Hoarders: Lonnie and Linda (Season 9, Episode 1) | Full Episode | A&E

this is huge i've never seen a horde this big  i estimate i've spent about 10 million dollars   on things i've collected our debt surpasses our  net worth this is the tomb i'm gonna be buried   in i really need to have some documentation  i don't have to have anything he's created an   environment that no one questions him you're not  happy no is your wife's happiness important to you she got a job at a storage unit and i  thought oh no you said that you wanted   to get rid of all this not all of it look  at these pictures these are memories you   can't have these memories i'm not gonna  have that thrown in my face linda linda i'm the lonnie hammergren this kid from  small town who made it big in a big town i was former lieutenant governor nevada  i was first neurosurgeon in nevada   and i love collecting stuff i've got signs shirts bones airplane pieces  satellites canes a lot of things made   from animal parts and bodies motorcycle pieces  and parts i have at least 50 mannequins i have   the model of a three-quarter size space shuttle  i've got a real apollo spacecraft it's full scale   it was one they used for testing in california i'm sandy lonnie's wife that's a lot of  valuable things and a lot of crazy junky things   robbie knievel's motorcycle that he jumps  caesar's palace with a venetian gondola from   the 1800s liberace's piano i have a model of the  first atomic bomb that was exploded in hiroshima   carousel collection political stuff couple  rolls-royces t-rex replicas an egyptian tomb   props that were used in different production shows  on the strip batmobiles airplanes moonlanders   i feel sorry for what is called normal people  they should be saving the stuff that they like i have collected medical heads and  brains of people i've operated on   i have a huge collection of  skulls and other two human skulls i made hundreds of these and  put them all over the state   how could you not vote for me that's  what i was a genius at selling myself when i was five years old i started collecting  butterflies and i still have that collection   upstairs i feel i always want to be the  best and i just wanted the best collection   my name is patrick i'm an  auctioneer here in las vegas nevada   i'm not an auctioneer that gets overwhelmed very  easily but lonnie's collection is massive it is   a monster when i had money i didn't worry about  what something cost i loved it then i bought it   oh at an auction it was uncontrollable spent  an enormous amount of money on his collections   i estimated over time that i spent about  10 million dollars on things i've collected   wasn't a lot for me at the time  like frank sinatra i did it my way the neighbor next door decided to go into a  nursing home and so i bought his house well then   i started filling up that yard with trains i love  trains and then the neighbor next to that house   ended up selling their house and so i bought  that house so i've got three houses in a row   and uh it's just sort of fun i put my foot down  i had to because it was kind of like excused   expression cancer it was just spreading from one  yard to the other yard now in to the third jared   i'm done with it no no my wife is total control  of the corner house we don't never fight about   the big house we don't fight about the center  house so i'd recommend for anyone buy three houses   i think that lonnie might be in  denial with his collection as   many people in my business are i think  that they just have an addiction to buying i don't have enough money to  continue paying my mortgage   if i don't pay the mortgage i could lose my house   we've acquired a lot of debt and now it's time to  start selling things so that we can live off it i think that's an uphill battle with lonnie  because i don't think that he's able to   let go of these things i see a lot of people have  a sickness for collecting and i think that loni   over the years has collected so much that lonnie  doesn't really own these things they own him this is the tumor i'm going to be buried in  can you recognize me he is uh identified with   the object so much that he wants to become one  of these objects to be remembered for all time   then i'll go in the category of like lincoln  or washington yes i'll be a piece of history   and wants to become a collectible i made  it so you can't help but remember me i'm linda and i manage a storage facility  sometimes we have people that move out   we'll go and find it abandoned and when a person  doesn't pay for their unit we auction them off   but if it has a value of 300 or  less we can dispose of as we please then i take the stuff and sort through  it see if there's anything good or   whatever then i'll bring them home wash  them up and have a garage sale it gives   me something to do make a little extra money  it just got to be more than i would imagine one day a while back me my daughter actually been   looking in the paper and we said well  there's an auction on storage units   so we decided to see what it was all about and  that's when we bought our first big big unit it