Why did Nicole Curtis use a dog to hide a little-known secret
from “Rehab Addict” viewers? We have the answer.
Nicole Curtis was redoing homes on TV long before many of the current renovation experts
got their start. Her show "Rehab Addict," which is shot in Detroit and Minneapolis,
started in 2010 on the DIY Network. It became so popular that it landed a primetime spot on HGTV,
where it continued until 2018.
Curtis gave her all to "Rehab Addict," dedicating herself to the homes she renovated.
"With my projects, it's 16 hours, 18 hours. It's crazy time."
According to HGTV, she is self-taught and skilled in all kinds of home-related
areas, from real estate to contracting to interior design. Curtis only agreed to do
the show if the network showed the nitty gritty details of home rehab work. Yet she has tried to
keep her personal life a bit more private. In fact, she kept one huge secret while filming.
Curtis was already a mother when she started her show. Her son,
Ethan, was 12 years old when "Rehab Addict" began,
according to People. While Ethan was not kept a secret from fans, her second child was.
In 2015, Curtis learned she was pregnant with her second baby, a boy she would name Harper. Instead
of letting the public know, she chose to keep her pregnancy to herself, telling People magazine:
"I was worried about being judged. It was a very difficult time for me.
There I was, almost 40, having another child on my own."
Curtis was able to hide her pregnancy on "Rehab Addict" by ensuring she was mostly filmed from
the shoulders up. She would even hold large items, and once a dog, in front of her body.
Only after Harper was born did Curtis reveal she had been pregnant.
Hiding a pregnancy is not something new to TV, of course. Many actors have had to hide
their pregnant bellies while filming shows where their characters aren't pregnant. For instance,
on "New Girl," Zooey Deschanel's character had an injury that forced her to use a scooter,
which allowed the producers to hide her pregnancy. Props and oversized clothing
are also often used as a tool as well to hide pregnancies on TV shows.
According to Good Housekeeping,
Nicole Curtis had a rocky relationship with her youngest son's father,
Shane Maguire. After her pregnancy, the two split for good. From there came a rough custody battle.
Radar reported that in 2018, Curtis and Maguire reached a settlement for joint custody of their
son. But recently, Maguire filed a motion to change the agreement, asking the court to modify
the agreement to include travel restrictions, ensure Harper does not miss school days without
a valid excuse, and to lift social media restrictions. Maguire also expressed his
concerns about Curtis taking Harper on red-eye flights on school nights with little notice.
Curtis shot back, saying that Maguire only wants
these modifications to have more control over Curtis and her son.
Radar Online reports the two will head to court in September to hammer out the agreement.
HGTV announced Nicole Curtis has officially come back to the network with her new series "Rehab
Addict Rescue." which premiered in January of 2021. Curtis dealt with a lot of drama while doing
"Rehab Addict," including her hidden pregnancy and her legal issues, Good Housekeeping notes.
All of that led the star to take a step back in 2018. She told People magazine:
"I was completely burned out. There was so much time in those 10 years
where I didn't get to enjoy it at all. I was stressed out."
On her new show, Curtis helps homeowners fix mistakes they have made and help them to rehab
their historic houses into dream homes. Curtis recently announced on her Instagram that new
episodes were to premiere July 13, 2022 on HGTV, but many fans noticed that they never aired.
After comments about the show went unanswered,
Curtis eventually broke her silence on Instagram with an image that looked to
be from an airport bathroom. Curtis told fans that there will be no new episodes, saying:
"I've recently seen my body, physically and [mentally, go] through things I never imagined.
I've gone from shock to awe, happiness to sadness, ok to how the f do I get
through the next minute and finally to I've survived. For all those reasons,
I made a call and said I'm done. Not forever, but until this phase of my life becomes my past."
Her next post showed that she had jetted off to Paris.