HGTV star Nicole Curtis details how she went from Hooters to 'Rehab Addict'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Rehab Addict” star Nicole Curtis didn’t always fix up old home for a living.
The HGTV star had a number of jobs, including waitressing and a stint at Hooters. She reveals it all in her new book, “Better Than New: Lessons I’ve Learned from Saving Old Homes (And How They Saved Me).”
The now 40-year-old star said she used to clean homes in between shifts at restaurants to have enough money to support her son.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I never regretted giving up a corporate job to clean houses so that I could make Ethan’s second grade Halloween party happen,” she told People magazine.
Eventually, she worked in real estate and when she had a meeting about appearing on a possible reality show, Curtis wrote she went to the meeting determined to land her own show.
“I used to be a waitress, and here I am now," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Curtis also opens up in her memoir about why she decided to keep her second pregnancy a big secret. She writes she hid her blossoming belly while filming “Rehab Addict” by holding a mirror in front of her stomach during one shoot.
“Having my newborn child’s face plastered all over social media on a Facebook post where someone could cut and paste it and make it a meme, that wasn’t for me,” she told People.
The star’s oldest son, Ethan, now 18, appears on “Rehab Addict,” but if given the chance, she wouldn’t make that choice again.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“By no means [at age 12] could he make decisions for himself…” she explained. “Honestly, I didn’t do it for a storyline. I did it because I was a mom and I had to go back to work after picking him up after school.”
“Better Than New” is on sale now.