Talk about a roller-coaster! Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa‘s ups and downs started well before they called it quits in 2016.
The reality stars tied the knot in May 2009, four years before their HGTV series catapulted them into the spotlight. Things took a turn when El Moussa was diagnosed with two forms of cancer in 2013 after a Flip or Flop viewer — who happened to be a registered nurse — brought a concern to producers’ attention.
“No joke, I thought I was going to die,” El Moussa exclusively told Us Weekly several years after his health scare. “I was like, ‘Two cancers?’ … [But Christina] helped me out a lot. She made sure I took all my meds and she had to make certain meals for me.”
Through it all, the licensed real estate agent wanted to put on a brave face. “I literally filmed ’til the day I went into my surgery, and within two weeks after, I was back on camera,” he told Us. “It was definitely difficult to do, but it definitely pushed my mental strength to the limits. … I just kept moving forward.”
While the pair continued to get along on camera, it was seemingly a different story behind closed doors. In May 2016, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was called the duo’s home after an altercation, with 11 deputies responding to a “possibly suicidal male with a gun.” At the time, authorities told Us that El Moussa “had no intention of hurting himself” and cooperated when asked to give up possession of his firearms. By the end of the year, the twosome called it quits.
“Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage,” they noted in a statement to Us in December 2016. “We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence and no charges were filed. We chose to get counseling to sort out our relationship. Together, we have decided to separate while we reevaluate the future of our marriage.”
Despite their split, the duo vowed to remain “committed to our kids and being the best parents we can be,” the statement said. Haack and El Moussa share daughter Taylor and son Brayden.
The former spouses have continued to work together since their divorce was finalized in 2018 and have always done their best to communicate cordially when it comes to coparenting. In September 2020, a source told Us that the TV personalities were in a “great, peaceful and friendly place” and were “happier than ever” while raising their kids.
“The kids are great and life is good,” El Moussa noted the same month, shortly before Haack confirmed she had split from second husband Ant Anstead after nearly two years of marriage. (The California native, for his part, is engaged to Heather Rae Young.)
Not only does Haack try to stay on good terms with El Moussa, but she’s also gotten to know the Selling Sunset star, who loves her role as Taylor and Brayden’s stepmom.
“We coparent very well together,” Young told Us in April 2021. “We communicate daily about the kids, and they’re the most important thing in the world to all of us. So, as long as the kids are happy, we’re all happy.”
Scroll down for a closer look at Haack and El Moussa’s ups and downs — from health scares to filming feuds:
The duo exchanged vows in May 2009 and welcomed their daughter, Taylor, the following year. Son Brayden was born in 2015.
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In April 2013, the pair's house-flipping reality series premiered on HGTV — and fans couldn't get enough. It has since inspired a handful of spinoffs, including Christina On the Coast, which began in May 2019.
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An HGTV viewer, who happened to be a nurse, contacted Flip or Flop's production team after noticing a lump in El Moussa's neck. In 2013, he was diagnosed with both thyroid and testicular cancer, prompting the couple to try IVF to have their second child while he got ready for radiation treatment.
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Haack was put on bed rest after two failed IVF attempts, and at the same time, El Moussa was prescribed "large amounts of pain meds" during his cancer treatment. He later recalled on the "Dr. Drew" podcast, "I lost 60 pounds, I was on Vicodin every day. On top of that, my hormones are off, I'm on pain meds and narcotics, and I'm filming and working. It was a really rough three, four years. ... It was a horrifying experience."
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In May 2016, authorities were called to the real estate experts' California home, responding to a tip that there was a "possibly suicidal male with a gun" on the property. An eyewitness told police at the tine that Haack was "crying and shaking," while El Moussa told the deputies that he "he had no intention of hurting himself." He agreed to "voluntarily relinquish all of his firearms" after the incident.
That December, the duo announced their split, telling Us in a statement, "We chose to get counseling to sort out our relationship. Together, we have decided to separate while we reevaluate the future of our marriage."
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El Moussa filed for divorce in early 2017, and Us confirmed that the proceedings were made final one year later.
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Amid her split from El Moussa, Haack began dating Anstead and the pair tied the knot in December 2018. One year later, they welcomed son Hudson. A source told Us at the time, "Tarek is happy for Christina and he's moved on."
In September 2020, Haack and Anstead announced they were going their separate ways, finalizing their divorce in June 2021. El Moussa, for his part, proposed to Young in July 2020.
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Six years after his diagnosis, the Tarek's Flip Side host revealed via Instagram in March 2019, "I'm cancer free and I'm healthier than ever!!!! This makes me so happy not for me but for my babies ❤️. I have to be healthy and alive for them!! ... They are my everything and they need their daddy! This news is so good because I’m alive to be here for THEM!!"
Though their marriage didn't work out, the costars continued to be a strong coparenting team. "Things are going better than they've been in a long time," El Moussa exclusively told Us in January 2021. "That's great for us. You feel it on the set. The onscreen chemistry shows and I think this season's episodes are some of the best we've ever done. Who would have thought 10 years later the show is getting better?"
Haack, for her part, previously told Us that putting the kids first was crucial. "We all just are in it for the kids and whatever's best for them, so that's just how we make it work," she said in April 2020.
Courtesy of Tarek El Moussa/Instagram
In July 2021, multiple outlets reported that the former couple got into a verbal tiff while filming Flip or Flop, with El Moussa allegedly shouting at Haack and calling her a "washed-up loser." Days later, Haack documented a "nice day" on set, seemingly throwing shade at the Flipping 101 With Tarek El Moussa star.
Courtesy of Christina Haack/Instagramfrom Celebrity News – Us Weekly https://ift.tt/3zAtHgj
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