{"id":290,"date":"2025-10-27T12:59:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/?p=290"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:59:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:59:19","slug":"viewers-left-in-tears-after-saddest-grand-design-episode-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/?p=290","title":{"rendered":"Viewers left in tears after \u2018saddest Grand Design episode ever\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grand Designs<\/a>\u00a0viewers have been left devastated after the latest episode revealed that a woman who was building her forever home with her partner died just months before the completion of the work.<\/p>\n

Pep and Malene had dreamed of building their three-bedroom Viking-inspired wooden longhouse, but after Pep was diagnosed with stage four\u00a0cancer<\/a>\u00a0in 2021, the project became a race to complete the work in time for her to spend her final days there.<\/p>\n

The most recent episode of the\u00a0Channel 4<\/a>\u00a0seriesshowed how the project began in 2024, when accountant Pep was managing both an exhausting round of chemotherapy treatment while also overseeing the work onsite with the builders.<\/p>\n

The couple hoped to have the house finished in nine months, so Pep could have \u2018as much time to live in it as possible\u2019.<\/p>\n

Speaking to show host Kevin McCloud, she said: \u2018Theoretically, I should be dead now, but that merely spurred us on to build the house.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018When you\u2019re given the diagnosis that I was given, it was all of a sudden things that did matter to me, like work and achieving and getting things done, they paled in significance,\u2019 she told Kevin.<\/p>\n

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Pep was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2021 (Picture: Channel 4)<\/p>\n

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Pep and Malene had dreamed of building their Viking-inspired wooden longhouse (Picture: Channel 4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018The diagnosis of cancer triggered me into saying, right, if I am going to build a house when I\u2019m alive, I better get on with it now.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019ve had a very good life, and being in the house is the last chapter of our life together.\u2019<\/p>\n

Yet, tragically, she just a few months later in the summer of 2024 and never got to see the Scandinavian build. She had continued to write down instructions and plans for the home in the days before she died.<\/p>\n

Touched by Pep and Marlene\u2019s story, the builders on the site carried her wicker coffin into the home she had spent her last months trying to finish.<\/p>\n

Her wife Malene moved into the house the following August and planted a tree in the front garden to commemorate the love of her life.<\/p>\n

The plaque resting on the trunk said: \u2018Yggdrasil [sacred tree], now feasting with the Gods at Valhalla.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018It doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s my project, it feels like we are doing it together,\u2019 Malene told host Kevin, who was visibly moved.<\/p>\n

Malene gave Kevin a tour of the completed home, which was decked out with Scandinavian-style furniture the couple had collected over the years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The couple met and fell in love in the 90s (Picture: Channel 4)<\/p>\n

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Malene invited three of Pep\u2019s sisters to see the finished home (Picture: Channel 4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018When we designed the kitchen, Pep wanted a window seat so she could watch me cooking and have a glass of wine as a way to be together, so that\u2019s why she is sitting at the window seat,\u2019 Malene said, referring to a picture of her late partner.<\/p>\n

The project, which was partially funded by Pep\u2019s life insurance, initially had a strict budget of \u00a3550,000, but Malene revealed she spent just under \u00a3750,000 on building it.<\/p>\n

\u2018I felt that the project has kept me going and has given me a purpose,\u2019 she said. \u2018I feel immense pride in what Pep and I have achieved together.<\/p>\n

\u2018I got a lot of strength seeing Pep\u2019s determination in the past few months of her life. You learn new things about each other in times of adversity.<\/p>\n

\u2018The energy there is very special. It has changed me inside as a person in how I feel and I think that now the house is not going to be a home for us as a couple for the rest of our lives, I feel very strongly that it will become a space for feeling and a sanctuary, not just for me, but for Pep\u2019s family. I think that\u2019s really special.\u2019<\/p>\n

The episode left many viewers emotional after tuning in.<\/p>\n

\u2018The saddest #GrandDesigns I\u2019ve ever seen. In tears here. Rest in peace lovely, brave lady,\u2019 Suzanne posted on X.<\/p>\n

\u2018An utterly heartbreaking episode that was. Pep and Malene should serve as an inspiration to us all. Make the most of your time here, because you just never know. Pep would\u2019ve loved the finished project. A life well lived\u2026,\u2019 Jamie shared.<\/p>\n

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Malene revealed she spent just under \u00a3750,000 (Picture: Channel 4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Gosh last nights #granddesigns was so sad,\u2019 Tracey wrote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grand Designs\u00a0viewers have been left devastated after the latest episode revealed that a woman who was building her forever home with her partner died just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/50statefeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}