Heavy Court documents in HGTV star Nicole Curtis' custody case, obtained by Heavy
Longtime HGTV host Nicole Curtis is no stranger to conflict or controversy, but the summer of 2022 has been especially tumultuous for the star, from announcing the last-minute delay of her new series to spearheading protests over new construction in her hometown.
According to legal documents obtained by Heavy, Curtis has also been back in court with her ex over their seven-year-old son, fighting proposed changes to their custody agreement and his stunning claims about her.
Fans of the home restoration expert knew something was amiss on July 13, 2022, when Curtis abruptly announced that her anticipated new series, “Rehab Addict Lake House Rescue,” would not premiere as planned that night. She also posted cryptic Instagram messages about being at her breaking point physically and emotionally, sharing images in her Instagram Stories of herself in a hospital, and writing that she’d called HGTV to say “I’m done.”
But a couple of days later, worried fans were surprised to see the TV personality resurface in Paris, posting casual photos and videos from her spontaneous solo trip without addressing her health or TV show. On July 21, however, Curtis revealed in a new Instagram Story that HGTV couldn’t air her series — about renovating a large cottage in her hometown of Lake Orion, Michigan — because it was still on her laptop, waiting for final edits. In another Story on August 19, the home restoration expert said the show will now air on HGTV in September, which is also when she’s expected back in court.
Curtis’ HGTV Series Delay Occurred Same Day as Custody Hearing
Curtis and her ex-boyfriend, Shane Maguire, went through a lengthy and very public custody battle following the 2015 birth of their son, Harper. According to People Magazine, they finally reached a joint custody agreement in 2018; Curtis moved from Michigan to California and, per court order, created a $250,000 trust fund to help Maguire move within 25 miles of her home, making it easier for them to share legal and physical custody.
However, according to over 100 pages of court documents obtained by Heavy, Maguire now claims Curtis has violated their agreement and that new rules are needed. Paperwork filed on May 9, 2022, shows that Curtis and Maguire completed the parent education curriculum required in California before disputing custody arrangements in court, and they also had a mediation session but made no progress.
A hearing was scheduled in Los Angeles on July 13, the same day Curtis posted on social media about her show’s delay. Documents show that again, no progress was made and a new hearing was scheduled in the fall.
Prior to the July hearing, both parties filed paperwork for the court to review. On June 29, Curtis filed a “responsive declaration” — a lengthy response to Maguire’s request for new rules. Regarding the custody arrangement they both signed in Michigan in October 2018, Curtis wrote that she and Maguire were “only able to reach an agreement after it was highly, highly negotiated during our highly contentious custodial matter.”
Curtis, who also has a 24-year-old son from a previous relationship, went on to say that every member of her team, from assistants to her agent, has a copy of the stipulations — which they refer to as “the bible” — in order to schedule her work around the days when Harper is in her care.
“As a result,” Curtis wrote, “I frequently have to rearrange my work schedule based on Harper’s schedule, but this is something I am happy to do as I am first and foremost committed to being Harper’s mother.”
But on July 7, Maguire filed his own response to her declaration, saying that Curtis had not shared share the full story about their “highly contentious” custody battle.
“She rightfully contends that our Michigan custody proceedings were highly contentious,” Maguire wrote, “but she fails to acknowledge her role in those proceedings and the many admonishments she received from the Court regarding her bad faith conduct.”
Maguire offered several examples to support his claims, saying that Curtis had initially refused to admit to the court that he is Harper’s dad and didn’t show up twice to deliver Harper for scheduled custodial exchanges. He also said the court “threatened Nicole with jail time if she continued to play these games” and that after she hired a private investigator to follow Maguire during his first weekend with overnights, “the Court was incensed … and threatened her with sanctions if she ever did this again.”
Maguire Wants Court to Change Rules Around Travel
GettyLos Angeles Superior Court, Stanley Mosk Courthouse
One of the changes Maguire wants is a rule that neither parent can travel outside the state of California with their son Harper without prior written consent by the other parent. Curtis, who posted in her Instagram Stories on July 30 that she “flew over 300k miles (domestic) in the last year,” wrote in her response that she believes Maguire “is only making this request in order to control and stop Harper from traveling with me, despite his claims that restricting my travel will somehow ‘foster a more cooperative and collaborative co-parenting relationship’ between us.”
Curtis also wrote, “To be clear, Harper has never missed school because of our travels together. Further, when Harper and I do travel, it is for leisure so that we can visit family or do fun activities such as skiing.”
But Maguire, an entrepreneur known in the Midwest as one half of The Gold Guys, a company that pays customers cash for gold and silver, contends Curtis is downplaying her frequent travels and its impact on their child.
In his response he wrote, “I believe that any parent would be concerned at the amount of travel Nicole forces Harper to endure, not to mention the times of the flights, jet lag upon returning to CA, and the quick turnarounds between arriving back in CA and attending school the next morning. Additionally, she traveled with him constantly during the height of the pandemic, resulting in him contracting Covid.”
