11 Rumors About HGTV Star Nicole Curtis We Couldn't Ignore

Nicole Curtis has been a fixture on HGTV since 2010, largely thanks to her work on "Rehab Addict," a show in which dilapidated, neglected homes are restored to their full potential, and which spawned several successful spinoffs. However, Curtis, who lives in a renovated 1904 Detroit home herself, has become equally renowned for her eventful private life as for her remodeling skills.

Curtis has become a regular tabloid presence, making headlines for everything from undisclosed family setbacks and physical burnout to professional disputes and messy custody battles over her son. In fact, some would say Curtis has never been the same since the latter was made public. As a result, the home renovator has found herself at the mercy of the world's gossip hounds, with her emotional state, parenting approach, and career all providing sources for speculation. Here's a look at 11 rumors that we simply couldn't ignore.

While Nicole Curtis has had her fair share of legal troubles over the years, she has yet to be arrested. But that didn't stop the fake news-spreading rumor mill from claiming she had.

In 2025, Curtis discovered a TikTok post showing her photo positioned side-by-side with a mugshot of a blonde woman who vaguely resembled her, but clearly wasn't the HGTV star. "Reason for arrest," came the attention-grabbing headline, alongside the caption, "What happened to Nicole Curtis from Rehab Addict?"

The blatantly AI-generated footage and voiceover certainly didn't provide any answers, as several other photos of the star sprang to life unconvincingly, accompanied by generic facts with no further mention of an arrest. Nevertheless, Curtis felt the need to clarify that there was no substance to the post. "This is not me," she insisted (via TV Insider), over a screenshot of the offending post on Instagram, adding several laughing emojis for good measure.

Fans of "Rehab Addict" were left disappointed when its 2025 season appeared to be cut short after just a couple of episodes. The rumor mill went into overdrive about exactly what had happened, with one of Nicole Curtis' colleagues cited as a prime suspect for the change.

The show's prime-time slot was filled by "My Lottery Dream Home," a series in which David Bromstad helps those who've recently come into money find their dream property. But Curtis was quick to quash any speculation that her close friend had stolen her spot, insisting that she'd simply hit pause for logistical reasons. "It's just a lot of hours (my hours) to get a show on air and we (my family + me) thought, 'Why are we giving up Summer when we have the ability to do this in the Fall?,'" she wrote on Instagram (via Us Weekly).

After thanking the HGTV network for allowing "Rehab Addict" to take a break, Curtis revealed that Bromstad, whose recent transformation has been turning heads, had been her "pregnancy beach buddy" while the pair were filming "Beach Flip" in Gulf Shores, Alabama. She reiterated that there was no rivalry between the pair in the slightest. "So, don't be spreading rumors that he replaced me — I chose it," she concluded.

The 2025 hiatus of "Rehab Addict" wasn't the first time that Nicole Curtis had to quash a rumor stemming from a break in the HGTV schedule. Three years earlier, spinoff show "Rehab Addict: Lake House Rescue" took a little longer than expected to hit our screens, and the subsequent speculation for its delay forced the host to issue a denial on Instagram.

"There's been a whole lot of rumors going round, the show was cancelled, the show was pulled, I had a mental breakdown, it had to do with things regarding my personal life ... none of that true," Curtis wrote. The home renovator went on to add that she'd simply had to take things easier in 2022 due to a run of injuries. "Not being able to haul my own lumber or work like a beast all night took its toll on me mentally, but it forced me to breathe and do things I normally don't do ... relax."

Curtis also pointed out that unlike many other DIY shows, she doesn't have an extensive team working behind the scenes, and therefore had to wait until she felt fit enough to take charge again. "I've had a great partnership with HGTV for over a decade," she explained, "and we have all just been waiting for the moment when I got the all clear for my body to be able to build."

Although she's had several long-term boyfriends, Nicole Curtis hasn't yet made it down the aisle. But did the HGTV star nearly wed one of the "Full House" cast? Well, according to her mother, Joan Curtis, wedding bells really once were on the horizon for her daughter and Dave Coulier, who played fan-favorite Uncle Joey.

Although only one public photo exists of Curtis with Coulier, taken on the red carpet of 2005's Warner Bros.' "50 Years of Quality" TV event, things apparently got serious between the unlikely pair. According to Joan, the sitcom star asked for her daughter's hand in marriage, and they'd planned to live together in California before the engagement was called off. And Nicole, who didn't mention Coulier at all in her autobiography, "Better Than New: Lessons I've Learned from Saving Old Homes (and How They Saved Me)," was reportedly the one who instigated the split after learning her fiancé had been unfaithful.

This also caused problems with another ex-boyfriend. Steven Cimini had relocated to the Golden State to be closer to his and Curtis' son, Ethan, but was subsequently left out in the cold when the HGTV star didn't follow suit, and a bitter custody battle ensued. "She's always let relationships run her life," a rather uncharitable Joan told Radar Online.

You may be wondering why Joan Curtis was so happy spilling the beans about the trials and tribulations of her daughter's love life. Well, it turns out that she's been involved in a messy legal battle with Nicole Curtis for years. In fact, she even filed a protective order against the HGTV star.

According to reports, Joan accused Nicole of sending several intimidating messages via text and telephone. Relations between the "Rehab Addict" star and her father aren't much better — the latter apparently once threatened to leak several stories to the media about his famous daughter. "Our situation is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking," Nicole told Country Living in reference to her relationship with her parents. "I can't say anymore to that."

