Nicole Curtis on What Inspired Her Rehab Addict Return and What Keeps Her Coming Back After 15 Years (Exclusive)

Curtis spoke to TooFab about the new season of her HGTV series, Rehab Addict, and what made her return to the show after a brief hiatus. The original series ran from 2010-2018, before she returned in 2021 with Rehab Addict Rescue; tonight, the OG series is back for Season 9 following a 3-year break.

"So we never stopped rehabbing homes. We're always rehabbing homes. And you know, in the past 3 years I developed my production company and we've still been filming and producing," Curtis explained. "But it takes a really long time to finish one of our houses. So three years sounds like a lot. However, for us, that's about how long it takes you a house, so it all kind of goes hand in hand."

As for why she took time away, Curtis told PEOPLE she "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?" -- however, didn't elaborate further on the situation.

When asked what keeps her coming back, Curtis told TooFab she's hopeful she can inspire viewers to save some of these old homes instead of leaving them in the dust.

"I mean, I could retire tomorrow, and I'd be okay, but you know, we always… There's a purpose for the show, and it's to showcase old houses. And the more we show old houses on TV, the better chance there is that somebody will save an old house rather than tear it down. That's why we're here," she maintained.

When it comes to her favorite projects to taken on, while Curtis encounters some pretty gnarly homes in the show's Season 9 premiere, she still enjoys tackling the rehabs people say "can't be done."

"I take on the projects where everyone else says it can't be done. I'm going in, and that's usually what we do. We don't buy houses that have monetary value," Curtis stressed. "We don't buy houses because of money. We buy the houses that nobody else wants."

Curtis, who was speaking to TooFab from the Detroit house she rehabbed after it was taken over by squatters, opened up about the 3-year process -- and the horrible smells she endured trying to clean the place up.

"It was terrible. It was nothing you could ever imagine smelling. And, I have a lot of friends on police force, and we call it like the death smell. You can't even air it out," she shared. "You gotta get rid of it. You gotta do something. And then eventually…eventually, you know, three years later, you can sit in the house and breathe."

While she nearly gutted the home, Curtis did keep some of the original "yummy" pieces that gave it its charm, including some subway tile in the bathroom and parts of the kitchen.

"I have my original bathroom and we've built this little cute historic kitchen and everything is just right where I want it to be. It's all filled with my antiques. I'm a collector of antiques, and so you can see, like my old box and everything. And now it feels like a historic home," Curtis gushed.

While it's not a line of work Curtis wanted to define her, it's very much become what she's known for and what she loves to do.

"I love doing our houses and everything and I just always want people to take the point that our old houses matter," she told TooFab.

"It's been great doing the show for 15 years, like, that's kind of crazy ... at the end of the day it's been fun. It's a thing I don't think I ever wanted to define me," she continued. "You know, I have two amazing children, and I like being a mom. If I'm not at work, I'm home with my children. There's not many pictures of me online. At any event. I don't go. I prefer to be home with my family, and, in our free time, we save old houses. So that's really always been the thing for me."

Season 9 of Rehab Addict premieres June 24 on HGTV.