Maguire continued, “There is a consistent pattern of Harper returning to me run down and sick from the excessive traveling she forces on him. Nicole consistently books red eye flights, which he has complained about, and the three-hour time difference when he returns is brutal on him, especially when she has him home late the night before school.”
According to Maguire, Curtis often informs him she’s taking Harper out of state less than an hour before their flights leave; he provided multiple examples of last-minute texts from her, sent from the airport or onboard a flight, to inform him they were taking a trip. He also alleges that Curtis has repeatedly announced, while out of town with their son, that she’s altering the custodial schedule. Both parents are allowed one two-week summer vacation with Harper to be arranged in advance, but Maguire wrote that on June 27, 2022, Curtis took Harper to Detroit without informing him and, while there, decided to keep their son longer for her two-week vacation.
Maguire also supplied multiple copies of email and text exchanges with Curtis when he expressed concern that they were taking flights late at night. In one message from July 2021, Curtis wrote at 9:39pm “Harper is on delta 10pm first class for camping in Michigan today.”
In a screenshot of the exchange, Maguire responded, “I do not approve. It’s well beyond his bed time. I have conveyed to you his request for this constant travel to cease. Since you clearly live in Detroit, this is a matter which begs to be addressed.”
Curtis Says She Does Not Feel ‘Safe’ With Maguire & His Wife
Another point of contention is Maguire’s wife, Megan, whom he married on January 31, 2021. According to the court documents, Curtis is upset that Maguire listed his wife as an emergency contact for Harper alongside the two of them, and that he has allowed her to pick their child up from school.
Curtis said in court documents she doesn’t trust her, writing that the Maguires have “repeatedly posted private and personal information” about her, Harper, and their custody case on social media despite a gag order that she and Maguire both signed.
“Respondent’s wife has even gone so far as to send messages to people I know about me,” Curtis wrote about Megan, attaching a copy of a direct message that was allegedly sent to Curtis’ ex-boyfriend, Ryan Sawtelle, via Instagram.
In a screenshot of the message, which is not dated, Megan wrote, “Nicole is still babbling on about how the two of you are still together, regardless of your absence and the other men in and out of her home. I know it’s none of my business, but it would be pretty rad if you could confirm or deny. I’m simply and selfishly hoping to gain some personal enjoyment from the off chance that (1) you’ll actually reply; and (2) you’ll reply with a No. The way I see it, I’ve got 50/50 odds :) Have wanted to ask you for quite some time now, but felt a bit awkward about it. However now, I really don’t give a sh**. The woman has been nothing short of inhuman to me.”
Curtis also shared screenshots with the court of a lengthy comment Megan left on one of HGTV’s social media posts on December 16, 2020, as Curtis was preparing to launch her show, “Rehab Addict Rescue.”
“Today is day number 2 that Nicole Curtis has violated her and her second child’s father’s custody order,” Megan wrote in the comments. “She is refusing to give the child to his father (who has 50/50 custody, btw) for his court ordered holiday parenting time. She has taken the child away from her home and is withholding her location. I’m glad you are all excited that she’s coming back to television, though. @hgtv you know she’s a fraud, so when are you going to quit choosing for a narcissistic sociopath to represent your network so you can make a few bucks? Shame on you.”
Curtis said that based on such behavior, she does not trust Megan and thinks she should have a right to record her and Maguire during their interactions. She wrote, “I do not feel safe around them unless I have a friend with me or I am recording.”
Maguire, in turn, believes the only reason Curtis doesn’t want his wife to have any rights as a “legal stepparent” is because they don’t get along, not because she is a danger to their child.
“Nicole fails to look at this situation logically and rationally because she is blinded by her hatred for Megan,” he wrote in his response. “Rather than being grateful that Harper has a stepmother who loves him and wants to help out when necessary, and be available in the event of an emergency, Nicole is bitter and resentful.”
He continued, “Nicole believes that anybody she wants to be in Harper’s life is okay, but wants to prohibit Harper from having a close bond with anyone in my life.”
Maguire also shared copies of email exchanges that he believes show Curtis’ disdain for his wife, such as an April 2021 message in which she referred to Megan as “glorified live-in house help.” Maguire also claims Curtis has repeatedly told Harper that he and Megan’s newborn daughter is not his real sister and that Megan “is just his babysitter.”
Regarding the screenshots of Megan’s social media posts, Maguire argues that it’s understandable that his wife would have occasionally tried to defend him “after years of abuse and outright fabrications Nicole said about me on social media and in the press.”
In his response, Maguire provided his own evidence of social media posts by Curtis that he believes violate their gag order, which prohibits discussing each other or their custody arrangement publicly. For instance, in an Instagram photo dated June 23, 2020, featuring Curtis and Harper on a beach, Curtis wrote, “I love being a dad. We had a beachin’ day (see I can even make the jokes). #happyfathersday to the dads and all you ‘dads’ like me.”
Maguire shared more than a dozen other screenshots of social media posts, including in which Curtis has shared images of their son, which he said violates their agreement, as well as media interviews with Curtis that refer to their custody arrangement or disparage him.
The former couple is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing in mid-September.