MW Former reality TV stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt say they are still displaced by wildfires

By Charlie Lankston

The couple says they cannot afford to pay for construction of a new dwelling

Television personalities Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag at the American Music Awards in Las Vegas in May, 2025.

Former reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have revealed that they still do not have a permanent place to live-more than a year after they lost their Pacific Palisades property in the 2025 California wildfires.

Montag, 39, and Pratt, 42, who share two sons, Gunner, 7, and Ryker, 3, were among several celebrities whose homes were razed in the devastating blazes, which left 100,000 residents displaced in the immediate aftermath of the fires.

But unlike many stars who had second homes to move to, or ample funds to finance temporary living while they rebuild, the couple says they cannot afford to pay for construction of a new dwelling, admitting they put down almost all the money they had just on the down payment.

Speaking to Gold Derby, former "The Hills" star Montag confessed that she and her husband had barely been able to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments on the property, which they purchased for $2.5 million in 2017.

"Unfortunately for rebuilding, we just don't have the finances. We barely could pay the mortgage on that house," she said. "We spent our whole careers to put a down payment on it."

The fires have left Montag and Pratt in limbo, she added, admitting that her family still feels very much "displaced."

"We're unfortunately in a place where we aren't looking to rebuild, and we're not really sure where to go. We're kind of displaced at the moment," she said. "People don't realize that a lot of people can't rebuild."

Montag highlighted the changing landscape of the Palisades' housing market, noting that many of her neighbors have found themselves in a similar position-having purchased their dwellings decades ago, when house prices in the area were much lower.

"A lot of families bought their houses 40 or 50 years ago when it was a much cheaper part of L.A.," she explained. "It's only recently become this enclave of luxury housing. It was never Beverly Hills before. A lot of these were generational homes that were passed down, and they can't rebuild. Unfortunately, for us right now, it's just not looking hopeful."

An aerial photo taken on Jan. 5, 2026 shows empty lots and new homes under construction a year after the wildfires in Pacific Palisades, California.

The pop star-whose husband announced earlier this year his plans to run for Los Angeles mayor in the 2026 election, against incumbent Karen Bass-revealed that one of the most heartbreaking parts of her family's situation is the toll that it has taken on her young children.

"I think it's really hard for my 3-year-old," she shared. "He keeps asking to go home and I'm like, it's not there. He says, 'I'll push it back up. I'm strong.' Every animal he sees, he says their house burned down. So it's really continuing to affect him a lot."

The devastating fires, which broke out Jan. 7, 2025, destroyed thousands of homes and claimed the lives of 31 people, according to official records.

The two largest blazes-the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire-ripped through entire communities, razing hundreds of properties, many of which remain nothing more than empty lots.

Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena were all heavily impacted by the blazes, which erased an estimated $8.3 billion in home value from these areas, according to a data analysis by Realtor.com.

Pratt has been an outspoken critic of the way in which the wildfires were handled by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Bass, revealing in January that he felt he had been forced into politics by his desire to bring about change for the victims of the blazes.

"I never wanted to be mayor," Pratt said during an interview with "Fox & Friends". "I don't want to be in politics. I want to be back in my house with my family.

"These people in charge should have resigned January 7, January 8, and I was waiting for somebody to step up and go after these people and nobody did, so I was like, 'OK, well, it's my job to do that.'"

Pratt, a Republican, first revealed his mayoral ambitions during an event called "They Let Us Burn!" that was held in L.A. in early January to commemorate the first anniversary of the wildfires.

The launch of his political campaign also coincided with the release of his new tell-all book, titled "The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain," prompting Bass to accuse Pratt of only running for mayor in a bid to promote the tome and increase sales.

"The book has nothing to do with the journey [Bass] put me on by letting my house burn down," Pratt fired back during his appearance on "Fox & Friends."

He also rejected the notion that he is a single-issue candidate concerned only about his star-studded community.

"What everyone in Los Angeles should be concerned about is these city leaders are fine with letting people burn alive, covering it up," said Pratt, adding that he is also alarmed by quality-of-life issues affecting parts of L.A., including homelessness and drug use.

"Anybody that drives around the streets of L.A. ... we're in the darkest times ever," he stated.

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In April 2025, Pratt further voiced his anger over the wildfires when he revealed that his parents had been forced to put their destroyed family home on the market after living there for four decades.

"After 40 years in the Palisades my parents were forced to put our family home (dirt) up for sale today," he wrote on TikTok, while sharing images of the decimated property.

The former MTV star went on to state that his parents had bought the home for just $400,000-although records indicate that it was last purchased in 1987 for $840,000 and is currently registered to William and Janet Pratt.

They put the land on which their home once sat on the market for $4.93 million at the end of March, with the listing describing the 8,147-square-foot lot as a "rare opportunity to rebuild," adding that the structure that was previously there had been "a cherished home for over 37 years."

However, records show that the property was taken off the market in December after undergoing a significant price reduction that brought the ask down to $4 million.

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In late January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order enabling the federal government to take over the cleanup and rebuilding efforts from the California wildfires, which caused tens of billions of dollars worth of losses to homes and property.

In the Jan. 27 order, Trump leapfrogged local government officials in order to allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration to start expediting permitting and approvals of homes.

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The White House has vowed that this move will speed up rebuilding efforts for properties destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires-as residents continue to voice frustration with the pace of cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

Trump has now pledged to end that "nightmare of delay, uncertainty, and bureaucratic malaise as they remain displaced from their homes."

The order, which was first reported by the California Post, requires preliminary regulations put forth within 30 days. Final regulations are due within 90 days. They must allow permits, waivers, reviews and approvals to be conducted in a way that expeditiously promotes rebuilding, states the order.

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"I want to see if we can take over the city and state and just give the people their permits they want to build," Trump told the Post.

This story originally ran on Realtor.com.

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March 03, 2026 05:02 ET (10:02 GMT)

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