Tom Nitti reveals he exited The Voice after his wife threatened to take his kids
Tom Nitti of Team Reba McEntire reveals more about why he abruptly left The Voice before competing in the Playoffs.
“The biggest misconception is when people think I went on the show knowing that I’d leave,” Tom shared in a new interview with the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “It all happened so quickly and I needed to make a fast decision. I chose my family and I’ll tell you why.”
In the interview, Tom recalled talking with teammate Jacquie Roar after coach Reba saved him in the Playoffs. She noticed something was off and asked “Dude why aren’t you happy? You just got saved by Reba.”
“I spilled my guts,” he said. “I told her about how I had just received an email from my lawyers urging me to come home because my ex-wife was going after primary custody.”
He described the feeling of that moment as “gut-wrenching” and that he made the choice “not because I missed my kids, but because I couldn’t imagine losing them.”
In other words, Tom was in danger of losing custody of his children while he competed on The Voice.
Tom was originally set to compete on Season 23
According to the Observer-Dispatch, Tom is a New York State Trooper in New York state’s the Mohawk Valley. He was supposed to appear on Season 23 of The Voice, but deferred competing for a year because he needed to give the state police more notice for a leave of absence.
Five months before Season 24 aired Nitti filed for a divorce.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to pursue music full time, but I can’t do that without a cushion,” he said. “As a dad, I need to make sure my children will be supported.”
Tom explained in his Blind Audition that he joined the military and was deployed in Afghanistan. After taking mortar fire during combat, he suffered a serious brain injury and was awarded the Purple Heart medal for his honorable service.
“My kids will always come first”
On The Voice Playoffs episode featuring Team Reba, the coach announced, “I have wonderfully talented people, but Tom had to leave for personal reasons, so I only have five artists tonight.” Host Carson Daly, repeated that Tom left for personal reasons, and left it at that.
The next day, Tom posted a fuller explanation on social media, but only said that he left for the sake of his kids and id not regret it. He also thanked his fellow The Voice contestants for having his back.
“…As much as it absolutely stings to say, I had to make probably one of the hardest yet easiest decisions ever and ultimately at the end of the day, my kids will always come first and if I had to make the same decision again I’d do it over and over…..”
Tom grew close with his fellow The Voice contestants
During the competition, Tom grew close with Huntley and Jacquie Roar. “The most positive thing from my experience on the show was the camaraderie I found among other vocalists,” he told the Observer-Dispatch.
“The producers on the show treat you like gold,” said Tom. “And Reba is the most genuine person – she is the same on TV as she is in real life.”
After the singer left the show, Reba emailed him to make sure he was “hangin’ in there.” Reba recently told Entertainment Tonight. “We’ve been emailing back and forth and all of our hearts went out to him because he couldn’t finish the competition. He is so strong, so good,” Reba continued, “He’s going to be watching and cheering all of us on. But our hearts are with him.”
Recently, Tom uploaded a new song titled “One Night Stand,” a collaboration with The Voice artists BIAS and Lennon Vanderdoes.
“Wrote this tune in 2021 finished it this summer 2023 in California with some great friends @officiallybias and @lennonvmusic it’s called One Night Stand #singersongwriterlife #onenightstand #nashville #2021 #2023,” Tom wrote on Instagram alongside videos performing the song solo and harmonizing with Lennon and BIAS.
“I am happy with the decision I made, but should it have come to that point?” Tom said in the Observer-Dispatch interview, “Absolutely not.”
