Hoarders Season 1 and 2: Where Are They Today?

A&E’s documentary reality television series ‘Hoarders’, which premiered in 2009, follows the everyday real-life difficulties that people going through compulsive hoarding face. It keeps viewers intrigued as they catch a glimpse into the insights, treatments, and solutions that the licensed professionals provide. Throughout seasons 1 and 2, several contestants came up, to either get over their hoarding habits.

Viewers stayed hooked to see whether the contestants made some headway into their lifestyles. Which is why they can’t help but wonder what their favorite hoarders are currently up to. Even though we tried to dig up all the latest information on the contestants, we could only find updates from 2010-11 for some of them, from the time they provided glimpses into how their lives were going.

Jill Chose to Actively Work With a Therapist

Season 1’s Jill from Milwaukee, Wisconsin had a compulsive need to hoard food and felt that expiration dates weren’t of much value, especially if the items were kept frozen or in the refrigerator. Her display of a rotting pumpkin in her living room still stays fresh in people’s minds. It was the threat of eviction due to the massive clutter and mess that was present all around that pushed Jill to decide to turn things around a little.

She continued working with the organizers and made a genuine attempt to keep her home clean, leading her landlord to give her a reprieve as well. However, she still had occasional bouts of hoarding urges and tried to store food items beyond the expiry date compulsively. But, the good news is that she had been actively working with a therapist to try and get over her constant need to hoard food.

Betty Went Back to Hoarding After Filming Ended

Ohio’s Betty from season one had a hoarding habit that was increasingly becoming a health hazard for her unwell husband. The couple had been relocated to a motel after Adult Protective Services decided against allowing her chronically ill husband to go back to the house. The house was eventually given a makeover and cleaned during the show’s filming and that allowed Betty and her husband to return home. However, the joy of returning home was short as a month after filming, she started hoarding again.

This led her husband to get removed once again, and he was sent to live with the couple’s son. Betty received a clean-up notice from the city with a six-month deadline, failing which she was threatened with jail term, but nothing seemed to bother her. When the follow-up episode was filmed, Betty had less than six months to go and was as unperturbed as ever. She had even sarcastically stated that she had plans to ask passers-by to pay her for staring at her cluttered property. It is believed that she eventually decided to stay with her son and ended up hoarding his home, too, leading his seven kids to get removed from the house.

Jake Had Found a Renewed Purpose in Life

Possibly the youngest contestant of season one, the then-21-year-old Jake, from Novato, California, was diagnosed with OCD. He had a compulsive need to store everything, believing they held some form of sentimental value. Jake even refused to throw away the loose fur of his dog, as he felt it would cause the dog to decay and die. His other problem was a raging alcoholic father. Both of them were residing in dangerous quarters, surrounded by all sorts of garbage that posed a serious health hazard.

The initial filming of the episode saw the house getting a much-needed makeover. Jake and his father, too, were willing to change their ways for a better life. The latest update on the father and son seems quite promising. While Jake has continued to take therapy, he also started going to college and felt like he was finally able to see a direction in life. Meanwhile, his father, too, had considerably cut back on his drinking.

Bill Continued to Show Reluctance in Wanting to Declutter His Home

Beverly, Massachusetts’ Bill from season one had an entire home and a rental apartment upstairs dedicated to his hoarding. Things had gotten so out of control that his partner and daughter had given their ultimatums; clear up or leave. His partner had even tripped on the hoarded items and broken her arm, but even that hadn’t impacted Bill. The initial clean-up drive attempt had been a complete failure, as Bill had done everything possible to ensure nothing was rid of. However, when his partner once again tripped on the stairwell and suffered a heart attack, Bill knew he needed to make some changes.

He agreed to start therapy and reluctantly consented to clear certain spaces of the house, although a larger part of it continued to remain cluttered. Latest updates suggest that his partner’s job was gone, and the family was facing foreclosure. They needed Bill to clear out the rental apartment so that it could help bring in some money. As Bill had been making some much-needed progress in therapy, the bank had granted them a grace period to ensure they could make regular payments, and they were hopeful of sorting life a little. However, back then too, Bill had refused to easily let go of his precious junk.

Paul Had Not Made Much Progress In Clearing Out His Property

Paul from Mobile, Alabama was one of the hoarders from the final episode of season one. His two-acre property was found littered with scrap metal, junk, and broken appliances, leading to charges of criminal littering. This also led him to get alienated from his family, particularly his baby granddaughter, as his daughter did not want the baby anywhere around the dangerous objects Paul wilfully stored all around the house.

The initial clean-up drive had seen the removal of around half of the scrap sprayed on the property, enough to ensure that Paul didn’t get further jail time. While he did try to stop his hoarding again, Paul didn’t put in much effort to clean out the mess that was already present on his property. This has eventually caused him to get new citations every two weeks from the county. He was also facing the looming threat of losing his home and the property around him.

