You may think you already know everything about Nicole Curtis, the mastermind behind
Rehab Addict, but off-camera, the reality TV star's seen more than her fair share of
drama.
From nasty custody battles, to family issues, and trouble with the law, here are the most
surprising things about Nicole Curtis.
"You gotta shut off everything…
It's a peaceful moment, which in my life, very rare."
Serving up the goods
Before she hit it big, Curtis worked as a waitress at a few different restaurant chains,
including IHOP and Hooters.
According to People, it was actually a friend who suggested Curtis apply for a job at the
latter.
She landed the gig, but still struggled to make enough money, while caring for her young
son, Ethan, who was born in 1997.
So she took on a second job cleaning houses.
She told People,
"I never regretted giving up a corporate job to clean houses so that I could make Ethan's
second grade Halloween party happen."
Did she kidnap her other son?
It was in the midst of her nasty custody battle with former partner Shane Maguire that Curtis
allegedly tried to kidnap the couple's then 15-month-old son, Harper, in the middle of
the night.
The Star Tribune contacted Maguire's lawyer in August 2016 and was told that Curtis had
been found:
"...at [Maguire's] house late at night trying to retrieve the child in the middle of the
night.
He lives in St. Paul."
When Curtis told the Star Tribune it wasn't true, they then uncovered that:
"St. Paul Police's media coordinator Steve Linders could find no record of a Sunday incident."
Fighting her mom
In the midst of her bitter custody battle with Maguire, Curtis was hit with a restraining
order… from her own mother.
As Daily Mail reported, Curtis's mom, Joan, tried to file a restraining order against
her reality TV star daughter in 2016 due to,
"...'mental fits of rage' and 'her hate for me.'"
According to court papers, Curtis allegedly threatened her mother repeatedly, and one
of those times, was in front of her ailing grandmother.
Court papers revealed that Joan accused her daughter of causing:
"...total distress to my dying mother with her screaming, crying and threatening words
and actions."
"I asked Nicole to please leave, and she was going to… cause a really irritating situation
with my mom.
And I asked her to leave, and she wouldn't."
Due to lack of evidence, the restraining order wasn't granted.
Ugliest house on the block
When Curtis purchased a home in north Minneapolis in 2012 and announced that she would be fixing
it up, everyone in the community had high hopes for the property.
But fast forward a couple of years, and nothing had changed.
That's when neighbours began complaining about the lack of progress and safety concerns to
the city.
"It's a blight on an otherwise great block."
Curtis had bought the house for just $2 and, according to the Star Tribune, the low price
tag came with several strict conditions, including having to "substantially complete construction"
in one year.
Two and a half years after the deadline — and with no word from Curtis — the city asked
for a formal appraisal of the property, which could result in seizure of the home.
Council Member Blong Yang met with Curtis and told the Star Tribune in 2016,
"I think we as a city have to figure out what to do at this point, because it has been a
burden on the neighbors who live there."
Avoiding jail time
According to The Detroit News, a judge warned Curtis in 2016 that she could face jail time
if she didn't pay "expenses incurred for missing parenting times and attorney fees."
Judge Langton had previously awarded her son Harper's father, Shane Maguire, joint custody.
When Curtis explained why she had violated Maguire's visiting rights, taking her infant
son to New York City to meet with her book publishers, claiming she stood to lose $500,000
if she didn't go, the judge answered:
"What you are doing may be in your best interests and your book's best interests but not in
the best interests of this child."
He then ordered the reality TV star to make full payments to Maguire.
Covering up a crime
In her 2016 memoir, Better Than New, Curtis wrote about her ex-boyfriend Steve Cimini
missing the birth of their son Ethan because he was stuck at work.
However, Radar Online reported he was, in reality, doing prison time, following a fatal
DUI incident.
He pleaded 'no contest' in court, and was sentenced for DUI manslaughter.
Doing it for the ratings
Curtis and Cimini reportedly split in September 1998.
But their 15-year custody battle took a serious toll on their young son, Ethan.
Once Rehab Addict began filming, the site reported,
"Ethan began to develop deeper issues.
Curtis put him in therapy, and began to rely on her mom Joan to help her raise him..."
Fast forward to 2015 and mom and son reportedly became embroiled in an argument over incomplete
homework that caused Ethan to flee to his dad's home, and destroyed his relationship
with Curtis.
In court papers, Cimini claimed that Curtis:
"...was aware that Ethan was suffering [in school] but allowed it when it was good for
ratings.
[Curtis'] concern is not for the minor child but for herself….his appearances on the
television show [come] at the expense of his school work and a normal social life."
Even so, Ethan continues to pop up in Curtis' Instagram feed, and even as part of her brand.
Continuing complications
Curtis and her ex, Shane Maguire, have been locked in a nasty custody battle for their
son, Harper, for over 12 months, and it's only gotten worse.
In April 2017, Maguire filed a sixth motion against Curtis, alleging that she's been keeping
him from seeing his son, despite court ordered visits.
Maguire's lawyers told E!,
"Nicole has denied Shane parenting time…Nicole Curtis has been sanctioned by the court more
than once for violating parenting time and for violating the judge and the court's orders."
Court papers stated that Curtis:
"...continues to claim that Harper is sick and therefore unable to fly, something she
has done since the onset of this case in order to avoid taking Harper to his father."
Curtis has not responded to any of her ex's claims.
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