The Most Memorable Hoarders: Where Are They Now?

A&E's gripping reality show "Hoarders" follows the lives of people with mental disorders that cause them to obsessively keep their belongings, resulting in poor living conditions. While over 16 million people can be labeled as "hoarders," according to Salon, the series focuses on the most extreme and shocking cases.

While the typical episode usually consists of a professional clean-up team coming in to declutter the disastrous home, HuffPost argues that this approach is often only a short-term solution. Getting to the root of the hoarder's issues should be done through professional counseling. It is often unknown whether or not the subjects change their lives around or resort back to their old ways when filming has concluded. However, there have been a few documented cases as to how some of the most memorable participants ended up years after their respective episodes aired. Their stories range from complete tragedies to full recoveries. 

Viewers got their first glimpse of Augustine in the first episode of the second season. There, it was revealed that hoarding conditions at her home were so severe that her son was removed by authorities when he was a child. The psychologist who was brought to the home explained that Augustine blamed other people for her habits, making change much more difficult. When the professional clean-up team arrived, they found a dead cat in Augustine's clutter that had gone unnoticed for an unknown period of time.

Two years later, in a follow-up episode, it appeared as if Augustine had made little progress since the cleanup. The psychologist said that she gave Augustine "small assignments" to complete, and she didn't do them. Fecal matter was found on the bathroom floor that had been there for several months when the house was visited again.

Augustine and her daughter Susan then got into an emotional argument, in which Susan accused her mother of being consistently ungrateful for what others have done for her. "The only thing clear to me is that my mother will never change," Susan told the cameras while in tears.

Dennis and Nadine from Cleveland, Ohio were stuck in a loop of blaming each other for their unhealthy hoarding habits. In the Season 2 episode, Adult Protective Services expressed concern that the environment the couple was living in was unsafe. When the clean-up crew arrived, they found a plethora of guns owned by Dennis, which they had to remove from the premises. This bothered Dennis greatly, who had been bedridden due to health issues. However, Nadine was happy with the outcome of the clean-up.

Two years later, the house became significantly cluttered again, with the floors riddled with boxes and clothing. The psychologist said Nadine was in "denial" and criticized her organizational skills. The kitchen was in such a poor state that old hamburger meat was even found on the floor. Dennis admitted that it had been over 10 years since he stepped in the kitchen himself. "While they're both acknowledging what the problem is, they're not working together to solve the problem," the frustrated psychologist said.

However, Dennis and Nadine agreed to meet with a professional organizer, who said he believed that their conditions have much improved, and that he had high hopes for their future. "As long as we continue to work one thing at a time, just do one hour at a time, I think they'll get to where they need to be," the organizer stated.

Judi from Season 2's case was so severe that she went without running water for years and resorted to using adult diapers to relieve herself. However, when the clean-up team arrived, they managed to clear out the entire house in only two days. Judi eventually found someone to buy the house, and she was relocated to an assisted living facility.

Revisiting Judi at her new apartment, her place was much cleaner, including completely visible floors. "It's a little different than last time I saw you," the hoarding expert excitedly expressed. He attributed her transformation to the fact that she lived in a smaller space that didn't allow her to accumulate too many items, and that she was also surrounded by people who wouldn't let her hoard. He also noted that had Judi still been living by herself, she would not have made nearly as much progress.

Overall, it seemed that Judi's mental health and conditions have much improved since moving locations. "Here, I can have pretty things, things that remind me of my family, and still have room to get around," she happily commented. "It's a successful scenario," the expert added, contributing her recovery to the fact that she was able to replace her habits with hobbies and family. Her daughter also commented that although her relationship with her mother was still not perfect, it had improved in many ways.

Season 9, Episode 6 followed the journey of one of the show's most massive projects yet. Sandra Cowart lived in a mansion with 31 rooms in North Carolina called the Jullian Price House, which was filled to the brim with random items and trash. She eventually lost the house to foreclosure, and the new owners attempted to help her clear out her clutter.

Eventually, the mansion was transformed into an ultra-clean and luxurious bed and breakfast, its old state completely unrecognizable. As of 2021, the residence still gets a large portion of its attention from the 2017 "Hoarders" episode. "It is really interesting to have had this place exposed around the world. People come from all over and stay with us, which is why we opened it to the public — so many were interested in the story from the TV show," owner Michael Fuko-Rizzo told the New York Post.

For one of the show's most memorable and unusual cases, quirky couple Fredd and Fuzzie made eccentric art out of their hoarded items. Although the two seemed to be unfazed by their lifestyle and the chaotic nature of their residence, their family expressed concern about how it was affecting their parents financially (via YouTube). Fuzzie's father threatened that if they did not immediately clean up their warehouse, he would cut them off financially, forcing the couple to live in their van.

Due to their carefree attitude, the two refused to take responsibility for their poor financial decisions, resulting in a tense argument during their episode. However, in a "Memory Lane" clip from the show, extreme hoarder expert Matt Paxton reminisced on Fredd and Fuzzie fondly, even describing them as "two of my favorite hoarders to this day." He even revealed that he talks to the unconventional pair on a weekly basis and that the three are legitimate friends. He also gave them credit for being incredibly talented artists and not caring about what people thought about them.