Ray Romano Surprises His Assistant With a Luxury Home Renovation: "We're Family"

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Ray Romano’s assistant of more than 20 years has become like family to him. They’ve been there for each other through life’s ups and downs, including family diagnoses and deaths. Now, the Everybody Loves Raymond star is showing his immense appreciation for her with a boutique hotel-inspired home renovation.

During a new episode of Celebrity IOU, Romano teamed up with the Property Brothers stars Drew and Jonathan Scott to design a primary bedroom with an en suite for his assistant Christy’s Sherman Oaks, California, home. Built in the 1950s, the residence featured a tiny, outdated bathroom that she shared with her husband and their teen daughter. The small room had a low shower head, a leaking bathtub faucet, and a chipped toilet tank. “This is where you interrogate hostages,” Romano joked about the cramped space during the episode.

Over five weeks, Romano and the Scott brothers transformed the bathroom into a luxury retreat. To surprise Christy and further show Romano’s gratitude, they also decided to make over the primary bedroom. For the bathroom, upgrades include a glass-encased shower with a higher and better quality shower head, a double sink vanity, and a freestanding bathtub. They outfitted the previously simple bedroom with custom built-ins for clothing storage and a TV along with a custom headboard and floating nightstands made of high-end materials. A custom stained glass piece with crow motifs—a reminder of Christy’s mother who passed—in the bathroom and framed family photos in the bedroom add personality to the suite.

The result is a luxury oasis, which Romano named The Christy and Christy later amended to Château Christy—a nod to her love of boutique hotels. As “the Raymond whisperer,” a title Romano bestowed upon her, Christy has held Romano’s hand through so many things. “I am not an easy person to be an assistant for and not because I’m not a nice person, because I consider myself a very nice person, but I’m also the most neurotic and insecure person,” the actor and comedian said in the episode.

Throughout the renovation, Romano revealed a few other tidbits about himself including how he hates shower curtains (relatable!). He also said the key to a happy marriage, along with his-and-her sinks, is his-and-her toilets. He joked that his-and-her houses might really take it up a notch.

In the end, Christy and her family were overjoyed with the renovation. Christy said: “Ray Romano. Everybody always says, ‘Does everybody really love him? Is he as nice as he seems?’ No, he’s nicer. I just feel like we're family more than anything else.”

Love knowing what your favorite stars are up to? Same. Let’s keep up with them together.

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