Designer and host Tiffany Brooks set out to ambush the lucky winner of HGTV Smart Home 2019 at her home in New Jersey.

The HGTV camera crew waited patiently with friends and family to share the amazing news to Maureen Rustrian, the lucky winner of the HGTV® Smart Home Giveaway 2019.

The HGTV crew first ambushed Maureen’s husband at his fitness studio, enlisting his help to surprise his wife with a backyard summer barbecue that same evening. Using the ruse that Maureen’s friend from Boston was in town on business, the team worked quickly to plan the bombshell event with family and friends.

Tiffany quieted the crew as Maureen pulled up the driveway.

“I thought it was a joke at first, but then I realized that no one would actually have all this equipment with the cameras, lights and microphones,” said Maureen. “And then, I heard Tiffany’s voice – it’s so distinct – and it slowly started to sink in.

A self-proclaimed HGTV addict, Maureen says that with three boys at home, she doesn’t get control of the TV remote as often as she would like. But that didn’t stop her from entering the giveaway online twice a day, every day during the sweepstakes period.

Even for this dedicated fan, getting the news from Tiffany that she had been selected as the winner of the HGTV Smart Home 2019 was too good to be true. Maureen was randomly drawn from over 97 million entries.

The giveaway includes the residence and all its furnishings, a 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE and $100,000 from LendingTree. The home is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Roanoke, Texas.

Our lucky winner is still in disbelief at her good fortune. Maureen and her husband (pictured on the far right) have never been to Texas and will get a chance to see the home for the first time in the coming weeks.