Seek Fortune, Not Fame (That’s Not How it Worked Out)

I always told my daughter to “seek fortune, not fame,” and you see where that got me? Having appeared in 59 House Hunters International episodes since 2006 means I get recognized…a lot. It’s certainly not what I set out to happen. I’d be quite happy living a rather anonymous life, but that’s not how the cards got played.

House Hunters International is one of HGTV’s long-running and reliably popular shows, though it sits in the “steady performer” tier rather than the network’s top-rated juggernaut category. The show launched in 2006 as a spinoff of House Hunters and has produced over 200 seasons and roughly 2,000 episodes, which is remarkable for any reality TV series. Networks don’t keep a show in production that long unless the economics work. It has syndication and streaming staying power and is a staple of HGTV’s daytime and late-night programming, where it’s binge-friendly comfort viewing. The low-stakes format (watch strangers tour three homes, and guess which they pick) lends itself to background watching, too. The popularity of the show continues to astound me.

As of February 5, 2026, House Hunters International pulled in 863,000 total viewers per new episode, earning a 0.27 rating. That ranked it the #3 show on HGTV. (Sources: ustvdb.com, tvinsider.com, tv.parrotanalytics.com, televisionstats.com and imdb.com) It’s watched globally, too. The show’s core audience is in the U.S., where it airs on HGTV and streams on HBOMax, Discovery+, and Hulu. It reaches roughly 25 million viewers per month across all airings. But Canada is consistently one of the strongest non-US markets and believe it or not, Germany has notably high demand (the show airs dubbed on HGTV Germany). It’s also viewed in the U.K. and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. On various Discovery-owned lifestyle channels you’ll find it in Poland, Spain, Italy, France, and the Netherlands and some Asia-Pacific countries including the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. Whew!

So, what that means is that I get stopped…a lot. Just about every single day, in fact, someone stops me to bestow their love of the show. It’s one way I know that a lot of Americans are in town, because the French don’t have a clue—they have their own real estate personality, Stéphane Plaza, who is a French television presenter and an estate agent (until several former partners accused him of psychological and physical abuse in 2023, causing legal case and reputational fallout).

A friend texted me this week, “We had dinner with a friend from Chicago last night. She saw you one time [in Paris] and was too shy to ask for a pic! Celebrity that you are.”

That happens a lot, too. I see people eyeing me from a distance, and realize that they’ve likely recognized me, but don’t want to approach. Mostly, though, these spottings lead to a lot of pretty funny situations.

One of my favorites was a woman who walked a good distance over from the Promenade des Anglais to where I was sitting in a Nice café to tell me that spotting me was even better than if she had seen Angelina Jolie! Now, that was something! Comparing me to Angelina Jolie!? Really?! I gave her a big hug.

On a flight to the U.S. once, the flight attendant’s eyes popped out when I came down the aisle. He insisted on bringing me champagne and goodies from first class (I was in economy, of course), which put the woman next to me in a tizzy. “Hey, what did you do to deserve all that attention?,” she asked me! (I didn’t admit to anything.)

A woman biking down 5th Avenue in New York stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me on the corner waiting for a light. She almost caused an accident. I couldn’t believe the whole scene. Seriously?

On a Paris corner once, I was stopped by a visiting couple, and then while we were talking, another couple came over, and then in a few minutes, another few people joined. Before long, there was a party happening right there on that corner. They all became friends.

In a Paris restaurant while dining with an old friend, a woman walked over from the other side of the restaurant, and in a loud voice, proclaimed, ” Hi, I’m Thelma” (from I don’t remember where), interrupted our dinner without a thought, and then proceeded to encourage everyone else in the restaurant to come over. It became a free-for-all. My friend complained, “Lord, I can’t go anywhere with you.”

One of the most astounding circumstances was when I took a good friend to Toscana in Brentwood in Los Angeles a couple of years ago, which is known for being a celebrity restaurant, hoping to spot one or two. When I was living in Los Angeles, my business partner and I would occasionally treat ourselves to their excellent Italian menu. On one occasion, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were at a table. On another, sitting just behind us was George Carlin, who overheard our conversation about a client’s bad debt and made a joke about it! I’ll never forget that.

So, when we walked in this time 30 years later, we spotted Dennis Quaid at a table, next to whom we were seated. But, did anyone bother Dennis? No. Instead, two different people walked across the restaurant to say hello to ME and tell me how much they loved the show!

Seriously? I was the celebrity in the room? I couldn’t believe the irony of it all. There are hundreds of stories I could tell. It’s all been a whole lot of fun. Because I am myself on the show, and not playing a role like an actor might do, clearly people feel like they know me and have no qualms about coming over, and interrupting whatever else is happening at that moment. Sure, I’m in hundreds of selfies for proof that they spotted me.

 

I get a good laugh when they say, “My grandmother loves you!” Oy vey, why is it that it’s always the “alte kakers” (old farts) are the biggest fans? They can’t wait to take a photo and prove to their grandmothers they saw me. Why not the youngsters? Maybe they are just too shy to admit it?

The gay community follows me like they do Barbra Streisand or Bette Midler, and remark when my eyeglasses change or they think I shouldn’t be wearing horizontal stripes (thanks to their keen fashion sense), and I’ve discovered that I’ve become a gay guy’s Halloween costume—easy to do by donning a red beret and bright red lipstick. LOL!

Emily in Paris stole my HGTV wardrobe their first season. I’m sure the producers researched Americans in Paris and took note of my brightly colored outfits. In every episode that first season she wore something similar to what I’ve worn on the shows! Of course, Lily Collins looks a whole lot better in the outfits than I do, but since then, her wardrobe has gone off the deep end…don’t you think?

The point to all this is not to ring my own chimes, but to let you know that I welcome those who stop to say hello, take a selfie or two (feel free to post to your fellow fans) and just let me know what you think of the shows. Don’t be shy! It does my heart a world of good to know you’re out there and watching!

A la prochaine…