The HGTV family of stars is in mourning after losing their beloved leader, Head of Content Loren Ruch, died at age 55 on July 12, 2025, Warner Brothers Discovery confirmed to Deadline.
HGTV stars have flooded social media with tributes for Ruch, who had worked for two decades behind the scenes — and occasionally on-air. When longtime HGTV president Jane Latman was let go in a 2022 round of layoffs, Ruch was elevated to oversee programming on the network.
Ruch battled acute myeloid leukemia and, as EntertainmentNow reported in August 2024, spent 85 days in the hospital for a successful stem cell transplant. On June 5, he and his husband David Salas celebrated their 21st anniversary, with Salas looking forward in a post to “many more amazing years ahead.” On June 13, former Good Day L.A. anchor Dorothy Lucey posted, “this lovely human beat cancer. Beat leukemia. But not pneumonia.”
HGTV Stars Pay Homage in Emotional Tributes to Loren Ruch: ‘Struggling With the Loss’
EntertainmentNow/GettyThe tributes rolling in from HGTV stars make it clear how widely beloved he was and instrumental he was in their careers. Longtime talent Christina Haack posted a photo with Ruch in her Instagram Stories and wrote, “Loren- You were one of the rare ones and the real ones. Everyone adored you. You are loved by so many and will be missed dearly.”
Jonathan Scott also posted photos with Ruch in his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Struggling with the loss of my friend tonight. Loren, you’re one of the great ones. 💔”
“100 Day Dream Home” stars Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt were close with Ruch and Salas, too, and she posted an Instagram photo of the couples posing outside the Broadway show of “Funny Girl.”
In the caption, she wrote, “There are only a handful of people in our lives who truly help shape our future and touch our souls. @lorennruch was one of a kind and believed in us from day one. We owe so much of our success on @hgtv to him.”
“He wasn’t just a leader — he was a mentor, a creative genius, and a true friend,” Mika continued. “Until we meet again, we will honor and remember you. You taught us to treat everyone with kindness and to go after our dreams.”
Brian also posted a photo of himself and Mika with Ruch in his Instagram Stories and wrote, “He believed in us and is beloved by us. 🙌.”
HGTV Stars Shared How Loren Ruch Gave Them Opportunities to Shine
Like Mika Kleinschmidt, many HGTV stars specifically wrote about how instrumental Ruch was in helping them shine on the network and supporting their careers for years, including new “Love It or List It” co-star Page Turner.
In an Instagram post on June 13, Turner wrote, “In our last conversation, you told me how proud you were of me and other inspiring words that I’ll carry with me forever. You were more than a leader, you were a friend, a champion, and an incredible blessing 🙏🏽 Thank you for such incredible opportunities that have allowed me to continue to catch my dreams.”
On June 12, Veronica Valencia — who has worked behind-the-scenes as a lead design producer on shows like “Home Town Takeover,” appeared as a judge and collaborator on competition shows, and starred in her own show, “Revealed” — wrote a lengthy post about her relationship with Ruch, and how he helped her shine onscreen.
“After 13 years in this industry as the ‘ghost designer’ behind so many designers & design shows you see on screen, Loren was the person who finally saw me,” she wrote. “For years, my work lived BTS… designing, pitching, creating. As the Head of Design, I pitched designs directly to the network so that they could see the overall vision of what viewers would see on screen.”
“During one of those pitches, Loren noticed me, and it made its way back: ‘Who is that girl? She’s someone special. She’s the real deal.’ I still cry when I think about that moment… after all those years, he saw me and in doing so he changed my life.”
Valencia’s show only ran for one season, but she said, “Loren championed a show that was different. He put me, a woman with my ethnicity and culture — at the center of a show that celebrated family, diversity, different religions, and different ways of living. He saw who I was at my core and believed the world was ready to see it too.”
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HGTV Stars, Stunned by Loss of Beloved Boss at 55, Flood Social Media With Emotional Tributes