Nicole Curtis Reveals Why Her Ex-Boyfriend Appears on New Season of ‘Rehab Addict' (Exclusive)
'We were together a long time" and "never really stayed out of contact," she tells PEOPLE
Curtis says she enlisted Sawtelle's help since he was located near a Wyoming property she was restoringNicole Curtis has help from a surprising collaborator on the new season of Rehab Addict — her ex-boyfriend Ryan Sawtelle.
In the season premiere (airing June 24), Sawtelle works as a carpenter on a Wyoming property from the 1890s that the HGTV star sets out to restore after a poorly executed flip.
'We were together a long time and I was very close to his family,' Curtis tells PEOPLE, explaining why she welcomed Sawtelle on the show. 'So we never really stayed out of contact. Your lives are so enmeshed.'
Curtis bought the Wyoming home on a whim online during a chaotic trip to Paris in July 2022, which she says came after a 'setback' in her life. Buoyed by an averted near-crisis after she accidentally boarded the flight without her wallet, she recalls thinking, "'I'm going to knock off all my wish lists tonight," before making the spur-of-the-moment purchase. When she got to Wyoming, she enlisted Sawtelle for the renovation project.
Curtis bought the Wyoming home on a whim online during a chaotic trip to Paris in July 2022, which she says came after a 'setback' in her life. Buoyed by an averted near-crisis after she accidentally boarded the flight without her wallet, she recalls thinking, "'I'm going to knock off all my wish lists tonight," before making the spur-of-the-moment purchase. When she got to Wyoming, she enlisted Sawtelle for the renovation project.
'I didn't know anyone in Wyoming, but I knew somebody near Wyoming, and so I gave him a call,' she adds of Sawtelle. 'We just went out there together and checked out the house. It wasn't anything else. There was definitely no reconciliation or 'Maybe this was a mistake not being together.' No, no, no, .... Us going separate paths was a hundred percent the best idea that we ever had.'
The former couple began dating in 2018. The following year, the home restoration expert opened up about her relationship with Sawtelle, whom she met after she began following his niece's battle with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an aggressive brain tumor found in children, via his Instagram.
'My heart is happy and having him near me brings a calm I've never known,' Curtis told PEOPLE at the time. 'Not that it's been easy. Everyone has a great first few months rocking everything they have in common. But after six months, you start digging into the other stuff and you either grow apart or negotiate those differences and move forward. And [you] have to make a decision to focus on the fun.'
Curtis, whose return to HGTV comes three years after the spinoff Rehab Addict: Lake House Rescue aired in 2022, is staying mum on whether she's currently dating anyone special.
'I keep my private life private because I think there's been some very traumatic moments in my life that weren't so private,' she says. 'Another lesson learned. I tell people all the time, if you're in my circle, then you know what's going on in my life. Other than that, I stay pretty mute about everything.'
Curtis has two sons: Ethan, whom she welcomed in 1997 with her ex Steven Cimini, and Harper, born in 2015, whom she shares with ex Shane Maguire.
She went through a very public years-long custody battle over Harper with Maguire and became an outspoken advocate for the rights of breastfeeding mothers. Her decision to continue to breastfeed Harper at age 3 drew criticism from some and became a point of contention in her legal fight with Maguire. The former couple reached a custody agreement in October 2018.
'Our family went through a lot over the years, and so that's definitely something that I have done my best to keep my family out of the public eye and focus on the houses,' she continues. 'That's always where we wanted that focus to be.'
The season premiere of Rehab Addict airs Tuesday, June 24 on HGTV at 9 ET/PT.
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