HGTV's Flip or Flop power couple Tarek and Christina El Moussa have sadly called it quits
after seven years together.
But before they decided to move to splitsville, the two hit it big by transforming short sale
and foreclosure homes for the small screen.
Their home design savvy is well documented by the show, but how much do you really know
about the stylish lady who helped make so many flip dreams come true?
Here are some things you might not know about Christina El Moussa.
Double threat
Though Christina is known for her role as an interior designer and real estate agent
thanks to Flip or Flop, she's also been known to dabble in other money-making ventures,
like when she put together a pre-natal yoga video while expecting her second child.
Her fitness regimen has been a constant in her life, even outside of the baby- and video-making
scenes, of course, as she considers her five-day-a-week exercise to be her source of tension and anxiety
treatment.
Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that her at-home sanctuary is her gym.
The non-diet
If you ask Christina what kind of diet she's on, she'll likely say she's not on one.
That's because she just likes to eat healthy instead of trying out all of those fad food
fixes.
She also plans ahead with prepared meals to make sure her family stays on track.
Healthy eating can be difficult to stick to when schedules are as stacked as theirs, so
Christina turned to a local meal prep service to make lunches and dinners for the fam while
they were filming.
She also tends to keep a jar of peanut butter on hand because it's her usual craving.
To satisfy the urge to splurge, Christina makes what she calls the "Perfect Bar," which
is basically peanut butter with some rice cakes.
Yummm.
Fertility woes
When Christina and Tarek decided they wanted to have a second baby, they thought it would
be no sweat.
They had their first child, daughter Taylor Reese, a year after getting married.
But by 2013, when they started their quest for baby number two, things didn't go quite
as smoothly.
Tarek was diagnosed with Stage II thyroid cancer, and his radiation therapy led the
couple to seek in vitro fertilization in order to achieve pregnancy.
But the bad news didn't stop there.
Not only did their first in vitro attempt fail, but the second effort ended in miscarriage.
Ultimately, the couple changed doctors, and Christina agreed to some strict physical restrictions
to make sure round three worked out for them.
And she later told People Magazine:
"I had to do one full week in bed.
For 13 weeks after that, I couldn't go for a walk and couldn't lift anything over a gallon
of milk.
We planned it during Christmas break so I wasn't working.
We did everything we could to make sure this one worked."
When she did get pregnant, she couldn't pick up her daughter during the first trimester.
This was also a hard time for Tarek, who had just undergone back surgery from a golf-related
injury.
All's well that ends well, though, because in the end, the couple finally had baby Brayden
in the summer of 2015.
Mom guilt
Like a lot of working mothers, Christina sometimes experienced bouts of guilt over being busy
with her endless TV production schedule.
And after the birth of her son, she got back to business very quickly, so it was a challenge
for everyone in the fam.
As she later recalled,
"I went back to work at five weeks and that was pretty hard on me.
My daughter got pretty jealous of the time I was spending with Brayden, so I try to do
my girlie stuff with my daughter when I can."
Fright fix
Whatever down time Christina does have, she appears to be a pretty avid reader.
The bubbly blonde has apparently developed an interest in the macabre because the reading
list she's been sharing on Instagram is basically a "Best Of" list for the popular suspense-thriller
genre.
Big sis, little sis
Ten years separate Christina from her little sister Carly, and while both sisters are stunners
and appear to be close pals, their professional interests couldn't be more different.
Not only has little sister flown the coop to live in Australia, but she's also focused
on pursuing a degree in marine biology and works as a scuba instructor.
That's an entirely different occupation than the home renovation business — unless protecting
coral reefs from obstruction counts, that is.
Clapping back
While it's true that most people in showbusiness usually have to suffer internet trolling at
some point in their careers, that doesn't mean they always have to take the heat in
silence.
Christina seems to pick and choose her battles, but she has been known to put people in their
places when the situation warrants an epic clapback.
One such situation happened when she posted a photo of her daughter Taylor feeding her
baby brother on Instagram just after he was born, and a commenter called her deadbeat
for having a C-section and feeding her child with bottles.
Christina didn't take that nonsense lying down and bit back to defend herself and put
the nay-sayer on the defensive.
Take that judgey internet moms.
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