Regarding her Lyme disease, Genevieve Gorder is becoming more open.
TheTrading Spaces alum, whose new show Best Room Wins debuts on Bravo May 1, opened up to PEOPLE Now about her battle with the illness over the past ten years.
The interior designer and TV personality explains that after reading horror stories online, she was certain that her life was over when she contracted the disease spread by ticks.
There weren’t many people to talk to when she first developed Lyme disease, she says. “When you simply browse the web, everything claims that you are going to die. As if I have a cold and am about to perish online.
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However, she has discovered that sharing her experience is the best way to overcome it since going public with her health struggle.
Millions, millions, and millions of people worldwide suffer from auto immune diseases, but they rarely talk about them, according to Gorder. “But whether it’s design or an autoimmune disease, it’s important to have community for anything that feels difficult or hard to solve. ”.
She goes on to say, “When we have a community, we fix things. “At that point, things start to become simpler. ”.
The pest control company Terminix and she recently collaborated on a new Tick Defend System to help protect homes against seven common tick species in America. She recently made the decision that she wanted to be an advocate for those suffering from the disease. The Global Lyme Alliance will receive 10% of Terminix’s sales during the month of May, which is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
A blacklegged tick bite can spread the potentially crippling infection known as Lyme disease, which is brought on by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
Executive director of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation Linda Giampa states that while Lyme disease can be easily treated for some people, it can be devastating for others. Additionally, fatal Lyme disease cases have been reported to the CDC. (Read more about identifying the signs and symptoms of lyme disease here. ).
Gorder has committed herself to being open about her own symptoms and diagnosis with her fans and claims that her Lyme disease has thankfully been dormant for years.
She says, “I want to be a resource that makes people feel like, Hey, I’ll get honest information. “What matters is what I’m doing and how I’m handling it. Because each of us is a unique combination of ingredients, what works for one person may not necessarily work for another.
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People need to be aware of how Lyme is acquired and how to prevent getting it, according to Gorder, as part of the awareness-building process. She clarified that one of the most widespread misconceptions about the disease is that it can only be contracted while walking through the woods, when in fact, 75% of cases are brought on by exposure to the disease in private yards.
She says, “I have Lyme disease and live in Manhattan.
Gorder is currently preparing for the premiere of her show, Best Room Wins, which she has compared to Project Runway but where the contestants will be designing an entire room on a budget as opposed to a fashionable outfit.
According to a release from Bravo, each episode of Best Room Wins will pit two top interior designers against one another to produce “luxury looks for less” in a real couple’s home.
The show premieres Wednesday night.
Along with Whitney Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of Elle Decor, and a substitute judge, Gorder will evaluate the designers.
Similar to Project Runway, Gorder’s new show will feature an impressive roster of rotating guest judges, including Jonathan Adler, Million Dollar Decorators alumna Kathryn M. Ireland, Kardashian design guru Martyn Lawrence Bullard, original Queer Eye cast member Thom Filicia, Kaley Cuoco’s decorator Jeff Andrews, Jamie Bush, Molly Sims, Jason Wu, and India Hicks.
When compared to Trading Spaces’ current $2,000 budget, the competing designers will have a huge sum of money—$25,000—to transform one room. (The TLC show’s designers had only $1,000 during its initial run. ).
Gorder previously revealed to PEOPLE that she would not be returning to Trading Spaces for season 16, which debuted on HGTV and TLC on March 16, due to her involvement in the Bravo series. Gorder married her boyfriend Christian Dunbar, 46, in August in Morocco.
Gorder admitted to PEOPLE in February that “it was not at all my decision.”. “I already had a previous series scheduled for the same time we were filming Trading Spaces. Due to a scheduling conflict, that is all that actually occurred. ”.
In addition, Gorder stated to PEOPLE that she would eventually like to return to the program, saying, “I always want to do Trading Spaces until the day I die. ”.
Bravo will debut Best Room Wins on May 1 at 10 PM ET/PT.
