When “Rock the Block” returns for its sixth season on April 14, 2025, longtime HGTV star Alison Victoria will be trying not to fangirl too much over one of her competitors, fellow HGTV star and New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight.
“I was in love with New Kids on the Block,” she told “Entertainment Tonight” while wearing a Jonathan Knight t-shirt before the show’s premiere. “Obviously. I was nine years old, I had a pillow of Jonathan and a poster. Several posters.”
Filming “Rock the Block” wasn’t the first time Victoria and Knight have met. They’ve now known each other for years via HGTV. But she admitted to “ET” that when they did first meet, she was hopeful for a love connection before learning he was already “taken.”
Alison Victoria Says She Swooned When Jonathan Knight Asked Her Out For a Beer
While Victoria talked to “ET” about appearing on “Rock the Block” with Knight, the “Windy City Rehab” star admitted that when they first met several years ago, she thought it might be the start of an amazing romance.
“When I got to meet him, he asked me, ‘Can you go get a beer?’ and I was like, ‘Oh god, this is it. I’m gonna marry him,'” she gushed. “And then we sit there and we’re talking and he’s like, ‘I love your show. It’s the only one I watch.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my god!'”
“He goes, ‘Can I have your phone number?'” Victoria continued. “Nine-year-old me is dying inside and I’m thinking we’re about to be together. And then he said ‘my husband’ and I go, ‘Okay. Off the table. He’s taken!'”
Knight and his husband, personal trainer Harley Rodriguez, have been together since 2008 and officially tied the knot in 2022, per People. Though Victoria’s childhood dreams may have been crushed by Knight’s relationship status, she is now in her own serious relationship with film director Brandt Andersen.
Victoria is still proud of her New Kids fandom, though. In the summer of 2024, she and several fellow HGTV stars attended one of the boy band’s Florida concerts and had a blast backstage with Knight. Meanwhile, hours before the “Rock the Block” premiere, Victoria shared a hilarious video outtake in her Instagram Stories of Knight lifting her up — wearing a western wedding dress provided by host Tyler Pennington — and spinning her around in a wide open field.
Other ‘Rock the Block’ Competitors Are Tickled to Compete Against Jonathan & Jordan Knight
Victoria and Knight are part of the “veteran” teams on the new season of “Rock the Block,” which pits HGTV stars who’ve competed on the hit show before against “rookies” who have been there before.
Victoria, who competed on the first two seasons of “Rock the Block,” is paired up with season 4 winner Michel Smith Boyd. Knight, who competed on season 4 with his “Farmhouse Fixer” designer Kristina Crestin, is paired up this time with his brother and fellow “Blockhead” Jordan Knight, a staple on the 2024 spinoff “Farmhouse Fixer: Camp Revamp.”
The “rookies” are couple Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama of “Renovation Aloha” and another married couple, “Down Home Fab” stars Chelsea and Cole DeBoer. Both duos told “ET” that it was impossible not to toss out New Kids puns or dance moves during filming.
“It’s so hard, like, the songs just, like, come in your head,” Chelsea said.
“We may or may not have done some dance moves with them,” Kamohai admitted.
Boyd, meanwhile, said that Jordan was much funnier than he expected, noting, “I’m not a Blockhead, but I grew up with them … Legitimately, I love those guys and Jordan is funny. Low-key funny! He’s got these snide comments that no one else hears, but I’m standing next to him so I do. It’s hilarious.”
The six-week, sixth season of “Rock the Block” premieres on April 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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Alison Victoria Admits Having Huge Crush on ‘Rock the Block’ Co-Star Before Season Premiere