Christina Haack and Ant Anstead surprised fans when they announced their separation
in 2020, but there may have been some hints that their marriage would be headed for divorce.
Here are some of the signs that Christina and Ant's marriage wouldn't last.
Some people believe that Ant Anstead might have still been married when he began spending
time with Christina Haack. In October 2018, Haack shared a sweet post celebrating a year
since the two started dating. This would suggest Haack considered October 2017 as the month
she began dating the man who would become her second husband.
Anstead was married to wife Louise at the time, though he shared that they had been
separated since July 2017, according to The Sun. Even still, four months of separation
might not be long enough for a person to emotionally be ready to jump into a new relationship,
but that's what Anstead did anyway. It also took Anstead some time to finalize his divorce
from Louise, as he was still working through the details in July 2018, when Haack told
People she could already imagine being married to him.
"We met through a mutual friend. "Best." Yeah so we went on a blind date. We FaceTimed before."
Ant Anstead wasn't the only one still working through the details of a previous marriage
when he and Christina Haack met. Haack and her first husband, Tarek El Moussa, had a
very public separation and divorce that kicked off in December 2016. They later revealed
their separation had taken place about seven months before the public announcement, in
part to keep their working relationship solid. They told People,
"We have been working towards this for the past five years, and, as you can imagine,
fame is a mixed bag. We plan to continue our professional life together by being professional,
by doing our jobs well, by being prepared and by working hard."
Both El Moussa and Haack also noted that they were planning to work together in front of
the camera as long as they needed to. Their divorce was finalized in January 2018.
If you're beginning to think that Christina Haack and Ant Anstead might have moved too
quickly, you're not alone. Back in October 2018, Haack posted a since-deleted tribute
to her then-boyfriend to celebrate their anniversary. In addition to showering him with praise,
she included a nod to the speed with which their relationship had moved, and wrote,
"Wise men say only fools rush in [...] but I can't help falling in love with you."
Anstead also posted his own tribute on Instagram, noting that the pair had done more in a year
than many people do in a lifetime. He explained,
"What we have is so RARE! Looking back at this mad and crazy past year [...] we've lived
in four houses, and finally found a home together! We've been to London, South Africa, Ireland,
Mexico, Hawaii and all over the US!"
In another sign that perhaps the two might have rushed things a little too quickly, Christina
Haack announced that she was pregnant in March 2019, only three months after she married
Ant Anstead. To the great joy of his parents and siblings, Hudson London Anstead was born
on September 6, 2019.
Unfortunately, we later found out that Haack didn't have the easiest time following Hudson's
birth, and that could have played a role in the demise of her marriage to Anstead. A source
revealed that problems reportedly began surfacing soon after Hudson was born, telling People,
"After the baby, they started having conflicts [...] Christina felt] lonely and unhappy [...] Christina
found it difficult to balance everything [...] their marriage was struggling."
Following her announcement that she and Anstead were separating, Haack seemed to be more focused
than ever on her kids and her job. She shared with Entertainment Tonight,
"My goal is just to move on and not take things so seriously. And do some fun trips with the
kids, go to Tennessee more, take time for quiet time and just really focus on the family.
Just those things for us, those private times, you know, fun moments."
Another factor that might have contributed to their split is the fact that Christina
Haack and Ant Anstead led a very public life together, and Anstead might not have been
very comfortable with it. While both had worked in television for years before becoming a
couple, Anstead demonstrated that he wasn't quite prepared to take on the full weight
of the social media scrutiny directed at the two in August 2020.
In response to comments and speculation online, Anstead admitted he had blocked around 100
or so people on Instagram, in a since-deleted post. Anstead revealed,
"The world is crazy right now. And for all the good things social media has it also carries
a toxic element! [...] I have blocked over 100 people in the last few days. Humans are
lashing out. And it saddens me!"
According to People, Anstead also noted that he intended to take a break from social media
to spend more time with his family. Clearly, he was ready to retreat from the spotlight
for a little while.
