The stars of HGTV's "Flip or Flop," Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa have certainly been
through the ringer, and have come out the other side doing better than ever. Here's
everything you need to know about Christina and Tarek's modern-day relationship.
After getting divorced from Tarek El Moussa, Christina El Moussa became Christina Anstead.
Following her separation from Ant Anstead, she then decided to revert to her maiden name
of Christina Haack.
So did El Moussa and Haack become comrades-in-arms after Haack went through another devastating
split? Well, yes and no.
El Moussa told Entertainment Tonight that to the best of his knowledge, Haack was doing
great in the aftermath of the split.
He echoed the sentiment in a chat with Us Weekly, saying that Haack was faring well.
He didn't get too into the details of her business, however -- in a separate interview
with Us Weekly, El Moussa insisted, quote, "I prefer just to stay out of it."
Having said that, though, El Moussa acknowledged that he understands why people are so invested
in his ex's relationship status. He said,
"People have watched kids born, people have watched us raise kids, they watched us get
divorced, they know us. They've been following our lives for almost 10 years. They feel like
they're a part of it, which makes sense."
In the brief time that Christina Haack was married to Ant Anstead, the couple welcomed
a baby boy named Hudson. With Christina and Ant both having two children of their own
from previous relationships, Hudson was the fifth child in this couple's blended family.
According to Us Weekly, Tarek El Moussa was more than accommodating when Haack was in
the hospital with Hudson, taking the kids they share together to the hospital to visit
her, all while he was still in the process of filming during the day. Balancing work
and life and the needs of their children isn't simple, but they make it look easy.
Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa seem to be killing it on the co-parenting front, but
it wasn't always easy. Haack told Us Weekly that Brayden, her son with El Moussa, was
only 9 months old when they separated. But their daughter, Taylor, is five years older
than her brother, so she was a bit more clued in as to what was going on.
Despite the difficult circumstances, they made it work, with both Haack and El Moussa
determined to stay positive around their kids. Haack emphasized how important it is to make
her kids the priority. She explained that they make an effort to stay positive around
them, and show up together at school functions, sporting events, and other activities to let
them know they care.
So what's the secret to their success? According to Haack, communication is key. She said to
Us Weekly,
"It's important when you're coparenting to make sure that you're on the same page. We
have a schedule where we make sure that if one of us has to travel, that the other picks
up for the other one. And we just make sure that whatever's best for the kids is what
we're going to do."
If you've gotten only one impression of Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa's current day relationship,
it should be their commitment to their kids. The exes are so determined to give their children
a happy and healthy upbringing, that despite any personal history between the two of them,
they still only live just five minutes away from each other.
Haack told Us Weekly that before they came back into each others' orbits, she and El
Moussa used to live about half an hour away from each other. According to her, that arrangement
was a "nightmare." She said,
"As you can imagine, you've got school and soccer and stuff, so if we leave a pair of
shoes or there's a soccer ball, it's so easy now to just, like, run over there and pick
something up. It's just a lot more simple. The kids' schools are close and everything
is, like, a five-minute drive."
El Moussa and Haack might be stars on-screen, but they also clearly know how to respect
one another. Considering that there are kids and business interests involved, it's great
to see just how well they seem to be doing.
Fans of "Flip or Flop" know that Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack have a tendency
for on-screen bickering, whether they're married or not.
"I kind of get the concept that you're going for…" "Do you?" "I do. I just don't think
it works."
But sometimes, those professional spats can turn into personal attacks that the audience
doesn't get to see.
"Flip or Flop" director Michael Pando recalled in an interview with Today that one of the
most difficult days on set was in 2016 — the former couple got into an argument about a
design, but things escalated quickly.
"One of the worst days that we had on set, they started getting in an argument, and it
was over a design issue. But, you know, with everything going on it became personal, and
other things came up."
Pando revealed that it was up to him to pump the brakes on the couple's argument when their
fight left the topic of home design behind. He said,
"As the director, I kind of sat back just listening to see when they were going to cross
the line, and when they did, then I jumped in and I got in the middle of it."
But the fighting between El Moussa and Haack that so many of us have come to know might
be finally fizzling out. El Moussa told E! News that he and Haack have never gotten along
more than they do now.
Since their separation, they've learned how to value each other differently. El Moussa
shared,
"[Our relationship] is in a completely different place. She and I are getting along, we're
co-parenting, getting along together, and I really think the episodes are getting better
and better."
If you ask a fan of "Flip or Flop" what their favorite part of the show is, don't be entirely
surprised if they say it's the quick and witty dynamic between Christina and Tarek.
The relationship between the exes is just as sharp and fast-paced off-camera as it is
on, as evidenced by Haack's calling out El Moussa in a promotional post he made for a
new episode of the show.
