‘Love It or List It’s David Visentin on Where He Stands With Hilary Farr After Her Exit

David Visentin is returning to Love It or List It for Season 20, but he’ll have a new cohost by his side. When the show returns on Monday, April 21, Visentin will be joined by Page Turner.

The casting choice was made after Visentin’s former costar, Hilary Farr, announced in 2023 that she would be leaving the show after 15 years. However, the real estate mogul said he has no hard feelings.

“Hilary and I will be friends forever. I love her,” he told TV Insider. “You can’t work with somebody for that long and not appreciate them as a human being and have love for them. I appreciate everything she gave to this show since 2008. I mean, it got to be where it is because of her.”

Turner said that she also “appreciates” how much Farr brought to the HGTV series before her exit. “Without her, I couldn’t be sitting here,” she acknowledged.

Below, Page Turner and David Visentin recall their initial chemistry test, preview what’s to come on the upcoming season of the beloved show, and more.

Page, tell me a little bit about finding out you were chosen for the show.

David Visentin: We did a chemistry test.

Page Turner: We did do a chemistry test. But I come with my receipts of experience, okay? I actually said, “This sounds like a great opportunity, but I am not going to audition for it.” Because I ran for council one time, in politics, and it was too much. I don’t want to be in a race with somebody else. Either pick me or don’t. When the network presented the opportunity, I did fall out of my chair. Like, literally, out of my dining room chair, on the floor, in the Zoom. I was like, “Love It or List It!? What? It’s been on forever!” So we went out and did a chemistry test and I was like, “Oh my God.” First of all, David, I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. I’ve been watching this show before I even got on the network. So once we did the chemistry test, I was like, “Oh, this is dope. What a great guy.” We just matched. It was just great.

David, how involved were you in choosing who was going to come in and replace Hilary?

Visentin: I had no part in that process. They told me. They called me and said, “Okay, this is what we’re thinking.” The name didn’t ring a bell right away and then I looked and I went, “Oh, okay.” I said, “Yes, this is going to be fun.”

Turner: The name didn’t ring a bell? Bet it ring a ding dings now!

Page, did you get any advice from David? 

Turner: It was cold turkey. I mean, he’s a nice guy, but there were no tips or anything. You know what, what tips can there be? The one thing I always felt about the show, as a viewer, even before I was on this network, was that it just seemed very authentic between David and Hilary. So me coming in, even if I had a tip, I can’t take any tips other than just come in and be Page Turner, which is who I’m coming in as. It was just natural. He was like, “Good luck!”

Visentin: It’s not her first rodeo. She came in knowing. When you’ve been in television for a while, you know being yourself in this genre of television is what works best. And she knows that. She came in being Page and not trying to be anything else other than that, and that’s always a recipe for success.

HGTV

Turner: This is a flagship show, so what would even be the advice after 19, 20 seasons? “Let’s go back to 2008, Page, this is what I suggest you do.” I feel like if the network trusted me to carry the legacy of this show with David, then there’s something already there that they see and we just had to walk it out.

Visentin: I actually think less advice is better. When we walk through houses for the first time, I don’t want to know anything about the house. I don’t want to see it. I want to just walk in and just have it happen.

Turner: For me, when I date a guy, I don’t want to know about your ex-girlfriend either. Let me just be me!

What was your dynamic like on that first episode and how has it evolved?

Turner: It’s interesting because I haven’t seen all the episodes. I’m excited to see how it evolves watching it. Being in real time, obviously our relationship gets better, but it was cool from day one. It felt normal and natural.

Visentin: I think when you meet people, you know whether you’re going to enjoy their company. Or if you’re not. And I think we both knew we were going to enjoy each other’s company. And the rest just develops. The rest just kind of happens. There’s some surprises. I’m like, “Oh, okay, that’s how she’s reacting to what comes out of my mouth.”

Turner: Yeah, I’ve been watching him for, like, half my life, but, you know, he gets surprised and shocked because I can throw it right back at him.

Would you say the dynamic is different from what we saw between David and Hilary?

Visentin: It’s different because I spent 17 years doing that. So it evolved and this one will do the same. Hilary and I got to a point where we were kind of, like, people called us an old married couple. Page and I are basically in a honeymoon phase of the relationship, so that’s kind of the way to put it.

Page, you’re obviously filling some big shoes. Did you chat with Hilary before you found out you got the position or after you started filming?

Turner: I’ve heard that before. I wear a size 9 Louboutin. I walk in my own shoes. I would never try to replace anybody because I can’t. I wouldn’t even take on that responsibility and I don’t want to. This is a legacy show. I’m not here to erase that, I couldn’t if I wanted to. But I am here to bring Page and bring my experience and bring my design and add on to his nerves. That’s what I’m here to do. And to carry on this journey and this legacy of such an iconic show.

How would you say you guys are keeping things new and fresh after so many seasons?

Turner: I think I shock him all the time. It’s a new person. I’m a whole new person here and we have new homeowners, the market is different, the designs are fresh. I really get to dig into my design bag. These homeowners are something else. That’s what I needed advice on.

Visentin: I think once you get to know somebody, you kind of give yourself permission to express yourself however you want to. I’m like, “Page, you can say anything to me. You cannot offend me.”

Turner: What’s interesting is I never asked for his permission, but thank you for giving it.

She’s keeping you on your toes.

Visentin: That’s true. That’s true. That’s where I want to be. I want to be tap dancing. It’s more fun that way.

Is there a particular memory or project from this season that you’re excited for people to see?

Visentin: They were all really good. There’s some really good ones.

Turner: Every house was problematic.

Visentin: Joyce and David were really fun because it was apples and oranges, basically. They lived in this house north of Toronto, this little bungalow, this 1970s bungalow, that had never been touched for more than 30 years. She grew up in this house. They wanted to be downtown. So I was showing them, basically, condos and townhouses, because that’s all they could afford to be downtown. So they were going to be choosing from two totally different spaces that had nothing to do with each other.

Turner: Also, emotionally, Joyce growing up in that house, she didn’t want to leave because her parents passed away.

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Visentin: And Dave didn’t really want to be there because it wasn’t his house. It didn’t feel like it was his.

Turner: So you’re dealing with emotions. Then there’s a couple where the homeowners had two home births in the house. More emotions. Then there’s a house where a wife lived there with her first husband, now there’s a second husband, he doesn’t feel like this is his house, he starts all these projects and doesn’t finish them. The house has 15 different levels. I may or may not level it out and drop a mic real quick. I don’t know. There’s emotions and problems all over the place.

Visentin: Oh, and another one where they didn’t check the zoning before they bought it and realized they couldn’t do anything that they actually originally wanted to do and why they bought the house.

Turner: They wanted to add on,1,500 square feet, they couldn’t do it. So we had to figure it out. There’s a lot of figuring it out.

Love It or List It, Season 20 Premiere, Monday, April 21, 10/9c, HGTV