. After all, he was one of the stars of a little sitcom called "Modern Family" and to many fans, he will forever be Mitchell Pritchett. However, he has dabbled in design and home renovation as the host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The Emmy-nominated actor was brought on to host HGTV's reboot of the mega-popular show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" in 2019 ahead of the show's 2020 return.

"I've been approached about doing other reality television, and just nothing felt like it was the right match for me, and this felt really like the right match," Ferguson told TV Insider. "I'm a humanitarian, I love giving back, so the fact that I could pair that with something I also loved, which is home design, it felt like the perfect meeting."

Following the reboot's one-season run, Ferguson headed to the stage. The actor joined the 2022 Broadway revival of "Take Me Out," an award-winning play about an out gay Major League Baseball player. Ferguson won a Tony for his performance. His personal life has stayed busy, too. Ferguson has been married to actor and producer Justin Mikita since 2013, and they share two sons, Beckett and Sully.

David Bromstad is a certified HGTV legend. After becoming the first winner of "Design Star," he appeared on shows like "Color Splash," "Rock the Block," and "My Lottery Dream Home." "HGTV has always been my biggest champion," Bromstad said in his aforementioned 2025 interview with TV Insider. "They celebrated me being gay when I didn't even celebrate it myself. I got onto television when gay was still new to the media. There wasn't a lot of representation that was real." The TV star went on to state that the network has played an integral part of his own journey with his sexuality. "It was because of HGTV that I was able to accept that version of myself that there was nothing to be ashamed of," he said.

Though he's been in the public eye since 2006, the HGTV personality has made an effort to keep his personal life out of the spotlight as much as possible. In 2015, Bromstad and his longterm boyfriend Jeffrey Glasko broke up, and since then, the former's love life has stayed under wraps. That said, in 2025, Bromstad did say that he'd like to find a husband on an episode of "My Lottery Dream Home." "Someone who has a private jet would be ideal," he quipped. 

PJ and Thomas McKay, the self-described "Property Lovers," are the HGTV's first married gay couple fixer-uppers. "Down to the Studs," which premiered in 2017, followed the couple in their hometown of Chattanooga as they did what they could to refurbish historic properties. PJ and Thomas understood how monumental it would be for such a popular network like HGTV to have an LGBTQ couple host one of its shows. On Instagram, the pair wrote, "If this show succeeds, it could be huge for the LGBTQ community because this is the first show of its kind on HGTV." 

Since the show's one-season run, they've continued to spend time basking in the opportunities that have come along, while still prioritizing their family. As they wrote in another Instagram post, "We've spent years trying to define Pride with words, but this year, this is what Pride looks like to us: A family that didn't seem possible growing up; one that seemed as far off as the moon, but now feels as normal and natural as breathing. Happy #Pride y'all, from our family to yours." Included in the sweet snap are PJ and Thomas' three children, who they began fostering in 2019. The couple formally adopted the kids in 2021.

When it comes to renovating homes in New York's Hudson Valley, designer and real estate pro Davina Thomasula and builder and contractor Kristin Leitheuser are a powerhouse duo. On their show, "Small Town Potential,"  Thomasula and Leitheuser showcased the beauty of the Hudson Valley, featuring mostly older properties that highlighted the city's rich history and charm. The pair also received assistance from Leitheuser's father who was often shown helping them with renovations. The show debuted on the network in March 2024. As of this writing, it unfortunately has not been picked up for a second season.

"Small Town Potential" also showed glimpses of the co-hosts and business partners' lives together as a real-life couple. Leitheuser and Thomasula shared ahead of their show's premiere that they got engaged years after a meet-cute led to a solid partnership. "After college, I played on a New York City area recreational basketball team, and once, after a game, we went to a bar because someone knew the bartender, who turned out to be Davina!" Leitheuser recalled in an interview with HGTV. "I played it safe and ordered a Guinness ... and the rest is history." As of this writing, they have not yet married. However, their TV show was one of the many projects they've taken on as partners; they also co-own a restaurant, Goodnight Kenny, in Poughkeepsie, New York.

HGTV became a little more luxe when Michel Smith Boyd joined the network. Since 2022, the accomplished interior designer has appeared in several HGTV shows, including "Rock the Block," "100 Day Hotel Challenge," and "Luxe for Less." The latter show starred Boyd as he helped homeowners achieve the "bad and bougie" lifestyle while ensuring they didn't live — and decorate — above their means. Sadly, the show lasted only one season, but the designer's flair for beauty and infectious personality kept him on the network's and fans' radars.

In addition to bringing luxury into his clients' lives, Boyd has also offered glimpses into his personal life to his audience. Though he's a relatively private person, the Louisiana native is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and has shared how he represents who he is in his work. "As a design pro, I take great pride in adding value back into our world that way," Boyd shared with Interior Design in June 2020. "As a Black, gay, southern, creative, entrepreneur, I feel charged to lead by example and create space for the next generation of Black/brown talent."