was a household full i thought this is  terribly overwhelming but yet the thrill was there i'm candy and linda's my mom when she gets the  unit or she's gonna buy a unit she just lights   up it's like she gets a clothe to her it's like  christmas for a little kid and then i get a thrill   out of it in a high you know and i imagine it  would be to a drug addict that's basically the   same adrenaline rush that they get i've purchased  probably at least 30 storage units if not more   but i kind of got ahead of myself and  bought too many storage units at once there's times i would wake up in the morning and  go check on him and i realize he's not in there   sometimes i would think i even heard his voice it  was it was an adjustment it was a hard adjustment i'm linda sue linda is my sister-in-law when i  went to visit her the last time she got a job   at a storage unit and i thought  oh no i would like to say that   she could control it but reality is she's  got an addiction problem and she needs help i'm tanner and i'm linda's grandson she has the  garage sales like monday through friday it's got   stain on it and when she doesn't get rid of the  stuff she puts it into her carport or her house   when i think about my mom's house i get anxiety   everything's piled at least waist high you have  to turn sideways to the path that's in there something has to be done if there was a fire  i'm not sure how they could find her in the   house if there was a medical emergency  i don't believe the ambulance could get   a stretcher in to get linda for her own safety  i would absolutely be willing to turn her in i don't think lonnie wants to  sell anything but he's willing to are you kidding me hi lonnie dave tolin i'm dr david tolin i'm  a clinical psychologist who specializes in   the treatment of hoarding disorder i've been  collecting all of my life yeah and uh i've never   been able to sell anything in my life it's it's a  psychological you kind of hang on to things yeah   oh do a hammer lonnie is without a doubt one of  the most interesting characters i've come across   he is the town eccentric what am i gonna do this  is the promised land music room right off the bat   i can see that lonnie is trying to pull this in a  particular direction he wants to give me the tour   and he wants me to be impressed walk up to  the door and say open sesame open sesame   fantastic parties you know rich hoarding and poor  hoarding can look very different tigers buddhas   by robbie knievel uniform they are still both  hoarding so my interest has been in space   that's buzz aldrin sitting in the other seat yes  that's me lonnie really wants people to notice him   and he really wants people to like him i want  him to share in my memory you want them to share   in you yeah that's it okay look at that guy  what's he done sure i've done more things in   many ways than any other person that's ever  lived if you want to get to know lonnie his   response is well look at my stuff and  that's what you need to know about me   this is part of my skull collection you can uh we  go into the brain room where lonnie has collected   a lot of specimens from his work as a neurosurgeon  and i thought this might be a time to talk to him   about what's going on in the brain right here in  the anterior cingulate cortex and over here in the   anterior insular cortex it's the salience network  it's lighting up and it's telling you these things   are important what we're going to try to do is  talk up here in the frontal lobes particularly the   ventrimedial dorsolateral prefrontal cortex these  are the areas that actually step back and think   about the big picture i'm trying to focus lonnie  he's listening politely but i think he's mostly   just waiting for me to finish so he can continue  with the grand tour out in front of the house   i want to be a spectacle yes muhammad ali was  a spectacle jesus was a spectacle when you walk   on water and knock out sunny list and let me know  he's putting on this this grand presentation which   he thinks is how he's going to get people to  notice there definitely is an element of las   vegas culture but you know i also get a sense that  behind that there's a little bit of a fear there   maybe i will die and be forgotten and  i get a sense that that terrifies me   i'll be pickled so i don't spoil yeah lonnie  has been chasing this drive to be remembered   to the point where he's making some really bad  decisions on his own behalf you were talking   about wanting to get your affairs in order  for your wife oh sure so is there something   that has to be done in order for you to do  that not particularly no lonnie is a showman   if people see through it well then the show is  ruined and by lonnie's logic then he's ruined when i buy new storage units  and start digging stuff out   i do get an adrenaline rush it is a  type of addiction and i i do need help i'm dr melva green a psychiatrist  specializing in hoarding behaviors   as i approach linda's house there's a sign on  the door that says go to the other door because   i actually can't get in and in going to the other  side it's very obvious