Co-parenting during the holidays is far from easy for Nicole Curtis and her ex. During a new interview with People, the HGTV star candidly admitted that her Thanksgiving celebration this year was a “nightmare” because she didn’t get to spend the day with her youngest son, Harper, 3, due to her contentious custody arrangement with her ex Shane Maguire.

“The holidays are a nightmare because I would have all of us together — friends, family, enemies alike. Thanksgiving was not my parenting time; therefore, I could not be with Harper,” Nicole, 42, explained of her family situation. “Even on the worst day, my ex is encouraged and welcomed in our home. We recently all went trick-or-treating together, even though it was ‘my parenting time.’ I always hope that the same courtesy will be extended, but it is not. I am not permitted to be with Harper during his time with his dad.”

The Rehab Addict star and Shane finally reached a custody agreement for Harper last month after a years-long battle over the little boy. At the time, People reported that the former couple decided to “share equal responsibility and decision-making authority” for Harper’s well-being, including his health care, education, and religious training and agreed to confer with one another about “all matters of importance” in their son’s life going forward.

“As court records indicate, an agreement was reached. As a parent you do whatever you have to do to keep peace and calm for your child — this was best for our son,” Nicole told the magazine in late October.

Just before Thanksgiving, Nicole — who is also a mom to an older son, Ethan, with her ex-husband Steve Lane — took to Instagram to lament about her current co-parenting situation with Shane. “So thankful to be mom [to] these two. I’ve been asked what my Thanksgiving plans are and receive horrified looks when I say nothing. Don’t get me wrong — it’s me for God’s sake — the protector of formal dining rooms, of course, every bone in my body yearns to cook, entertain, and stuff myself full of my [grandmother’s] pie recipe that I never will get just right,” she wrote to her more than 250,000 followers.

 

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“But like so many others we are trapped in the world of ‘not your parenting time.’ So, while I gladly and happily wish all a blessed Thanksgiving who celebrate it like I dream of doing so — my words are here today to tell the rest of you, like us, you’re not alone. I certainly never expected to be in this situation and would have my ex at my dining room table today (still as my ex, don’t get me wrong 😂), but it’s not up to me. And if you are the parent that refuses to allow your child the joy of having both parents in the same room (sans abusive/dangerous situation), buck up — it’s not about you. Gave someone that talk yesterday — got me nowhere, but no one ever said I wasn’t persistent. So, be safe, spread love today, and I must add that if you have a low moment during these times I’m sending you extra [love] and energy — no shame — we’ve all been there.”