El Moussa took to Instagram in late April to share with fans that his and Haack's favorite
renovation from the season would be airing in an upcoming episode. As he put it, quote,
"This was one of our favorite flips we've ever done (I swear I'm not just saying that.)"
Clearly the wording of his post didn't ring true to Haack, because she quickly went to
the comments and refuted her ex's remark. She posted,
"Wrong episode — tonight's is Norwalk — I don't think it's your favorite ever ... but
it's still a good one lol."
It all goes to show that she's not shy about calling out her ex when she needs to, whether
it's on-screen or not. Who said that divorced people couldn't get along?
Your ex moves on, great, but all of a sudden, their new partner is a part of your life?
Sounds kind of tough, but from the looks of it, Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa's
fiancé, Heather Rae Young, all manage to get along.
As noted by Us Weekly, Haack and Young have a system in place so that they can communicate
with each other about Taylor and Brayden, the children Haack and El Moussa share with
each other. Young told the outlet,
"We co parent very well together. 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."
Honestly, we love to see it, because kids of divorce aren't always made the priority.
Young went on to say that the most difficult part of integrating herself into the kids'
lives had to do with their ages when she entered a relationship with El Moussa. As she recalled,
"They respect me as their bonus mom. They love me. I love them so much, but I think
the most challenging [thing] was coming in when they were already 3 and 8 and they're
already little people, they already have the personalities, they already had a routine.
I came in after the fact."
Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Well sort of, and if you're looking at the dynamic
between Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack, having a healthy amount of disagreement might
not be a bad thing.
Even though they've worked on their relationship post-divorce, the one-time power couple still
find ways to bicker with each other on-camera, adding a little bit of spice to their specific
brand of reality TV. And while their tiffs are a lot more about work now and far less
about their personal lives, "Flip or Flop" fans can still tune into a classic Haack/El
Moussa disagreement.
During an episode in Season 9, El Moussa and Haack were renovating a three bedroom, two
bathroom house in California. They only had a renovation budget of $82,000, so they were
stretched pretty thin and, of course, disagreed with a number of choices along the way.
For example, Haack wanted a yellow front door for the renovation, but El Moussa went with
a blue one instead.
Haack wanted to go for a retro kind of style, and opted for a pink tile for the kitchen
backsplash — but as you may have guessed, El Moussa killed that idea too. The tension
between them had the same feel as the series has always had, showing that these two know
how to push each other's buttons whether they're living together or not.
You won't be surprised to hear that there are a couple of downsides to having such a
public relationship with your ex. Falling in and out of love in front of millions of
viewers worldwide means that every detail of your relationship gets accounted for, and
every little inch of your life gets put under a microscope.
So it shouldn't come as a huge shock to find out that despite their good working relationship,
Christina Haack won't be invited to Tarek El Moussa's wedding to Heather Rae Young.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in April 2021, El Moussa confirmed that the famous
exes wouldn't be reuniting for his and Young's wedding. According to him, the gathering will
be a small one. He said,
"No, no exes at the wedding. Small, less distractions, more intimate, better conversations with the
people around us. You know, we just think smaller is better."
Sounds good to us.
Young echoed the sentiment, saying that her wedding to El Moussa is going to be an intimate
affair among best friends and family. She also added, quote, "We're gonna have to be
strict with our list."
It's safe to say that a lot of people were surprised to find out that Christina Haack
and Tarek El Moussa were joining together on screen once again for "Flip or Flop," even
after their separation and divorce. It's not hard to understand why people were a bit thrown,
either — how many divorced couples could keep seeing each other regularly?
So what motivated Haack and El Moussa to push through their differences? El Moussa said
that they'd both worked too hard to give up what they'd started together.
Speaking in an interview with Today, El Moussa and Haack explained why they thought maintaining
a working relationship on "Flip or Flop" was worth it.
"We've been doing this a really long time, it's a part of who we are and what we do.
And for us to just throw everything away, it just wasn't worth it."
Haack followed up the sentiment by saying that during their time on "Flip or Flop" they'd
welcomed two amazing kids into their lives, so it was in everyone's best interest that
they learn to work together even after their romance fell apart.
If you've been wondering how Tarek El Moussa's fiancé feels about him working in such close
proximity with his ex-wife, then you're probably not alone. From the looks of it, El Moussa's
fiancé is perfectly okay with the situation.
Heather Rae Young of "Selling Sunset" told Entertainment Tonight that she's never been
concerned about El Moussa working with Haack, and simply stated that the relationship is
a part of the job. She said,
"It was never an issue, because it's work. It's his job. They've been filming for 10
years, who am I to dictate? I am very supportive. We support each other through everything."
As far as Young making an appearance on "Flip or Flop" herself? Never say never. Her wedding
to El Moussa is certainly going to be filmed, and could very easily make its way onto a
show like "Flipping 101" or "Selling Sunset." We'll just have to see what happens as the
lives of this remarkable group of house flippers continue to unfold.
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