that linda is a hoarder hello i'm dr green i'm linda  hi linda nice to meet you   kind of just walk between things i have my  little paths here so this is my living room   you can see i've made an attempt at sorting  but i get so far and i get frustrated   and overwhelmed what am i really  looking at linda what does this signify it's hard for me to go back and figure out  what i did and how it got to this place   i guess maybe if i don't think about  it i don't have to deal with it   but this is what denial has gotten  you into right yes it was very clear   right off the bat that linda has barricaded  herself both physically and emotionally this is my room i have one concern and it  is that you are so composed this is so not   about this physical stuff right it's about all  the stuff you've been hoarding in your heart   you're gonna start to really feel it emotionally  as things start shifting yeah it's unclear what   a lender really has a realistic sense of what  is involved in this process as we begin to go   into the emotional source of this hoarding i think  linda's going to meet linda for the first time lonnie's wife says they're out of money  and they're in debt and if they don't   sell some things they could lose the house  lonnie is in complete denial little boy well thoughts this is huge i've never seen a  horde this big my name is matt paxton i'm an   extreme cleaning specialist ronnie is so defensive  he's got his line which is everything's great   i'm america's showman so the only person  i think they can break through that might   be sandra so i think we got to talk to her  and find out more about what the problem is   you know this is such a big property matt  and i figure let's divide and conquer i'm going to send matt out to go and knock on  lonnie's door and talk to him good morning bonnie   it's good to finally meet you man i'm gonna  go visit sandy who is two doors down in this   three-house network good morning nice to meet you  i thought it would be helpful to to get your take   on things do you get a sense that lonnie's not  thinking straight about all this to a large extent   yeah lifestyles and the rich and famous i have  more pages in the book than anybody in the world   lonnie has made a lot of money but lonnie has  spent a lot of money our debt surpasses our net   worth so i decided i want to have a planetarium  so i built a planetarium and an observatory   he's lived on lonnie's luck for so many years i  think that he thinks something's going to happen   that this will all reverse itself lonnie has  made a lot of money in his life he spent it all   that's only through sandy that i really start to  understand no there's a problem here now the trick   is i've gotta somehow get lonnie to face up to  that i've heard this is liberace's staircase yes   it is absolutely wellani is a hoarder probably the  biggest best hoarder i've ever met and he wants   you to know it i've been knighted five different  times so this just represents one of them   lonnie's the best at everything he's done  since he was five years old he changed his   own diapers when he came out of the womb lonnie  will tell you everything he's ever done he's the   best at and the challenging part about it is he  probably was yes i've been a neurosurgeon i've   been a lieutenant governor i've done everything  except have a meaningful homosexual relationship   well the day's early we haven't finished yet  that's right the dude is funny and he's gonna   test you i mean it's it lonnie it's one big chess  match well let me suggest a course of action if it   looks like he's stubbornly hanging on to things  maybe that's a part where we need to have the   talk with him and see if we can get him to change  his thinking around this sounds good let's look i want you to get some power here and i want you  to really say let's get rid of this and if he says   no i want you to tell him why lonnie i think these  statues need to go one two three four i like them   all no we didn't ask you that how do you feel  about your wife telling you you should sell it   i don't want to sell those now as soon as sandy  points out these statues lonnie immediately   shuts it down perhaps we could start with those  things that loni feels like he could get rid of   and we'll see if that's enough all right so why  don't you lead let's tell us the stuff you know   you can get rid of so the harp we're doing  yeah okay flute and the boxing gloves   lonnie pulled some things out and put them on  the table my initial thought was this is bull   sandy of the stuff that you're seeing now is  this going to be enough to solve the financial   problem now not at all this isn't it it's a  drop in the bucket as far as i'm concerned   we have a shirt over here that obviously has you  know really only value to you know mr hammergren   himself i think friends of mine are looking at  gee i'd like to have one of those his thinking   is clouded by grandiosity either that  or he's just given us the middle finger good morning everyone good morning i'm corey  chalmers i'm an extreme cleaner that specializes   in biohazard and hoarding are you guys