'Private' Owner of 'Heated Rivalry' Cottage Opens Up About His Decision to Allow Filming

The owner of the now-famous cottage in 'Heated Rivalry' agreed to a modest fee before he knew what he was signing up for. Now he's detailing the deal for the first time.

The owner of the lakeside Muskoka cottage featured in the finale of HBO Max's "Heated Rivalry" has stepped out of anonymity to speak about how his property came to be a part of the series.

The facade of Dr. Michael Kutryk's lakeside Muskoka cottage as featured by the Toronto Star | Source: youtube/torontostar

Toronto-based doctor Michael Kutryk told HGTV that a location scout searching for a setting for the season’s finale episode, “The Cottage,” found him through his home's architect. He was told the production had a small budget, so he agreed to the filming and accepted a fee he described as “almost nothing.”

But close to the time of filming, Kutryk began to have reservations. What he thought would be a small production turned up with around 45 crew members. "I never imagined so many people," he said. He called the producers to back out of the deal, but the producers convinced him they would only be filming for two days in the middle of the week when he wouldn’t be using the house. So he relented.

The kitchen and dining area of the cottage as featured by the Toronto Star | Source: youtube/torontostar

Then a second surprise awaited. Kutryk, who hadn't yet read the novel by Rachel Reid, on which “Heated Rivalry” is based, said his "jaw just dropped" once he started listening to the audiobook and realized the nature of the story. “The pretty explicit nature of the book made me wonder just what they’d be filming … and showing!” he recalled. But it was too late to reconsider his decision, so he decided, “What’s done is done.”

The living room of the cottage as featured by the Toronto Star | Source: youtube/torontostar

In the finale episode, Shane and Ilya finally admit their feelings for each other at the cottage, and Ilya decides to move to a Canadian team to be closer to Shane. The two also plan to start a charity together. Their time alone ends when Shane's father arrives at the cottage and discovers them together, prompting Shane to come out to his parents and acknowledge his relationship with Ilya. The episode ends with the pair leaving together, setting up the already-confirmed second season.

The cottage bedroom as featured by the Toronto Star | Source: youtube/torontostar

The cottage matters for more than its design. Series creator Jacob Tierney told The Hollywood Reporter he picked it as the season's ending because he wanted a simple, happy moment for Shane and Ilya after everything they'd been through, not a wrapped-up, explain-everything finale. As Tierney put it, "They get to be in love. That's all that I wanted was the simplicity of that."

The homeowner has since fielded rental offers from Airbnb and a luxury rental company, and confirmed he's agreed to let producers return for "Heated Rivalry" Season 2.