What To Know
- Nicole Curtis thanked her fans on social media while celebrating a special occasion abroad.
- Curtis’ HGTV series, Rehab Addict, was canceled earlier this year after footage of her using a racial slur on set was leaked.
- Curtis currently faces a lawsuit from the city of Detroit over a building that has been declared a “public nuisance.”
Nicole Curtis is celebrating a special occasion amid legal drama with the city of Detroit.
“Just blew out some candles in London….” the former Rehab Addict host captioned a Thursday, August 20, Instagram post, revealing that she had spent her birthday in England. “Thanks for the wishes, but, mostly, thank you for making my dreams a reality. I was recognized in a Trader Joe’s in Rochester, Michigan last week and I teared up and said ‘I did the construction cleanup on this store and what a crazy full circle moment.’ That was how I got started in all this -cleaning and designing in my head. It wasn’t hope – it was just drive.”
She continued, “I can do whatever I want these days and as you know…I, generally, do, but I never forget the journey. Soooo…we got a group of us over here kicking it for my birthday (Lord Jesus help me -I’m old enough to be ‘normal’ now, but I got my grandparents looking down from heaven shining the path the opposite way).”
Fans sent Curtis their birthday wishes in the post’s comments, with one user writing, “Whatever you do, I respect you and your process. From a fan for many years.” Another added, “Happy Birthday. Enjoy your day! Cheers.”
Someone else shared, “Happiest of birthdays! Many blessings! So miss your program! You are amazing, precious lady!” A different person posted, “Nicole, happy birthday!! You never age, even a hair! I still miss your shows, more than any other. Your taste is impeccable!!!” A separate commenter stated, “Happy Birthday!! Sure miss your show.”
Curtis continued to share her appreciation for her fans in an Instagram Story post on Thursday. “Thank you for watching me save houses, Because of you, I do whatever I want when I’m in the mood to do whatever I want.”
Curtis previously starred on the HGTV home renovation series Rehab Addict. Shortly after the show returned for Season 9 in February, HGTV fired Curtis and canceled the series after footage of the host using a racial slur during filming was leaked online. Curtis apologized at the time and alleged on Instagram that someone she knew released the footage after she refused to pay the money they demanded.
Curtis made headlines again last month after the city of Detroit filed a lawsuit against her company for failing to maintain and renovate a property within its ownership that had been declared a “public nuisance.”
According to the lawsuit, published by the Detroit Free Press, the property received multiple correction orders from the Detroit Buildings Safety Engineering and Environmental Department from 2022 to 2026. The legal docs also claim Curtis and her company failed to comply with various violation tickets, fines, and fees.
Curtis issued a subtle response to the lawsuit via Facebook on August 2, writing, “Just a reminder, I save old houses, but it’s not a job -it’s one of my passions and it is second to my passion to just be me — most days that’s just blending in being mom wearing the same darn outfit you’ve seen me in for 20 years and just doing my best to ensure that my legacy is being great mom that loved rather than ‘that chick who had that show’ when I die.”
Courtesy of Nicole Curtis/Instagram
Curtis said she built her career from the ground up without financial help and fought to be her authentic self on and off the small screen. “Over the years, my stamina and determination built a solid foundation, a hit show, global recognition and enough money to breathe and then some, but it, also, built me a list of enemies,” she stated. “I’ve been sued, blackmailed, extorted, betrayed, you name it and not just by the usual suspects, but by ‘friends’ and loved ones that I trusted with my soul. It’s a grief that is hard to explain if you haven’t gone through it, but, also, one that does the opposite of what your enemies intentions were….it builds you right back up.”
Curtis concluded the message by thanking her fans for their support. “I’m just continuing being me unapologetically Nicole Curtis -the mom that prefers under the radar, hiding in plain sight, working on an old house,” she wrote.