Local couple featured on HDTV
Tecumseh family featured in an upcoming episode of Caribbean Life
For years, Ryan Bilyk and fiancee Sarah Tofflemire have been quietly toiling towards fulfilling their dream of purchasing a home down south. Sharing that moment with an international audience in an episode of HGTV’s Caribbean Life was never part of the plan. “This is totally out of character for us,” said the 44-year-old Bilyk, who has been a truck driver at FCA’s Windsor Assembly Plant for the past 24 years.
“I’m coming out from under a rock for my 15 minutes of fame and then I’m going right back under.” The couple, who have been together eight years, purchased a home on the Honduran island of Utila in January. An HGTV crew spent 48 hours over four days filming the couple’s experience. Also appearing in the episode is Tofflemire’s 10-year-old son Christopher.
The program is scheduled to air Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. in the U.S. but Bilyk hasn’t heard when HGTV will air the episode in Canada.
“I never expected it to be so intense, shot after shot, different angles,” said Bilyk of the filming. “They were 12-hour days. “There was 48 hours of shooting to get a 21-minute episode.” The trio was picked up at 6 a.m. each morning for filming. They won’t get their first glimpse at the final product until the episode is aired.
“I think I’ll cover my eyes,” Tofflemire joked.
“I’m not sure I want to see myself on camera. I’m sure everyone will let me know how bad it was.” The 29-year-old Tofflemire said the crew gave them a general idea of what they wanted, but the dialogue was largely unscripted. They tried to keep the banter light and humorous, but they’re wondering what was captured in casual con- versation with the cameras constantly rolling.
“It was fun, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Tofflemire, a registered nurse at Windsor Regional Hospital. “We’ll have that show to look back on forever.”
The experience was totally unforeseen one cold night last winter when the couple settled in to watch an episode of Caribbean Life. Their eventual home was featured in another episode and it piqued their interest in Utila. “There’s a uniqueness there,” Tofflemire said. “Everyone is laid back, flip-flops, T-shirts and it’s safe.”
Bilyk said their connection to HGTV came through the real estate agent they dealt with in Honduras. Agent Brad Ryon’s relationship with Left/Right Productions, which films Caribbean Life, has resulted in about a dozen of his clients being featured.
“He kept telling us we were younger and perfect for the show,” Bilyk said. “We’d become good friends with him, so we did it as a favour more for him.”
The couple was limited to homes worth no more than US$300,000. They were looking for a home that was waterfront and not crowded in with neighbours.
The couple had always planned to escape the Canadian winter. They just didn’t expect to buy a property this soon.
“When Chrysler announced they intended to eliminate the trucking department, that day was a lifechanger,” Bilyk said.
“I was going to do my 30 years and retire. That day just moved up our plans because I thought my job would be gone at the end of 2017. “I’ll keep working and building my pension until it gets sorted out with the company and union.” Until then, the couple will rent out the home when they aren’t using it. The Left/Right Productions team has already rented the place twice to house its crews while they filmed in the area.
Bilyk said the good fortune to be able to fulfil their dream is just a product of hard work and prudent financial decisions.
“I started buying properties, fixing them up and selling them when I was 22,” Bilyk said. “My goal was to be financially independent and retire early.
“I had worked my way up to owning a 22-unit apartment building that I sold last year to finance this.” The couple initially focused their search on Florida, but Bilyk realized lower annual costs would allow them to buy a stand-alone, oceanfront property on a Caribbean island, even though the purchase price would be higher.
“We plan on splitting the year between here and Utila,” Bilyk said. The Windsor native admitted, however, that he’s not one to sit on his beach sipping pina coladas. Gearing down is one thing, but the self-admitted Type A personality already has some business ideas in mind.
Tofflemire also has transportable skills as a registered nurse. “We have a lot of plans,” Tofflemire said. “It just depends on where life takes us.”
I’m coming out from under a rock for my 15 minutes of fame, and then I’m going right back under.