At her lowest, in a prison cell, Nix Adams knew she had two choices. The troubled mum could wallow in grief, self-pity and addiction or she could use the time to rebuild her mental health for a fresh start upon her release.
The Celebrity Treasure Island contestant tells Woman’s Day, “That was my rock bottom and I thought, ‘I’ll either sit here watching the clock until I can get out and get back into my lifestyle or I can utilise this time to turn my life around.’ “I was tired of the way things were, so I took that opportunity to change my life and now I’m sitting here seven years later.”
Having grown up around Black Power gang members in Northland, some might assume Nix would have been easily led into crime. However, the TikTok and Instagram star, 39, says the prominent gang was heavily family-oriented
“They actually give a fk about the kids,” she says.
“They’ll put on Christmas events and have presents. As teenagers, we weren’t allowed to go clubbing because you don’t know who’s in the clubs, so it was safer to do all that at the gang pad, where we were protected.”
A grief too heavy to carry
After moving to Australia, Nix was living a “happy life”, raising her four kids, until her 16-month-old son Alaska mysteriously passed away in his sleep in 2013.
“I hit the alcohol,” she recalls.
“Not long after, I realised I couldn’t move because I was so blackout drunk. Then I tried meth, which allowed me to still be active.”
As her drug abuse spiralled, Nix’s three remaining children were taken back to Aotearoa by their dad.
“I was deep in addiction, trying to mask the grief,” she explains.
Facing the truth
“That was selfish because it wasn’t a safe environment for my kids. I’m glad they were taken away from me until I could get my shit together.”
Turning to prostitution and crime, eventually Nix was jailed for a robbery she insists she wasn’t involved in. It took a month for authorities to realise they had the wrong person. However, that short stint in prison was enough to give her the mental reset she needed. Weeks after being freed, Nix started posting candid videos on Facebook, hoping they’d help win back her kids.
A new focus, a new direction
The clips – initially titled “Cooked Whānau Kōrero”, which have since evolved into the acronym “CWK”, standing for “courage, wisdom and knowledge” – blew up.
“The more I focused on what video to do, the less I wanted to go back to drugs,” she says.
Soon, Nix was able to return to Aotearoa, regain custody of her kids, now aged 14, 15 and 22, and find new love with her partner Dennis, who has two sons. After a 2021 miscarriage, the couple welcomed a child together in 2022. Nix also has a 14-year-old whāngai daughter.
Life in full chaos mode
“Our hands are full as fk,” she laughs, discussing her blended family of seven kids.
Nix flew to Istanbul last year for a “mummy makeover” – breast augmentation, a tummy tuck, and thigh and chin liposuction. She says she feels great but has copped flack on social media.
“People said, ‘Now she’s promoting people cutting their bodies up.’ But I’m like, ‘You don’t want to cut your stomach off? Then don’t!’ My stomach’s done its duty.”
From survival to competition
With so many challenges behind her, Nix reckons CTI will be a “walk in the park”.
She adds, “I’m not saying that will help me climb over a wall, but my resilience, determination and mindset of going hard comes from past experiences. I got the second chance and I’m acing it.”
Nix reckons her ability to “have the hard conversations, talk shit out and settle disputes” will be her secret to winning CTI, but if she doesn’t, she hopes Chief Of War actress Te Ao o Hinepehinga Rauna scores the top prize.
“Even if I don’t make it to the end, as long as one of my team does, we all win,” she says.
“I really want it to be a Māori wahine, though. Me and T are Māori, and with me being the oldest, I’ve got to do it for all of us oldies!”
Celebrity Treasure Island screens Monday-Wednesday at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.
If you’re struggling with your mental health, call or text 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor for free. For help with addiction, phone 0800 787 797 or visit alcoholdrughelp.org.nz.
