Nicole Curtis Is 'Excited' to 'Be Back' on 'Rehab Addict' After Feeling 'Burnt Out' and Stepping Away From the Series in 2022

The HGTV series, which premiered in 2010, shows Curtis working on homes in Detroit, Mich., and Minneapolis, Minn. as she restores neglected historic homes that are in need of a major rescue. The new season will have four episodes, and it will show Curtis trying to save two rundown properties that are 1,500 miles apart.

"I was like, 'Wow, this is a great example of what you shouldn't do!' The joke was that we're going to unflip the flip. When we first developed the show, we didn't know where it was going to land. It was my production company, but HGTV got right on it and was like, 'We'll take it back. We want it back, come home,'" she shares. "This show has been three years in development. If we didn't end up doing this show, I would have ended up putting this journey on Facebook Live. It was important that fans could keep up with what I'm doing because they've supported us from day one."

Out of all the HGTV shows, the blonde beauty, who shares son Ethan with her ex Steven Cimini and son Harper with ex Shane McGuire, believes her fans are the most passionate and supportive people. "They range from 5 years old to 105 years old. It's a crazy demographic!" she quips. "When we announced the show, people were like, 'Finally!' It's so amazing. It's more of my revenge of the flip on the flippers, and it's my production company and my shows — and that's really important to me. I'm not just some person on TV."

Curtis says though she's on TV, she is constantly working — and everything is real. "When we started, people would say it was fake. They were like, 'This tiny blonde can't be doing this!' I'd be like, come to the address and drop in. I want people to see I work on these houses without cameras. It was important for people to know I wasn't made for TV. I've always been this authentic chick from Detroit. I have a teaching degree, I used to have a pickup truck, two dogs and kids. I was supporting us by taking these old homes that nobody else wanted."

The TV personality previously said she had to take a hiatus due to feeling burnt out.

"I had had enough. I was fighting. I come from a tiny town north of Detroit. I grew up on 70 acres, which blows people's minds. I wanted to get the heck out of there. I found this little tiny town in Wyoming and no one knew I was filming," she says. "No one knew who I was it. It was fantastic! It was just me working on this house, and I'd go to the hardware store every day and the local cafe. I'd grab my iced tea and work on my house. It was just a great break. I needed to get away from that. Wyoming was my saving grace."

Now, Curtis feels like her show is "meant for the average American."

"They don't want to spend a lot on a kitchen refrigerator. I'm still that way, too. I live very frugal. I put all my money into real estate and my old houses, which is what I love," she dishes.

Though Curtis already has a lot of fans, she hopes this show is a little more "raw."

"The episodes are an hour long. We were always a half hour show, and people were like, 'We want more.' When we shoot, I look like h---. We look like h---. We build these houses and don't come out all glamorous. I am installing tile, I'm ripping out tile, so it's back to the original roots of Rehab Addict," she explains. "I've been living under a rock. I've really been able to hid out. I'm a private person, especially when I'm out with my children, but I am excited to be back!"

"I hope I'm an example for people that you can put your mind to it and do it. I was a woman who cleaned houses in Detroit and I was poor. I was working every day cleaning people's toilets, and I really loved old houses, and this is where I'm at!" she adds. "It wasn't the easiest road to go down. In the last three years, it wasn't an easy sell to be like, 'I am going to produce my own show and sell it.' It took a long time, and we did it! There's always room to change. Just keep on moving!"

Rehab Addict premieres on HGTV on Tuesday, June 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.