ready  to get started yep yep all right let's go i would rather give this up and  hang on to that all the stuff can go   except for the firewood first  day of the rest of your life so i really want to start talking about some  of this stuff and what purpose it's serving you   and what it's preventing you from from doing in  your life i'm low income so something i can do is   purchase storage units and sell the antiques  on ebay and then also i do have garage sales   can you find another career seriously how do we  change that because moving forward this isn't just   about cleaning a house it's about changing that  behavior and realizing you're landlocked here yeah   this has changed your life in a negative way what  if i took this away and threw in the trash no not   this but what if i did why not this it's a super  mario it is an empty box but i have the game that   goes to this they do sell for ebay for almost  a hundred dollars whether it's worth a hundred   dollars a million dollars if it just sits there  for the rest of your life it's not worth anything   yeah and i need you to start realizing that so  let's see what else you can take out of that   bag then i want to see things that have no value  in your mind and see what that really looks like   that tissue paper you're pushing to the side  why is that not trash um really we're gonna   really struggle if you have to keep that wadded  up ball of tissue paper the problem is you can't   stop acquiring because you think everything's  valuable and this is what's gotten you we have   to stop we need to bring your family in here  we need to let them make decisions but you have   to give up control i'll see if you don't give up  control you're never going to get your house back linda's going to have to make some drastic changes  in the way she thinks if we're going to make any   kind of progress over the next couple days so i  want to bring candy into this process and help her   kind of work through some of the stuff with  her mother linda does not trust candy for   some reason and i'd like to figure out why  hey candy come on in we want to kind of work   on your two communication and see if you can't  work together there's a big trust issue here what's the problem mom i think you're using drugs  again you think i'm using drugs again okay well   i've been going to the doctor and everything i can  prove all that i know you you don't know me that's   the problem you don't know me i do you don't know  anything about me one second one second candy   candy please turn around so i brought candy  in to work with linda and it didn't go well   immediately they started fighting about trust  and drugs and issues if they don't trust each   other there's no way once we leave they're  gonna be able to keep working on this problem how about the horse up there no  way i'm mounted on that horse good to see you yeah i haven't seen you in  a little while that's right i'm mark i'm the   administrator of the clark county museum system  what is what is this it's an apollo spacecraft do   you have anything from nasa any any documentation  on it no does it have any uh nasa label on it any   federal label on it that nothing they don't have  the records if you don't have documentation you're   just basing it on what people have told you that's  not always as accurate as you might wish it to be   you really need to have something in paper so you  don't have to have anything nobody is going to   build a model of an apollo spacecraft yes at all  oh yeah they have not but no no they haven't how   ridiculous it is to question was this really  an apollo spacecraft i thought the whole   thing was a stupid waste of time the real apollo  spacecraft from the past that was used as a test   to drop into the water to see what would happen  and it doesn't need any more documentation than   that because nobody in their right mind is gonna  make a bottle of it the minute you say prove it   to lonnie he gets angry the voice raises he starts  fighting back at you if i could get any proof like   he's saying going into paperwork i can actually  make some real money on this for you i totally   disagree you don't need this is yeah this is what  they made he's created an environment that no one   questions him i'm going on the premise that you  would be willing to sell this is this something   you would ever let go of in your lifetime sure  what kind of price do you think you'd want to see   oh several hundred thousand dollars yeah  you think that's real you'd ever get that no   not without documentation he owes a ton of  money and there's nothing here about you   i can't raise 750 000 there's nothing  here that could get me that much money i know you've worked for the knievel's before  absolutely there's no way i would take any money   for that right now how about the aladdin  lamp i don't want to sell that that's too   big lonnie is being so resistant that i think  it's time to sit down and have a heart-to-heart   what is it that we're trying to accomplish here i  thought that he was serious about getting rid of   a lot of things it's just a minute amount you're  not happy