HGTV star Nicole Curtis returns to Rehab Addict after suffering ‘setback’ that ‘rocked me to the core’

HGTV star Nicole Curtis has revealed a “devastating” setback inspired her to return to host a new season of Rehab Addict.

Curtis, 48, who began hosting the popular renovation series in 2010, hasn’t fronted new episodes since 2018. She did, however, host the debut season of its spinoff, Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue, in 2022.

Ahead of her long-awaited return in the season nine premiere of Rehab Addict on Tuesday, the DIY enthusiast spoke to People about what she’s been dealing with behind the scenes.

“I had a setback in my life that just rocked me to the core, and it was one of those moments where I thought, how do I get through this one?” Curtis said.

While she didn’t share any further details about the “setback,” she said it forced her to reconsider her life’s priorities.

“I prayed on it, and it was just devastating for me,” Curtis said. “I had to make a decision right there and then like, ‘Ok, we’re going to let this affect us for a very long time, or we’re going to pick it up and go.’”

She went on to recount a spontaneous trip she took in 2022 that led her to purchase a 1890s home in Wyoming, which will now be one of two featured renovations in season nine of Rehab Addict.

“I didn’t realize until I was up in the air paying for my WiFi that I left my wallet behind,” she recalled. “I didn’t have a credit card on me. I had $72 of change in dollar bills stashed in my bag. So I landed in Paris without a wallet. I thought, well, you know what? This is it. This is my test. I’m going to figure it out.”

She explained that she took the nearly disastrous travel day as “a sign” to “knock off all my wish lists tonight,” including buying the Wyoming property.

“This house needed me and I needed this house,” she said.

Describing the new season as an “evolved version” of her original show and its spinoff, she proclaimed: “I’m no longer this little poor mommy in Minneapolis driving around with this pickup truck with two dogs and a kid.

“But I’m still me, I’m still Nicole Curtis from Detroit, and I want you to save that building and we’re going to do it.”

New episodes of Rehab Addict premiere Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV, with episodes available to stream the next day on HBO Max and Discovery+.