Idaho Widow Wins HGTV’s 2025 Smart Home and Reveals Its Touching Connection to Her Late Husband (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• HGTV first unveiled its 2025 Smart Home, located in San Antonio in April 2025

• PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the winner of the abode is Cathy Everts, a retired small business owner, mom and grandma based in Idaho

• During the reveal, Everts opened up about the meaningful connection between her late husband and the location of the home

HGTV has officially declared Cathy Everts as the winner of its 2025 Smart Home — and the location of her new abode already holds a special place in her heart.

PEOPLE can exclusively share that the proud mom and grandma has won the keys to the newly renovated, fully furnished home in San Antonio. While she’s based in Eagle, Idaho, Everts explained during the big reveal why Texas is especially meaningful for her after losing her husband Dan five years ago.

“My husband’s buried in Texas, and I was planning to go back there,” she tells HGTV’s Poonam Moore in the above clip, as she gets choked up.

The reveal was orchestrated by Moore, who designed the home, and Everts’ son Drew as the mom and son duo met up for lunch. Moore pretended to be a waitress and handed Everts the “specials” menu, which was actually photos of her new abode.

“Oh this is awesome. I can’t believe it,” Everts says in the clip after Moore delivers the exciting news.

Before the big reveal, Drew opened up to Moore about how this opportunity came at the right time for his mom.

“We lost my dad — it’s been five years now — and she’s been trying to recover from that,” he says in the above video.

While he emphasizes how “challenging” it’s been for his mom, who was married to his dad for 35 years, he adds of his mom’s Smart Home win, “I think it’s going to be helpful for her mentally. What a blessing.”

Along with the home, Everts has won a 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC Plug-In Hybrid SUV, as well as $100,000 in cash as part of the entire prize package valued at over $1.1 million.

Everts, a retired small business owner, is also a devoted HGTV fan who was selected at random from more than 72 million entries during the sweepstakes period, which ran from April 1 through May 23.

She’s been entering HGTV sweepstakes for “nearly a decade” and even “signed up for daily email reminders to make sure she never missed a chance to enter,” per a release from the network.

Everts is looking forward to hosting all three of her sons at her new home, in addition to all eleven of her grandchildren.

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The 3,000-square-foot property includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms and features a layout that encourages indoor/outdoor living. The home is decorated in an earthy color palette, with leather, wood and brass detailing.

“This home is the perfect mix of fun, luxury, functionality and effortless living,” Moore previously said of the property. “When designing it, I wanted to blend touches of Midcentury modern influences with a playful Texas twist, creating a fresh, fun stylish aesthetic that sets this home apart.”

Everts’ family can take full advantage of the home’s many amenities, including the beige and black basketball court with a smart backboard, a furnished deck with a smart TV, a full outdoor kitchen and an upper deck off a spiral staircase.

There’s also a fire pit in the center of the backyard, as well as a cold plunge located on the property.

Read the original article on People