Definitely not fierce! America's Next Top Model's Jay Manuel is apparently homeless for the holidays after being forced to evacuate his Connecticut home. An insider close to Manuel revealed to Us Weekly that his stunning home, which was once showcased on an episode of NBC New York’s Designer Living, has a serious design defect that has made it unlivable.
Manuel, 42, had to evacuate the three-year-old house in February after a defect in the framing and installation caused a water condensing flaw in the home’s exterior walls.
The source also revealed that the house's "latent building defects" led insurance companies to shy away from involvement. Manuel has to pay to rebuild and refurbish the house completely on his own.
Manuel, the founder of Jay Manuel Beauty, has filed a suit against the building team responsible, husband and wife Eric and Magdalena Kotonski of EK Construction, LLC, but the case had allegedly been dragged out for several months.
The source told Us "It has been a very stressful year for him — undoubtedly. But anyone who knows Jay, he takes on projects head on! He keeps himself grounded through meditation."
The insider also revealed that the former Fashion Police host has rented an apartment not far from his home during the rebuild.
"Jay will be spending the holidays with his family, who are so important to him," the source told Us. "He has an amazing group of close friends, who have been there for him throughout the entire process and continue to be."
