Woman set to become the next Joanna Gaines after landing her own HGTV show

As her millions of social media followers know, Galey Alix Gravenstein is the prime example of how your life can completely transform after an unexpected setback.

The 29-year-old has seen herself become the hottest name in the world of property renovations after her self-taught skills started to capture the attention of home owners all over the world on TikTok in 2021.

Now the DIY influencer is set to become the queen of HGTV thanks to the launch of her new show, Home in a Heartbeat with Galey Alix.

It is success that the Wall Street Exec could never have imagined after she was dumped by her fiancé in 2020 and kicked out of the Connecticut property that she had thought would be her forever home.

The DIY influencer is set to become 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 Goldman Sachs job in Florida and move to Connecticut when her relationship with her then-fiancé took a heartbreaking turn.

With her wedding day fast approaching, Galey realized that she had begun to develop an eating disorder.

Speaking about that time in her life in an interview with the University of Florida’s alumni magazine, Galey explained that she turned to her partner for help. 

But he unexpectedly ended the relationship after claiming he felt the trust between them was broken because she had 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 some really, really dark periods there’, she explained to Fort Lauderdale magazine.

This wasn’t helped by the fact that there was a wedding in her Connecticut dream house several months later – when her former partner tied the knot with another woman.

Galey focused on her healing, turning to an eating disorder therapist as well as a specialized nutritionist. 

She put in the work to tackle her eating disorder with two to three sessions a week for several months. 

Galey taught herself how to get the remodel homes while working on the Connecticut house she owned with her former fiancé, and would proudly share results on social media with her friends and family

After splitting from her fiancé, she was forced to leave her dream home – but soon started to help others renovate their properties

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 house

‘I was hyper focused on how do I make sure that 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 told Forbes.

An unexpected source of hope came in the form of reactions to home renovation videos she had been posting online in the months before her break up.

Prior to her move to Connecticut, Galey had been flying in on the weekends to renovate her home in the way she wanted – because she had struggled to find workers who would work weekends.

Galey started hiding her face after she found fame, due to her social media anxiety 

‘I was like, “I’ll figure out how to design it myself,”‘ she explained to Fort Lauderdale magazine. ‘And sure enough, I decorated a 10,000-square-foot home by myself without any design experience.’

Indeed, Galey successfully taught herself how to get the job done and would proudly share results on social media with her friends and family.

After she found herself single and back in Florida, the star was stunned to discover that her videos had not only caught the eye of strangers – but they also 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, meaning she had been completely unaware about the growing interest in her work. 

Next thing she knew, Galey began working on homes once again but this time she was focused on bringing other people the same joy she had hoped for with her Connecticut home.

‘Every time somebody trusts you with their home and their life savings, you can’t help but feel like you’re worthy,’ she gushed. ‘I have never done anything so rewarding in my life.’

Speaking to The Boca Raton Observer, she added: ‘I realized that instead of sitting home and feeling sorry for myself, I could spend my weekends trying to make other people happy.’

Being forced to give up the Connecticut property that she had 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 over four million followers across Instagram and TikTok

Though she had managed to return to work at Goldman Sachs Asset Management – where she works as the Vice President and Regional Director – Galey found a way to also take on projects in her spare time.

She assembled a team of friends to help her redo houses on the weekends. Like her, none of them were professional – meaning that they never make any changes that would require permits.

This much has remained the same for her HGTV series, with Galey telling Forbes that she used her weekends and personal vacations days to film the show. 

In the show, the group figure out the material they will need for the makeover and get everything delivered to the clients’ home ahead of time. Then the homeowners move out for the weekend while Galey and co get to work with the surprise redesign.

Some of her clients have been household names, with supermodel Elle Macpherson asking Galey and her team to redecorate the front of her house for the 2021 holiday season.

Galey never imagined she would see the work of her business Galey Alix Design filmed for TV, but she began to get an inkling that she was being seen by the right people when The Property Brothers star Drew Scott reached out to her.

In fact, the star 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 away beneath a baseball hat. This is partly for protection while at work, but also because she doesn’t want the focus to ever be on her looks.

The camera-shy star has since found new 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’d like to be unrecognizable — if that’s humanly possible.

‘I think I look good; I’m 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 pair confirmed their relationship in June 2022, with many leaving supportive comments underneath the couple’s Instagram posts about each other.

Time will tell if Galey enters the world of property renovations full-time, but for now, she is simply grateful for the path she is on in life.

She told Forbes: ‘I just feel so fortunate, so grateful. This weekend surprise-design side hustle is so much more than a business. It’s the path that led me from being deathly insecure to discovering how to believe in myself and own my worth. 

‘It’s how I unleashed my passion so that I could unlock my purpose. To say I’m grateful for the pain I endured to get here is an understatement of epic proportion.’

Home In A Heartbeat with Galey Alix airs Wednesdays 9/8c on HGTV and Discovery Plus.