Augustine Refused to Change Herself For the Sake of Her Children

Gretna, Louisiana’s Augustine was the first contestant of season two. She had a terrible hoarding habit that had caused her to get distanced from her two children. It was her son Jason who had wanted to make one last ditch effort to rescue his mother from the grim surroundings he had been removed from 14 years ago. The psychologist told Augustine that change had been difficult for her because of her habit of blaming others. The professional team on their arrival, had found all sorts of junk in the house, including an unnoticed dead cat.

While the space was eventually decluttered, everyone hoped Augustine would mend her ways. However, follow-up episodes showed a rather grim reality. Not only had she made little progress, but the psychologist also informed viewers of her refusal to do the assignments she’d been given. The house was once again seen in absolute shambles. This eventually led her daughter Susan to have a massive outburst, calling Augustine ungrateful for never choosing to acknowledge the efforts others put in for her.

Judi Has Sadly Passed Away

Judi Manuel’s case from Riverdale Park, Maryland was an extremely delicate and severe one. She used to clutter, thinking of a life post-retirement. Having spent years without running water, her life had gotten confined to a chair in her kitchen. Her condition also led her to have a broken relationship with her daughter. While the situation seemed precarious, with Judi being seriously ill due to infected sores on her legs, the clean-up team didn’t take much time to clear out her house, managing to scour out the place within two days. Judi, a former technical writer, was eventually moved into assisted living in south Spokane and also found a buyer for her house.

Judi seems quite content in her new apartment, and everything around her seems clean and well-settled. The people surrounding her have ensured that she doesn’t return to her hoarding ways. Her mental health has improved heaps too. A happy and content Jodi on her present living arrangement has shared, “Here, I can have pretty things, things that remind me of my family, and still have room to get around.” Her bond with her daughter though not perfect had since been mended too. Judi was one of the few hoarders who accepted the help that was given and tried to pass on the same to others like her through her daughter Cecilia. On March 8, 2023, Judi sadly passed away in Moses Lake, Washington.

Bob Decided to Turn His Life Around For the Better

Season two’s Bob had a house in Massachusetts that was so badly hoarded that his four kids were not able to go to their rooms and were compelled to take shelter in tents outside. The helpless family had lost all hope and positivity when the team of ‘Hoarders’ walked into their house, hoping to change their lives. A professional organizer and a team of exterminators had successfully managed to clear out their home and give it a new look.

Follow-up episodes suggested that Bob had ensured his life was on the mend. His house did not get bed bugs anymore, and the organizers were pleased to see that the conditions around had vastly improved too. Bob had also significantly put in effort to maintain the house by keeping it painted and drywalled. The family, in general, also seemed to be in a happier place, with the children being thrilled about getting to use their beds again.

Deborah Tried to Improve Her Situation For Her Family’s Sake

Tennessee’s Deborah had openly admitted that she had started to hoard after the birth of her children. The condition of her house was such that her boys hadn’t slept in their rooms for years. The mess around had been so overwhelming that her husband Ron’s mental health too had been in shambles. The clean-up team’s arrival at their house had shown promise despite not being able to declutter the place entirely.

Sometime after the airing of the episode, Ron lost his job, leading their family to move out of their home. Deborah’s boys were however quite proud of their mother’s accomplishments of having turned her life around, especially as they noticed significant differences in their house. Despite the unexpected setback, the family had chosen to look ahead and keep moving forward.

Dennis and Nadine Showed Hope For Change

Cleveland, Ohio’s Dennis and Nadine were stuck in a constant cycle of accusing each other of their poor hoarding habits. The Adult Protective Service had also shown genuine concern over the couple’s health, considering the hazardous situations they were living in. The clean-up crew was left stunned when they ended up finding an abundance of guns, all owned by Dennis, on their premise. As they removed them, he was left extremely unnerved. However, Nadine seemed thrilled about the clean-up drive.

While things looked promising, the update doesn’t look as good. A couple of years after their house was decluttered, it had become cluttered once again. While the elderly couple acknowledged that there was a problem, they weren’t as willing to solve it together. However, the pair had decided to meet up with a professional organizer, who had said that he was hopeful despite the couple’s slow progress.

Claudie Decided to Change Herself to Win Her Husband Back

Peoria, Illinois’ Claudie’s hoarding had gone so bad that she had to leave her five-bedroom home and live in a shelter for the homeless. It also led her husband Jim to abandon her and eventually tell her about divorce. It was this very decision of his that prompted her to change her ways. She believed that if she decluttered the house, her husband would come back to her. When the program walked into her house they ended up clearing mold and dirt by emptying rooms that had long stayed closed.

However, despite the efforts, Jim made no promises of his return. Latest reports suggest Claudie has continued to live on the streets and has kept in touch with two of her daughters after relations with her 10 other children soured. Even though she had agreed to see a counselor, she had decided against therapy and had intended on using the aftercare funds for her house repairs, hoping her husband would want to come back into her life soon.

Hoarders Season 1 and 2: Where Are They Now?