Prefix and suffix HTML to items in PHP array - php

Question

I have a PHP array being created from a list of options in a WordPress plugin ($checklist) and I need to add some HTML to it.
public function get_the_checklist() {
// The default list
$options = get_option('uc_settings');
if (isset($options['list'])) {
$checklist = $options['list'];
// Split the list by line break
$checklist = preg_split('/[\n\r]+/', ($options['list']));
// Convert to associative array
foreach($checklist as $item) {
$item = '<div>'.$item.'</div>';
$default_checklist[] = array(
'text' => $item
);
}
}
// Are we resetting to default?
$reset = isset($_GET['reset_list']) ? true : false;
if ($reset) {
$user_id = get_current_user_id();
update_user_meta($user_id, 'user_checklist', $default_checklist);
return $default_checklist;
}
// Is user logged in?
if (is_user_logged_in()) {
$user_id = get_current_user_id();
// Look for custom list
$user_checklist = get_user_meta($user_id, 'user_checklist', true);
if (!$user_checklist) {
$user_checklist = $default_checklist;
}
} else {
return $default_checklist;
}
return $user_checklist;
}
I have done the following and it does add the prefix and suffix but it is showing as text and not HTML.
foreach($checklist as $item) {
$item = '<div>'.$item.'</div>';
$default_checklist[] = array(
'text' => $item
);
}
Here is an example of the output of the PHP above:
How can I make the text output as HTML instead?