On many of the episodes of “Hoarders,” the family and children of the hoarders are the ones who reach out for help. Suzanne A. Chabaud, Ph.D., wrote about her experience helping children of hoarders for Psychiatric Times. She said that one child of a hoarder said, “How can you feel worthy when your own parent chooses garbage over you?”
In the sixth episode of Season 2, Deborah, who hoards, thought her kids might be taken away from her, again, due to her hoarding problem, as noted in the episode’s Rotten Tomatoes description. While that doesn’t seem to have happened, the family reportedly did face some dark times.
On a Reddit AMA from 2013, one user claimed he was Deborah’s youngest son from the episode, offering proof in the form of a photo. He said that his mother went back to hoarding, his parents got a divorce, and he now struggles with messes and hoarding himself. This is supported by the “Hoarders: Where Are They Now” episode that took place two years after the first, as Deborah told the crew, “A lot of what you’re gonna see may be reminiscent of what we had before.” In the episode, it was revealed that their home has been foreclosed.