Having your love life constantly taking center stage can't be easy, right? So,
how does HGTV star Christina Haack handle the social media
hate leveled at her series of public marriages and divorces?
When Christina Haack married Ant Anstead in December 2018,
like many new brides, she quickly changed her last name to his.
She even made the switch Instagram official by changing her name on the social media platform.
Even when she filed for divorce from Ant in 2020, she was still
referring to herself as Christina Anstead. However, that all changed in January 2021,
when Haack announced on Instagram that she was reverting to her maiden name.
It seemed to be a new year and a new start for the
HGTV star. In the personal post announcing the news, she wrote:
"Taking back the family's last name and know my grandparents are smiling from above."
Changing her last name is a definite sign that Haack wasn't the same after
the divorce — and she seems proud of that fact.
Divorce can be a devastating experience for people, especially when there are
young children involved. It requires a great deal of humility and growth, and it was no
different for Christina Haack. In a vulnerable Instagram post from September 2020, she admitted:
"[I] never thought I would have one divorce let alone two."
Nor did Haack think she would have two, quote,
"baby daddies." But instead of allowing her divorces to define her, Haack said she was
choosing to see her new life circumstances and challenges as, quote, "opportunities to grow."
The HGTV star added that, while others might seem to judge her,
she was remaining true to herself and her healing. She added:
"I'm messy, I'm real and I'm working on healing."
She capped off the post by saying she understood that she was supported, saying,
"I'm surrounded by extremely powerful women who help me cope,
build me up and push me to be better."
Because Christina Haack has been through a lot over the last few years, it's no wonder that
in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in June 2021, Haack shared a new optimistic
outlook that included choosing to focus on her kids and work and on, quote, "just having fun."
"Just like make sure that we're doing lots of family time. My kids love, like,
little things. Like board games. They love swimming,
thank God for the pool and that keeps them busy on distracted."
She added that her new goal was
"[...] just to move on and not take things so seriously."
Some of the fun things she was looking forward to at the time were going on trips with her children,
traveling to Tennessee more on her down time, and engaging in fun times to focus on her family.
It's common for recently divorced couples to focus on their wellness and health post-breakup. So,
it makes sense that, in light of her divorce from Ant Anstead, Christina Haack told Entertainment
Tonight that one of the ways she's moving forward is by focusing on her mental and physical health.
In the interview, she shared that she's visiting a holistic doctor and has been
adding supplements to her wellness routine. She added that her health is:
"One of the most important things to me."
In fact, wellness is so important to Christina that she's interested in
opening up her own wellness center. She made the announcement during the
premiere of her show ​​Christina: Stronger by Design in January 2021.
"I really want to open up a wellness center by this time next year. Like start it,
buy it, like a piece of land in Utah. That's like my big goal. I feel like that's calling to me."
While there hasn't been any further updates on the wellness center,
we can safely assume if Haack wants to do it, she will.
It's obvious that Christina Haack is shifting priorities in her life, and one
of the newest parts of her journey post-divorce is deepening her relationship with spirituality.
Her health is one of the reasons behind her taking the time to be more reflective in life,
telling Entertainment Tonight,
"With autoimmune conditions, if I don't take time to meditate and go for walks
and focus on spirituality, I will just kind of hit a wall. And I don't really have that
option with kids and work and everything, so that's just a big part of my journey."
She also talked about the importance of spiritual healing on Instagram in November 2020,
shortly after filing for divorce from Ant Anstead. While she admitted that
2020 wasn't at all what she thought it would be, she said:
"I've been finding time to get to know myself more in the quiet. It can be isolating but
it's also helped me begin to heal and get less uncomfortable in 'the void.'"
"And so, like our weekly yoga practice is definitely something I look forward to.
It's definitely the night that I sleep the best."
Christina Haack has always shared a special
relationship with her long-time best friends Cara Clark and Cassie Zebisch.
Her friends have been her lifeline during the highs and lows — especially Clark,
with whom she's been friends since they were both 14 years old, as reported by E!
While Haack and her friends have been busy with their own lives, she's still been able
to rely on her best friends for their support and constant love, on and off the small screen.
She kicked off a new chapter in her life and on the show Christina on the Coast with them both,
and she shared with E! just how grateful they feel for having each other's backs, saying,
"Not only are we best friends, but we get to work together and film together on camera
and have so much fun. We grew up talking about our
goals and ambitions and we are truly living that life of our dreams."
Christina Haack had a significant real estate portfolio even before her divorce to Ant Anstead.
But now, post-divorce, Haack has had a definite real estate glow-up.