To complicate matters even further, it sounds like Christina Haack's ex-husband, Tarek El
Moussa, and Ant Anstead didn't really get along at all. While El Moussa's fiancée,
"Selling Sunset" star Heather Rae Young, and Haack appear to be friendly with one another,
El Moussa and Anstead never really followed suit.
El Moussa even explained that while Haack and Anstead's secret wedding was good for
him, it didn't mean he planned to become close friends with Anstead. The HGTV star told People,
"I think finding out [about the wedding] made me realize 100% closure. And it made me realize
that it's a good thing for my kids, based on what I know about Ant."
However, El Moussa definitely got intel from his children about their stepfather, as he
revealed,
"Of course I ask my kids about things they do, and what's going on, and they always say
good things about him. So as a father, it's good to know that there's hopefully a good
man in my kids' lives besides me."
Unfortunately, El Moussa also still found a way to get a dig in at his ex, noting that
Anstead was "lightyears" better than the previous men Haack had dated.
Once things between the two were officially over, Christina Haack avoided publicly laying
blame at her ex-husband's feet or even speaking negatively about him at all. Unfortunately,
Ant Anstead seemed only too eager to make sure that the public knew he didn't want the
divorce. Directly addressing their separation on Instagram, Anstead wrote,
"Anyone who really knows me knows that I don't like to share private matters publicly. I
have remained silent while holding on to hope. I never gave up on us. I pray Christina's
decision brings her happiness."
Haack later shared her own Instagram post, which was decidedly much more focused on how
she felt about the split. The "Christina on the Coast" star seemed to take the opportunity
to speak out against those who had cast judgement against her and added that she never expected
to have two different men as fathers of her children. She wrote,
"Instead of getting stuck in these 'setbacks' I choose to look at these challenges as opportunities
to grow. So while some may judge me and throw around rumors about me, most of you support
me. And that says a lot about this world and where we are headed."
While it's easy to point to one thing or another to explain what went wrong between the two,
some friends close to Christina Haack and Ant Anstead have said that they could have
been incompatible from the start due to their different upbringings. One source told Life
& Style,
"No one saw this coming. I'm hearing that Christina and Ant just grew apart [...] They're
very different people from totally different backgrounds, and that definitely played a
factor."
The insider also noted that, despite what he posted on Instagram, it might have been
Anstead who wanted to separate first, explaining,
"Friends say Ant was the first one who started having feelings about splitting [...] The
conversations about splitting were gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, but they both came to the
same conclusion and decided it wasn't going to be a lifetime marriage."
In the end, it might be that even though everything seemed wonderful on the outside, it's hard
to really know what goes on behind closed doors.
"Obviously time heals most pain."
There's one more reason why Ant Anstead and Christina Haack might not have had a shot
from the beginning. In her 2021 discovery+ series "Christina: Stronger by Design," Haack
hinted at having past traumas that she is working to confront. In particular, she said
that she hoped to stop putting emphasis on what other people think about her, explaining,
"One of my things I plan to leave behind is living my life based on others' opinions,
and something I plan to bring into 2021 is new adventures."
Haack then opened up in a super personal way and said that she spent parts of 2020 going
through pieces of her past that still plagued her, so she could release it all, explaining,
"[I've] taken this year to really dive deep into releasing past traumas and getting to
know me again and what makes me happy."
It's certainly possible that those same traumas contributed to the demise of her second marriage.
"So my thing is just to remain positive, surround myself with positive people, and I'm in a
really good place."
Christina Haack and Ant Anstead were able to finalize their divorce in about nine months.
In the end, Anstead shared with People,
"When my divorce went through, I packed up my clothes and moved. I walked away completely
and left everything there [...] I don't need anything but Hudson and my health."
Both Haack and Anstead have already romantically moved on from their marriage as well. In June
2021, Anstead was linked with Renée Zellweger, and Haack debuted her new boyfriend, Joshua
Hall, shortly after.
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