with that no did you know that lonnie   were you were you aware of the unhappiness sure  it's my worry what's over here it's her worry   what she's got in her house she should back  off yeah lonnie is surprisingly dismissive   of what sandy has to say i would think that after  all these years he'd be a little more concerned   about how i feel lonnie is not in a position where  he is ready to hear that his wife is suffering   lonnie can we do something about this  well not that much in the sense of   trying to get rid of things the things  that have value are too hard to sell   the fact of the matter is lonnie  is choosing his stuff over his wife candy candy please turn around  i'm sorry i'm just really mad i just want to help him out just you know what  would help me the most what to get off the drugs   and stay off of him mom i'm not using but if i was  i have to take care of it you can't get me clean   you can't fix it i know that i have to do that and  i've done that now it's your turn to work on this i care about you and that house is dangerous  so i'm willing to do anything to help you   through this and if i've got to be  the bad guy then i'm the bad guy   but i love you well in this moment of  right now what do you want to say to her nothing can't even say you love me  right now that's the thing candy is clearly calling out to linda for  some sort of love some sort of validation and   linda's response is emotionless she's not even  really able to look at her daughter in her eyes   and express herself from her heart please try and  work together okay and let me help you communicate   and don't use her as the distraction  linda yeah this is about you yeah i know good morning good morning good you're morning sorting that worries me these are  all star trek stuff they're supposed to be the   older ones are supposed to be getting really good  money okay so here's the problem the garage sale   belief has to stop how many garage don't say no  let me finish how much is all the stuff in your   house and property worth put a dollar amount  of gas on it oh i would say there's possibly   three or four thousand dollars worth of  stuff in here so i'll make you a deal   right now i'll give you a check for four  thousand dollars and then we take it off but you just said the value was four thousand  dollars i'm giving you that but i have my   personal items in here too we'll go through  it if it's sentimental we're gonna save it all   nah exactly because it's not about the money it's  a deeper rooted problem so it doesn't matter if   we have one person here 100 people here we can't  get it done because you're not willing to let it   go linda's excuse has always been about the garage  sales and i wanted to really challenge her on that   and it's not about the money and i  think we're gonna be boxing a lot of   stuff up and bringing it right back  in the house at the end of the day   i hope that whatever he brings to the auction  he's serious about getting rid of and not   rebidding it so he can bring it back home  because that would sort of be something he'd do think about it this way what would you  sacrifice for your wife's happiness   is your wife's happiness important  to you if so what would you sacrifice anything good go do that okay okay let's get to it   is there anything in the liberace collection  that you'd even consider the red boots   do it the red boots yeah how about  this eagle that's fine sell it   dude i'm proud you're killing it this is  great keep it moving let's keep them going   you should bring about 200 dollars good in  that range yeah sell it thank you sir this   can go this will sell yes okay well that's  great last call on the huge aladdin sign   it would have to be 500 i'll give you 200 bucks  now whatever you get for the sale you get that too   if people keep saying it's about the  money i'll offer them some cash to see   if it's really about the money and nine times  out of ten the hoarder never accepts the cash   thank you deal sir all righty lonnie totally  called me out on it took my 200 bucks we've added new items to the sale fingers  crossed we actually get some money tomorrow   for this now we're in vegas we're gonna let it  fly and we're gonna see how it brings us back all right thank you thank you lonnie finally  getting rid of something i got to see this   from the estate of lonnie hammergreen here it  is give me bid for it what do you want to pay   the other ranchers sign it start me off on it  give me [ __ ] they got 75 online thanks very   much internet 75 now 100. last call last call  sold it out 100 bucks your way sir number 144.   