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Fredrik Eklund Says His New Connecticut Mansion Has "Changed Everything in the Best of Ways"
"This dream of having kids is becoming an even bigger dream because of the house," the #MDLNY agent said.
Fredrik Eklund has experienced the sweet smell of success many times during his life but nothing quite like his major accomplishment in last season's finale of Million Dollar Listing New York. The agent and his husband Derek Kaplan purchased their dream home, a 5,144-square-foot Georgian-style mansion in Roxbury, Connecticut, about 90 miles outside of Manhattan.
And the MDLNY agent told The Daily Dish that they haven't been the same since. "It’s really changed our lives in many ways. I really mean that," Fredrik said. "We have lived in New York for 13 years and have been working so hard. I’ve been traveling quite a bit and having fun and have had an amazing career, but I think this house has changed everything in the best of ways because it’s given me a break two days a week. Friday afternoon to Sunday night, it makes me put my feet into the grass and hear the birds and breathe that farmer’s air, with fresh dew in the grass."
The fact that there's "a huge country kitchen," four fireplaces, and tons of space hasn't been too shabby either for Fredrik. "In theory, I could walk around naked on my property because we don’t have neighbors," Fredrik said. "It’s just so incredibly gorgeous. That house is like a little, mini-mansion."
Fredrik said that his relationship with Derek and their desire to start a family have also benefitted from a change of scenery. "I think we found ourselves and one another again in that house," he said. "This dream of having kids is becoming an even bigger dream because of the house because it allows us to have kids in a different kind of way with that house. I didn’t really expect it."
It was love at first sight for Fredrik with this abode, too. "Of course, I fell in love with the house as soon as I saw it," he said. "I got very emotional, and something connected within me. I didn’t know, but now I know."
The home has proved to be an ideal location for Fredrik's artist husband to paint and for the MDLNY agent to work on his upcoming book. The couple has completely settled into the pad, too. "It’s fully done. It’s fully furnished. It’s fully gorgeous," he said. "It’s done, done, done in every way.
That's good, because Fredrik and Derek are expecting some company for the holidays. "Our families are all coming, I think it’s 17, 18 people in the house over Christmas week. Everyone’s going to celebrate together for the first time, his family and my family, everyone together, which is crazy amazing," Fredrik gushed. "We’ve both been away from our families for a long time, and this is going to be the first white, New England, American Christmas with all of us together."
And that gingerbread replica of Fredrik and Derek's estate that simultaneously made our jaws drop and our mouths water is nothing compared to the holiday decor the couple has planned. "I’m very, very, very excited and decorating the house. Actually today, I have a professional Christmas decorator coming with us to the house to go over all the layers of the decoration and the trees. Multiple trees, of course," Fredrik said. "We’re going to go all out."
We wouldn't expect anything less from Fredrik, especially knowing the lengths he'll go to in order to seal a deal.