Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Trainwreck: P.I. Moms’ chronicling the real story behind a Lifetime reality show that never was, we get a documentary that can only be described as utterly shocking. It comprises not just archival audio-video footage but also exclusive interviews with those close to the matter to really underscore how what was supposed to be inspiring turned into a drug scandal. Amongst those to feature in this original is Ami Wiltz, one of the primary cast members of the reality show (that almost saw the light of day) about her profession as a real-life private eye/private investigator.
Ami Wiltz Juggled Police Work and Motherhood For Years
Born around 1975 in Oakland, California, Ami Wiltz was quite young when she first became curious about the world of entertainment and policing, only for it to continue as the years passed. Therefore, upon graduating from high school, she enrolled at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, from where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television in 2000. However, it wasn’t until a few years later – 2004 – that she kickstarted her career, having decided to take on the police training program to join the local force and serve her community.
Ami started out as a Correctional Officer at the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office in February 2004, only to gradually rise through the ranks and ultimately even earn the title of Deputy Sheriff. She proudly served in this esteemed position for precisely 3 years before choosing to step down in July 2009, retiring owing to an on-duty injury. Moreover, she was also already a dedicated mother of three by this point, so she wanted to spend more time with her little ones too. The truth is, she loved her job, but working 12-hour shifts that required her to miss a lot of birthdays, extracurricular activities, holidays, and basic everyday growth just wasn’t suitable for her anymore.
Ami Wiltz Had Hoped Her P.I. Moms Stint Would Help Others Like Her
It was in September 2009 when Ami was hired by Chris Butler as a licensed private eye for his business in the Bay Area, unaware she would soon be on the path to becoming a reality star too. After all, he had been trying to get his operations translated into a reality show for years, knowing it would make for great television due to his unique selling point of primarily only hiring mothers. He believed them to be great multitaskers, and his vision was seemingly shared by Lifetime as they greenlit ‘P.I. Moms’ in 2010, with Lucas Platt (A&E’s ‘Steven Seagal: Lawman’) as the showrunner.
Even Ami saw Chris’ vision and thought it was a great idea since the show would highlight their work’s flexibility as well as significance by following the mothers working in the field most of the time. She herself was actually selected to be a main cast member based on a combination of her background and impressive skills, yet the fact that she chose to be vulnerable made her all the more inspiring. But alas, no one ever learned of her trauma back then, owing to the show getting canceled in February 2011, following alleged internal sabotage attempts and Chris’ arrest on drug-related charges.
Ami has always been quite private when it comes to her personal life, but she chose to share her trauma during filming because she hoped it would help others like her know they are not alone. As per her own accounts, she had trusted someone around her son when he was 13 months old, but he was attacked to such an extent that he suffered brain damage before sadly passing away a few years later. This had broken her, but she knew she had to carry on for her remaining kids, which is precisely what she did while keeping her late little boy alive in her heart and choosing to pay tribute to him through the show. Unfortunately, though, her story never made it to the screen, and that hurt her all over again.
Ami Wiltz Continues to Serve as a Private Eye
After Chris was arrested and ‘P.I. Moms’ was canceled, Ami was understandably furious because her ex-boss had not only ruined a great opportunity for his employees but also put them at risk. She once even said that it was humiliating to find out he was involved in criminal activities right under all their noses before adding, “I guess I just wish he would have fired me or told me to go, instead of dragging me into this. Fortunately, I didn’t know he was a criminal, so I was not involved in anything illegal.” She also stated, “My anger towards him was more from him putting us all at risk and not thinking about what could possibly happen to us. Could we get sucked into this investigation if he were caught?”
Since then, Ami has actually established a couple of private investigative companies of her own. She launched Ami’s Investigations in Bencia, California, in April 2011 (2 months after the scandal). Then, once she moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for good, she opened AC Investigations in the fall of 2021. During this period, she even worked as a Senior Investigator at Uber for a few months in 2020, yet now, she is simply leading a comfortable, happy life as an entrepreneur as well as a self-employed private eye.
Coming to Ami’s personal standing, it appears as if she now prefers to go by either Ami Nora or Ami Curry, and she also seems to have found love with a partner named David. The mother of three and dog mom of 2 is truly a family woman, meaning whenever she is not dedicating herself to helping others through her work, she does her best to spend quality time with loved ones. She does this with family get-togethers, one-on-one personal interactions, or trips with her beloved, which most recently included a cruise to Mexico to celebrate her 49th birthday. We should also mention that Ami is a fan of heavy metal and rock music, so she never hesitates to attend a concert, and she is also a big supporter of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Read More: Where is Carl Marino Now? P.I. Mom Update