the minute these items started hitting they  hit fast they hit hard it's out of here sold   it for 300 you sold it 200 sold it 37.5 and they  really went for nothing this stuff's going fast   guys we got this huge lantern from the aladdin  hotel casino last call last call last call sold   it for two and a quarter your way thank you  man liberace red boots these were owned by   liberace give me a bid for them what do you want  to pay give me 50 50 they want to buy one or both   the reality today at the auction nobody wants  the stuff man lonnie insisted i put this in 10 bit now 15. so 10 dollars your way number  144 when your dream is shattered like that   it's gotta hurt this stuff here doesn't go  and those pretty little things they stay   is this stuff you're keeping right here  linda yes all of it yes yes it all stays i don't got to keep this come on  yes look at me talk at the same time don't please look at me i have to see what's  in that bag please look at me i'm looking but   you said that you wanted to get rid of all this  not all of it yes you have you said it before   you've told me personally that you wanted  to get rid of it what you're doing right now   this is just wasting people's time mom mom no mom mom look candy stop  look look look at this stuff it's we're trying to talk to her and she's just  walking through like we're not even there like   we're talking to a wall she's just  shutting down she's shutting us out   look this is our dining room look at these  pictures these are memories you can't have   these memories if it's covered up look at dad i  don't want to look at him come here if you let the   house get clean mom you can have the memories  yeah yeah yeah mom these were my memories too   well how could they be your memories you're too  busy doing drugs and you're too busy hoarding now you're choosing this stuff over the  good memories these memories yep   is it hard for you to look at candy no  it's hard for me to look at him my husband   she's trying to help you to connect to what has  been at the core of your hoarding no i'm not   going to have that thrown in my face i'm not  throwing it in your face mom you're throwing   norman in my face and i'm not throwing any  mormon in your hand no no no no linda linda you can't have these memories if it's covered  up look at dad does dad want this is that what   he wants look at this you can't look at that  corner and see a memory of dad if you have   it covered up i've looked at him candy  and i've cried over them okay i'm done why is it so hard for you to look at what she's  showing you because it's my husband and he's dead linda this is what all of this is about you  haven't gotten over it you haven't grieved   it this is the result if you're gonna have any  level of success you have to let yourself feel for this to actually be therapeutic linda has to   recognize that she indeed has a problem  because she's the one that's got to fix it holes in it mom's probably  got to it yeah good job mom you guys are working together nicely what  shifted just kind of listening to me a   little bit yeah i guess i submitted i think  linda submitted a little bit herself yeah   to accept the help it seems the dynamic  has changed between linda and candy they're   actually listening to each other they're being  kind to each other for the first time in this   process what do you think will get accomplished  at this pace i'm gonna have my whole house clean   that's a big turning point you should be proud  yeah this is a huge breakthrough for the entire   family to actually be able to communicate with  one another to be able to work side by side that's huge oh my goodness and it's been difficult you have been frustrated   but is it worth it yes and i stuck in  there i didn't give up sure did it was   really hard but i made myself push through it  anyway and i'd come up better do it all wow this is really nice everything i went through is  worth it because if i had my house back yeah my   mom and she's let her guard down finally i seen  the mom i used to have coming back well we hope   this is just the beginning it is the beginning  i know that good because i've paid up my mind now 50 25 they've been 50 50 where 25 and 50  looking for a bid 25 to be finished bonnie   what's your sense of it how did this go  oh some things went well and some things didn't i am hoping that this the small  amount of four thousand dollars   will actually get lonnie excited to  sell more am i gonna bet on it no the money from the auction will enable  me to write my life history which is   the only thing i really need to do yet  in life this has been a frustrating case   the fact of the matter is unless lonnie really  wakes up to his wife's suffering unless he really   makes a decision to change things i don't  know if things are going to get any better   i've come to the realization that there's nothing  i can really do to change lonnie he's going to do   what he wants to do when he wants to do it i  don't know that we made a financial difference   in lonnie's life but i can say personally for the  first time in my life i'm leaving las vegas ahead   at the end of the day mostly lonnie wants to  be left alone so that's what we're gonna do goodnight lonnie i think this whole  process has made me more humble what am i going to do what's going  to happen next we'll find out so hi thanks for being a fan of  hoarders and subscribe to a   e for more videos and click the  links around me to watch more

Channel: A&E

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Id: zyoKsdAEWXM

Length: 42min 40sec (2560 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 05 2021