Home. Made. – Details, episodes & analysis

Kim Ceurstemont always knew she wanted to be a mother. In her late 30s and still single, she opted to become pregnant through a donor. She planned to raise her son on her own, but wanted her child to know who their father was. So she chose a donor willing to share his identity. His name was Guilherme Figueiredo. Gui and his boyfriend, Jeremy, had never discussed children, but both were supportive of Kim’s journey to motherhood. What began as an act of kindness between strangers evolved into a nontraditional family happily living under one roof.

To learn more about the podcast, go to: https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/podcast-season-3-episode-6

Thanks to Husmates for helping us find this story. Husmates specializes in matching people interested in co-ownership.

This season of Home. Made. was produced by Stephanie Foo (host), Rob Rosenthal (Story Editor), Marshall Whitsed (Producer), Kevin Ball (Producer), Annie Rueter (Producer), Pippa Johnstone (Producer), Kristie Chan (Sound Designer), Mark Angly (Sound Designer), Rehmatullah Sheikh (Audience Development), Sarah Kate Kramer (Writer), Ashley Ahearn (Writer), Mio Adilman (Showrunner), Dominic Girard (Showrunner, Executive Producer), Clay Closson (Brand Executive Producer)), Jessica Korbya (Project Manager), Bridget Hillyer (Creative Strategist), Calli Toman (Copywriter), Michael D’Agostini (Designer), Sarah Henseler (Copy Editor), Matt Cardwell (Publishing Editor-in-Chief), Casey Hurbis (Chief Marketing Officer).

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

As a teenager, Ling Pai had barely settled into her new home, in a new country, when she learned she was losing her sight. She’d been diagnosed with dominant optic atrophy, a degenerative condition with no cure or treatment. Her vision would continue to get worse with every passing year, until she was effectively blind. For years Ling resisted – even outright ignored – the implications of her diagnosis. She refused to ask anyone for help, and stubbornly pursued perfection with everything she did. A crisis in her 20s – when she found herself alone at home, far from friends and family – forced her to confront and accept her condition. It liberated her to take on new challenges, ones that required her to ask others for help. Challenges like downhill skiing. And competitive surfing. Adventures that brought new waves of friends, family, and more places to call home.

To learn more about the podcast, go to: https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/podcast-season-3-episode-5

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Growing up in the church, there were a lot of things Mattie Murrey was told she couldn’t do. But she was a rebel – and a daredevil, too. Mattie raced motorcycles all over rural Minnesota when she was young. As she got older, however, her religious community told her it was not acceptable. She had to stop.

So, Mattie traded her favorite pastime for the life her community wanted for her: that of a doting mother and wife. That is, until a crisis of faith turned her life upside down – and Mattie found herself questioning the road she’d set out on.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

When Shannon King’s marriage ended abruptly, she realized that somewhere along the way, she had forgotten her #1 priority: herself. She’d stopped doing the things she loved and lost her sense of self in a relationship that wasn’t working. Unsure of what else to do when everything fell apart, Shannon decided to make a change.

She vowed to leave everything behind and go on a journey with the goal of coming back a different, more confident person. And she wanted to do it all alone, on a horse in the desert.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Two people find a sense of belonging through a shared hobby: sewing. First, a woman named Rona battles overwhelming social anxiety both inside and out of her home. After a particularly difficult episode, she receives an old sewing machine and decides to start trying to stitch her life back together.

Then, we hear the story of Jean, a seamstress who played an important role in one of America’s defining moments: the Apollo 11 space mission. After the famed lunar landing, demand for spacesuits was down, leaving Jean in search of her next big project. She finds an unexpected new mission, this time down here on Earth.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Two people learn to love their new homes. First, a young girl arrives in Los Angeles from war-torn Iran with her family, seeking refuge. Her life is quickly turned upside down when the LA riots tear through the city where she was supposed to be safe. As she struggles to cope with the unrest of the riots, she finds comfort in one of LA’s most influential bands: the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In our second story, an older man gives up on love until a chance encounter with a journalist reconnects him with an old flame from his past. To pursue his second chance at finding love, however, he has to choose between his sunny life in Los Angeles and a move across the country to a brand-new city.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

When Michael Atkins’s daughter was born, he vowed to support his family and be the father he didn’t have growing up. This meant swallowing his pride and taking a school custodian job, when what he really wanted to do was to be a teacher’s aide.

When Michael finally gets the chance to go from the janitor’s closet to the principal’s office and pursue his dream of supporting the youth in his community, he makes another vow: to be present for his students. Michael works tirelessly to take care of his students – but runs into trouble when he finds himself forced to choose between the vow he made to his family and the vow he made to his job.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Ismael Chamu says he was homeless before he was even born. His whole life, he and his family were constantly moving from town to town, living out of garages and vans. Ismael even wound up homeless while attending an elite college – until his story went viral, and he and his family found permanent housing for the first time. But a whole new set of challenges arise when they realize they have no idea how to live in a real home.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Kenny Phillips once had it all. He held a prestigious, high-paying job as personal chef to baseball’s top player, Alex Rodriguez, and owned homes in Manhattan, Dallas and Miami. He rubbed shoulders with celebrities of all kinds – until a bad divorce meant he had to leave his luxurious lifestyle behind and move somewhere a little more humble: a trailer park. But that’s when this chef received an opportunity to serve people in a completely different and unexpected way – as their mayor.

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

Quiana Dishface knew that going to high school off the Navajo Nation was her best shot at going to college to play basketball. On the reservation, where they played fast paced rez ball, she was a star player. At her new school, however, she faced racism both on and off the court – and she had to adapt to a new, more traditional style of basketball that clashed with some of her rez ball strengths.

But everything changed when her team was down one point near the end of a game, and her coach made the call: “give the ball to Q.”

As a “Home. Made.” listener, you’re eligible for an exclusive $2,000 credit toward buying a home. Use it to lower your interest rate or put toward closing costs. Visit https://www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade or call (866) 374-7050 to apply today.*

*Client will receive a lender credit of $2,000. This offer is only available to clients who call the dedicated phone number (866) 374-7050 or go through the dedicated website, apply, and close their loan through the dedicated program on or after June 12, 2023. Call (866) 374-7050 for cost information. Conditions and restrictions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.