Designer/builder duo Evan Thomas and Keith Bynum not only built a company together and starred on an HGTV series, but are a longtime couple. Thomas and Bynum of NINE Design + Homes co-host the HGTV series "Bargain Block," which debuted on the network in 2021. When viewers first met the dynamic duo, they were engaged. As of this writing they are still engaged, but have not tied the knot. As Bynum quipped on Instagram in 2022, "we've been too d**n busy to actually get married." While they're not ready to walk down the aisle just yet, the couple's partnership is legally bound through their shared renovation business, NINE Design + Homes, which they launched before "Bargain Block" aired.

In the time since HGTV axed the series in 2024 after four seasons, Bynum and Thomas have continued renovating homes through their business. In 2026, they announced they were looking forward to bringing on new clients. "We hope everyone had a fun and restful holiday season! It's officially back to work and full steam ahead for us over at Nine, and we are still accepting project inquiries for 2026," they shared in a joint Instagram post. "So if you have a design or renovation project you've been wanting to do, let us know! We take on small renovation projects all the way to brand new builds."

If one ever needs expert, yet whimsical advice on how to keep their laundry tidy, they should look no further than Patric Richardson, the Laundry Guy. Richardson, a self-proclaimed "Laundry Evangelist," was first drawn to clothes through the fashion industry, and eventually studied merchandising apparel and textiles at the University of Kentucky. According to his "About Me" page on his website, Richardson's background in luxurious fashion includes jobs at McAlpins, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom. However, he eventually began gaining public attention for discussing his love of laundry, and The Laundry Evangelist was born. In 2021, Richardson published his first book, "Laundry Love," and then secured his own HGTV show, fittingly titled "The Laundry Guy."

The laundry aficionado's personality, including his signature eye rolls and quips, quickly turned him into an HGTV star. As a host, Richardson was authentically himself and, in an interview with Lavender Magazine, shared that he's been open about being in the LGBTQ+ community since coming out shortly after graduating high school. "I never thought about being in," Richardson quipped at the outlet.

Richardson has been in a relationship with his partner, music critic Ross Raihala, since the early 2000s. In a 2022 interview with Minnesota Monthly, Richardson acknowledged that his significant other doesn't exactly share his passion for ironing — but that's okay. "I like the process of it, [and] I also like doing something for [Raihala]," he said.

Long before joining the HGTV family, Fernando Wong established himself as a star in the landscape design world. In 2021, he appeared on "Clipped," a six-part topiary artist competition. Wong served as a judge on the show alongside Martha Stewart and the show's host, Michael Urie. During his time on the short-lived series, Wong brought his expertise as the owner of one of the most requested landscape design firms in the world to the ambitious contestants.

In 2005, Wong and his business and romantic partner, husband Tim Johnson, founded Fernando Wong Outdoor Living Design. As Wong said in an interview for the David Harber website, "Together we grew the business from a small office in our guest bedroom into a global landscape architecture firm with two Florida-based offices: one in Miami Beach and one in Palm Beach." They've designed homes, hotels, museums, and parks. In 2024, the power couple released "The Young Man and the Tree," a book written by Johnson that's all about some of Wong's most stunning landscape creations.

In a 2021 video for HGTV, Wong reflected on what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. "For me, Pride means to be very happy with who you are and what you have achieved and all of the things you will be celebrated for, because it's important for each and everyone to find their passion," he said. 

While a number of HGTV duos happen to be married couples, "HGTV House Party" stars Brian Balthazar and Loren Ruch were not in a romantic relationship. Rather, the two network execs were longtime friends who,   after years of working behind the scenes at HGTV, joined forces to discuss weekly tea with some of the network's stars in front of the camera. On their show, they often dished on multiple aspects of their lives, including their love lives. Balthazar is in a relationship with real estate agent Dennis St. Germain, and Ruch married David Salas in 2004. The two had been together since the late 1990s before they tied the knot. 

Ruch died in June 2025 of myeloid leukemia at the age of 55. His husband confirmed his death in a touching Instagram post honoring his legacy, stating, "I've been trying to come up with the words to write, but I'm still at a loss because I can't believe he's not here. Loren Ruch saw the absolute best in everyone, no matter who you were. He made you feel like you were the only one in the room and made YOU feel special and seen — but he truly was the special one." Balthazar also posted about Ruch, sharing that they hit it off from the moment they were hired together at HGTV. "Our hallway walks were full of infectious laughter. ... We were ridiculous," he wrote on Instagram. "Our partners, David and Dennis, rolled their eyes while supporting it all."