As her millions of social media followers know, Galey Alix Gravenstein is the best example of how your life can completely change after an unexpected setback.
The 29-year-old saw herself become the hottest name in the real estate renovation world after her self-taught skills began catching the attention of homeowners around the world on TikTok in 2021.
Now, the DIY influencer is becoming the queen of HGTV thanks to the launch of her new show, Home in a Heartbeat with Galey Alix.
It’s a success the Wall Street Exec could never have imagined after being dumped by her fiancé in 2020 and evicted from the Connecticut property she thought would be her forever home.
Galey Alix is one of the hottest new names in the real estate renovation world after capturing the attention of homeowners around the world thanks to TikTok
The DIY influencer becomes the new queen of HGTV thanks to the launch of her show Home in a Heartbeat with Galey Alix
Galey had made the decision to quit her job at Goldman Sachs in Florida and move to Connecticut when her relationship with her then-fiancé took a heartbreaking turn.
With her wedding day fast approaching, Galey realizes she is beginning to develop an eating disorder.
Speaking about that time in her life in an interview with the The University of Florida alumni magazineGaley explained that she turned to her partner for help.
But he unexpectedly ended the relationship after claiming that he felt the trust between them had been broken because she kept it a secret from him. Galey was forced to move back to Florida with her heart – and her dreams – shattered.
During the immediate aftermath of her split, the star battled severe depression and anxiety. “I went through very, very dark periods there,” she explained to Fort Lauderdale magazine.
This wasn’t helped by the fact that a few months later there was a wedding at her dream home in Connecticut – when her ex-partner tied the knot with another woman.
Galey focused on her healing and turned to an eating disorder therapist and a specialist nutritionist.
For months she committed to addressing her eating disorder with two to three sessions a week.
Galey taught herself how to get the remodeled homes while working on the Connecticut home she owned with her former fiancée, and she proudly shared the results on social media with her friends and family
After separating from her fiancé, she was forced to move out of her dream home – but soon began helping others renovate their homes
The response to her work has been so life-changing that she recently had supermodel Elle Macpherson hire her company to redecorate the front of her home
“I was hyper-focused on how to make sure the next chapter in my life doesn’t end the same way the last chapter did, because I never want to go back there,” she shared. Forbes.
An unexpected source of hope came in the form of comments on home renovation videos she’d posted online in the months leading up to her split.
Before moving to Connecticut, Galey had flown in on weekends to renovate her home the way she wanted — because she’d struggled to find workers willing to work weekends.
Galey started hiding her face after becoming famous, due to her fear of social media
“I was like, ‘I’ll figure out how to design it myself,'” she explained Fort Lauderdale magazine. “And sure enough, I decorated a 10,000 square foot house myself without any design experience.”
Galey has indeed successfully taught herself how to get the job done and is proud to share the results on social media with her friends and family.
After being single and back in Florida, the star was stunned to discover that not only had her videos caught the attention of strangers, but they wanted to know if she could work on their own properties.
Galey had taken a break from her online platforms while undergoing treatment for her eating disorder, which meant she was completely unaware of the growing interest in her work.
The next thing she knew, Galey started working on houses again, but this time she was focused on bringing other people the same joy she had hoped for with her Connecticut home.
“Every time someone entrusts you with their home and their savings, you can’t help but feel that you’re worth it,” she gushed. “I’ve never done anything so rewarding in my life.”
Speak against The Boca Raton Observershe added, “I realized that instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for myself, I could spend my weekends trying to make other people happy.”
Being forced to give up the Connecticut property she thought would be her forever home paved the way for the star to work on transforming other homes instead
The quirky style has helped her gain more than four million followers on Instagram and TikTok
While she managed to return to work at Goldman Sachs Asset Management – where she serves as Vice President and Regional Director – Galey found a way to take on projects in her spare time as well.
She gathered a team of friends to help her redecorate homes on weekends. Like them, none of them were professional – meaning they never make any changes that require a permit.
That much has remained the same for her HGTV series, with Galey telling Forbes that she used her weekends and personal vacation days to film the show.
In the show, the group come up with the materials they need for the makeover and have everything delivered to the customers’ homes in advance. Then the homeowners move in for the weekend while Galey and co get to work on the surprise redesign.
Some of her clients are household names, with supermodel Elle Macpherson asking Galey and her team to redecorate the front of her home for the 2021 holiday season.
Galey never imagined she would see her company’s work Galey Alix design filmed for TV, but she began to suspect she was being seen by the right people when The Property Brothers star Drew Scott contacted her.
The star even had some apprehension about being on camera – as she continues to recover from the social media anxiety caused by her eating disorder and the end of her engagement.
As many have noted over the years, Galey likes to hide her face under a baseball cap. This is partly for protection at work, but also because she doesn’t want the focus to ever be on her looks.
The camera-shy star has since found love with former The Bachelorette contestant Dale Moss
She explained to The Boca Raton Observer, “I told [HGTV] I wanted to be able to wear a hat in every scene. I would like to be unrecognizable – if humanly possible.
‘I think I look good; I am proud of my body. [But] I want the focus to be on what I’m creating.’
Elsewhere, the star has found love again with former The Bachelorette star Dale Moss.
Fans were delighted when the couple confirmed their relationship in June 2022, with many leaving supportive comments under the couple’s Instagram posts about each other.
Time will tell if Galey enters the world of real estate renovations full-time, but for now, she’s just thankful for the path she’s taking in life.
She told Forbes, “I just feel so lucky, so grateful. This weekend, the hustle and bustle of surprise design is so much more than a business. It’s the path that led me from being deadly insecure to discovering how to believe in myself and recognize my worth.
“It’s how I unleashed my passion so I could unlock my purpose. To say I am grateful for the pain I endured to get here is an understatement of epic proportions.”
Home In A Heartbeat with Galey Alix airs Wednesdays 9/8c on HGTV and Discovery Plus.