To make matters worse, this family drama occurred amid the loss of Nicole's beloved grandmother. "My life is absolutely not perfect," the home renovator said. "The most important thing for me is to be strong for my children and my grandfather. Every day he asks, 'Why am I still here?!' I said, 'You know what, I think because God was not going to take you [and Grandma] from me at the same time. C'mon, Gramps!'"

Nicole Curtis found herself embroiled in another messy custody battle in the mid-2010s when Shane Maguire, a businessman from Minnesota, discovered that he was the father of her second child, Harper. The latter accused the HGTV star of weaponizing her parenting style to keep their son away from him.

Curtis is a keen exponent of attachment parenting, meaning she continued to breastfeed Harper long after the usual cut-off point. "He had never had a bottle before, and then all of a sudden that was his only option while he was with his dad," she reasoned to People after a court ordered her to build a back-up of breast milk in preparation for the toddler's visits to Maguire. "I've always been a fighter. If something's not right, I'm the first person to stand up. And I don't believe that my child should have to wean because of our situation."

Curtis later proved that she couldn't provide enough breast milk for Harper's time away, and was ultimately allowed to breastfeed the tot once a day during her ex-boyfriend's access periods. "He has attachment issues with all this hustling back and forth," she added. "And whether it's the mother or the father, when you take that person away for [a period of time], it does have a traumatic effect."

It wasn't just breastfeeding that caused problems between Nicole Curtis and the father of her second child, Harper. During their lengthy and increasingly bitter custody battle, Shane Maguire also claimed that the HGTV star was overselling her role as a committed, full-time mom.

The Minnesota businessman alleged that Curtis, who has often spoken about the hardships of working away from home on her hit show, "Rehab Addict," wasn't as involved with their child as she likes to portray. He pointed to the fact that she has a nanny who handles the childcare for "many hours and days at a time."

Maguire also accused Curtis of restricting his time with their son. In fact, he claimed to have journeyed to her Michigan hometown, only to be denied access on no fewer than 15 occasions. The home renovator also reportedly refused to allow her ex-boyfriend to have Harper overnight.

Nicole Curtis' legal woes weren't just restricted to custody battles. In 2019, the HGTV star was accused of violating a court order by failing to relinquish the keys to two Lake Orion properties — one purchased for $120,000, the other for $130,000 — that had been officially foreclosed by a judge.

A court-appointed receiver had been ordered to hire a realtor and put the homes in question up for sale in order for Curtis to pay back a debt of $32,000 owed to Schnelz Wells P.C., the law firm involved in her custody battle with ex-boyfriend Shane Maguire. However, she was accused of obstructing the process by refusing the third-party receiver access.

The "Rehab Addict" star had previously insisted that the issued liens weren't legal, while also raising questions about the ethics of such a process. Curtis even argued that she may have been billed twice for the same service.

In 2024, Nicole Curtis found herself at the center of another payment dispute, this time involving a contractor who had worked on the ninth-season premiere of "Rehab Addict," titled "Nicole Goes West." Jordan Garland accused the HGTV star of failing to reimburse him properly for his various tasks, which included drone piloting, rough-cut editing, and graphic design.

Garland sued both Curtis and her Porte Cochere Production company after his demands were repeatedly ignored. "Instead, Defendants refused to discuss compensation and threatened [Jordan] with criminal prosecution," the court papers read (via The Sun). "Defendants failed to pay [Jordan] and arrange for him to receive proper credit. [Jordan] has been damaged in an amount greater than $25,000."

So did Curtis really shortchange her temporary colleague? Well, the home renovator insists that Garland had actually been paid more than the previously agreed fee of $35,000, and that his work had been both unfinished and unauthorized. Luckily for Curtis, the case was dismissed in October 2025.

In one 2025 episode of "Rehab Addict," viewers who are familiar with Nicole Curtis' eventful love life may have done a double-take when a blast from her past was shown helping out. Former boyfriend and part-time carpenter Ryan Sawtelle popped up to assist with a dilapidated Wyoming home.

"We were together a long time, and I was very close to his family," Curtis explained in a chat with People concerning the man she started dating after her breakup with Shane Maguire. "So we never really stayed out of contact. Your lives are so enmeshed." The HGTV star went on to add that Sawtelle had simply been the only contact she had in the Equality State, and so it was a no-brainer to ask for his expertise.

Inevitably, some fans started "shipping" a more romantic reunion, but the home renovator was keen to spell out that their relationship is now, and always will be, strictly platonic. "There was definitely no reconciliation or 'Maybe this was a mistake not being together,'" an adamant Curtis stated. "No, no, no... Us going separate paths was a hundred percent the best idea that we ever had."

In 2016, People reported that Steven Cimini, father of Nicole Curtis' eldest child, Ethan, was facing a prison sentence for failing to keep up with his child support. But according to Radar Online, this wouldn't be his first stint in jail, as Cimini had allegedly already spent time locked up for a much more serious crime: DUI manslaughter.

Contrary to Curtis' claims in her autobiography that Cimini missed Ethan's birth due to a professional matter, the site reported that he was actually behind bars at the time. The HGTV star's ex-boyfriend was reportedly convicted in May 1997 of leaving the scene of a crime while under the influence, and given a one-year custodial sentence. On Christmas Eve, by which point he'd only served seven months, he became a father.

According to official court documents obtained by Radar Online, Cimini had hit a pedestrian with his vehicle while traveling on the State Road 600 in Florida and subsequently fled. After being apprehended by police, he appeared confused about what had occurred, suggesting that his bloodied face was a result of either being shot or having something thrown at him. After a test revealed that he was over the blood-alcohol limit, Cimini agreed to a no-contest plea.