A man who dreamed of building a Grand Designs home since he was a child has revealed his heartache after his girlfriend left him midway through their project.
In tonight’s episode, James, 31, from the Midlands, and his long-term partner Shannon, 28, appeared excited at the prospect of starting their building venture together.
The couple, who already lived together in Coventry, began turning their design into a reality and were looking forward to ‘putting down roots and starting a family’.
But quantity surveyor James was left ‘genuinely heartbroken’ when his dream future with Shannon fell apart during the filming of the show.
‘All I’ve ever seen for the future is Shannon and I happily ever after, with a beautiful home and a beautiful family,’ a devastated James revealed.
‘All I’ve ever seen for the future is Shannon and a happily ever after, with a beautiful home and a beautiful family. That was the dream. That was the plan.’
Shannon and James, pictured, start the project hopeful that they’ll build their dream home together before starting a family
But James is left devastated when their relationship falls apart, and Shannon leaves him during the building process
And James was unable to finish the project within the filming period of the Grand Designs: The Street programme.
While his home looked immaculate from the outside, two years after he started the build with his girlfriend, it was revealed that the space is still almost uninhabitable – with no hot water or stairs in the property.
But presenter Kevin McCloud tried to ease the pain and still dubbed it an ‘elegant and intelligent achievement’ for James, who suffered heartache so early on in the project.
The former couple were one of the youngest to take on the self-build project close to Bicester village in Oxford.
In tonight’s episode of Grand Designs: The Streets, James and his girlfriend Shannon set out to build a beautiful barn home – but she leaves him midway through the project. He was left devastated and two years on, the outside of his home looks incredible – but the inside is still a building site
James (above), who works as a quantity surveyor, had always dreamed of building his and Shannon’s home in which they could have a family together
The couple dreamed of building a three-bedroom home, which reminded them of their country roots, featuring a ‘converted-barn’ style throughout.
James, who had watched Grand Designs as a child with his mother, had always wanted to build his own home for as long as he could remember.
The couple excitedly spoke about building a house to reflect their personalities and looked forward to a place they could grow their own vegetable garden and raise a family together.
But shortly after they began their build in October 2016, the long-term couple’s relationship fell apart.
The couple, who already lived together, planned to build their home and design their perfect barn conversion style house
It’s not long into the couple’s build that it is revealed their relationship fell apart, with James calling the project ‘the catalyst’ which led to its end
And James, who was left absolutely shattered when Shannon decided to leave him, admitted that the build was the ultimate catalyst for the break up.
‘I am heartbroken. Genuinely heartbroken,’ he said during an emotional scene in the show.
Despite the journey taking a rather different turn, James was forced to continue with the self-build project solo, and faced the responsibility of paying for two mortgages.
He bravely opened up to the camera, and admitted that he believes the house could bring the couple back together.
‘If I can build this house and build it well, I think she will realise that we should be together,’ he said.
James determinedly pushed on with the project, and continued to build the home with the hope that he and his ex-girlfriend will get back together.
James (pictured) battled on with the project alone, but struggled to balance his heartbreak while building the house he and Shannon planned to live in together
James’ home (pictured right) now stands alongside nine other self-build projects on one street in Gravenhill
But it’s ultimately revealed that when filming finished he was still deep in construction, and had spent almost all of his money on trying to complete the project.
‘It has been really hard and at times I have felt very low,’ he admitted. ‘Sometimes I wished I wasn’t building a house.’
‘But I picked myself up and go again. It’s something I can be proud of.’
Grand Designs: The Street, tonight at 8pm on Channel 4
Internally, the house is still a building site, which left viewers wondering if James was ever able to finish his project
The builder was left without running water or stairs in the property, and has reached the upper limits of his initial budget. He spent £270,000 in two years building the shell of the house