According to the New York Post, the Flip or Flop queen purchased two new
properties after her breakup — one in Tennessee,
the other in California — and now her total real estate assets are worth $13 million.
Only two weeks after her divorce from Anstead, she purchased a 6,000-square-foot mansion in
Dana Point, California that's estimated to be worth just over $10 million.
Soon after, Haack purchased a new property in Tennessee after
being inspired by her best friend Cara Clark's move to the south.
She told E! Online that the house purchase was one of her best decisions,
describing it as the perfect hideaway.
The New York Post reported Haack plans to use it as more of a vacation spot
rather than a full-time residence.
Christina Haack showed off some new ink on an Instagram post in January 2021, showcasing a Maya
Angelou quote on her neck and back, taken from the famous poem "Still I Rise," in cursive font.
Alongside the image of her new tattoo, Haack quoted from the poem, writing:
"Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.' Still I Rise — Maya Angelou."
Considering that she got the ink only months after her divorce was finalized, it seems
pretty safe to assume Haack was referring to her current state after splitting from Ant Anstead.
But the HGTV star didn't stop there. In November 2021,
she showed off on her Instagram stories that she was getting a new tattoo,
this time on her wrist… but she didn't reveal what exactly she was getting.
Sometimes it takes a literal "cleaning of house" to move forward from a breakup, and that's exactly
what Christina Haack did with Ant Anstead. After finalizing their divorce in June 2021,
the couple split their assets evenly, according to Us Weekly. Haack kept her
five real estate properties, in addition to a Range Rover, a Bentley, and her wedding ring.
While it remains to be seen what she'll do with her wedding ring,
which, according to Hello! magazine, is made of 8.5 carat diamonds,
at least it's her decision to part with it or not. Neither party has to pay spousal or child support,
according to The Blast, so it looks like Haack was able to have a clean break from her ex.
Like many of those who have had their heart broken, it's apparent
Christina Haack's attitude towards love has shifted to one that's hopeful yet cautious.
Ever the romantic, she told E! in June 2021,
"Everyone deserves to have love and find love and I hope that happens for me."
However, she made it clear that she was taking her time when it came to finding love herself
and that it would take someone very special for her to give up her single status.
At the time, her priority was to focus on her kids.
And though she has had her fair share of high-profile romances, including with her
ex-husbands, Tarek El Moussa and Ant Anstead, she told E! in the same interview she wanted to
keep her private life as private as can be. This perhaps suggests that a high-profile romance isn't
what Haack was looking for anymore, which is a definite change from her previous relationships.
Christina Haack's life undoubtedly changed after her divorce from Ant Anstead,
and this is probably most evident by her moving on with realtor Joshua Hall.
She was first spotted with her new guy in July 2021, with a source telling Page Six the two
had been dating for several months. The couple were first photographed at the airport on their
way to celebrate her 38th birthday together in Mexico. Shortly after news broke of their new
relationship, Haack shared a photo of them on her Instagram, calling Hall her, quote, "ride or die."
She hinted at her divorce in the caption, writing:
"Some people are lucky enough to get forever the first time
but no one should be shamed for things not working out and no one knows what
goes on behind closed doors — remember that before making judgements and assumptions."
Two months later, in September 2021, Haack announced her engagement to Hall on her
Instagram using some choice emojis: A heart, an infinity sign, a lock, a key, and a ring.
And if a giant ring wasn't proof enough that these two are in love, the HGTV star showed off
her new three-piece bracelet collaboration with jewelry retailer The Lace Project,
including posting a photo of herself and Hall holding hands and wearing the bracelets together.
Not so coincidentally, one of the new bracelets is called "Josh," according to People.
Christina Haack has definitely received criticism from fans when it comes to her
love life and life in general, which is probably why she was ready for it when
it came her way after announcing her relationship with Joshua Hall.
After encountering some criticism from fans who accused her of jumping
into another relationship since she's been divorced twice in three years,
she immediately fired back. Alongside a photo of the couple, she wrote on Instagram:
"I may be a bit crazy and I'm definitely not perfect but I will never live my life based
on other people's judgments or opinions. We pride ourselves on never judging others and
always wanting others to be happy and we wish others would have the same respect."
She also mentioned how she feels, quote, "crazy protective" over the
private real estate agent because she's faced the backlash and prying eyes before.
No doubt her famous relationships with both El Moussa and Anstead
have caused Haack to approach dating publicly more cautiously than ever.
While she admitted that fame comes with a cost, she capped off the post and said:
"I'm 38 – I'll do what I want."
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