Recently, we discussed how Christina El Moussa was somehow getting a spinoff show on HGTV. Christina is one half of Flip or Flop, possibly the second-most popular show on HGTV? After Fixer Upper? I’m saying that because I find the Property Brothers to be really creepy and I never binge-watch their sh-t. But I can sit around and pleasantly watch a marathon of Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop any day of the week.
Anyway, Christina and Tarek El Moussa are now divorced after a rather spectacular public falling out in late 2016. They spent much of 2017 getting a divorce and building separate lives, but they are contractually obligated to still do Flip or Flop together, plus they have two kids together. Plus their whole business is just wrapped up together. So, the show must go on. The new season started a few weeks ago, and I have to say… it’s actually pretty good? It’s a look at two people who still care about each other, are committed to co-parenting and working together, but know that they can’t be together. Christina is over Tarek, but I think he’s still in love with her. It makes for some surprisingly dynamic television, actually. And now Christina is on the cover of People without Tarek. She’s got the kids though:
It’s been nearly two years since Christina El Moussa split from her ex-husband, Tarek, and while the Flip or Flop star is in a great place now, the split took a serious toll on her at the time.
“I felt like I was drowning,” Christina, 34, says in the latest issue of PEOPLE. “I was doing whatever I could to stay above water and just get through the day.”
In 2016, following an “unfortunate incident” where Tarek, 36, fled their home with a gun onto national-parks property, prompting a helicopter and 11 officers to respond to the scene, the pair separated, leaving the fate of their reality show and million-dollar home in limbo. In the aftermath, “a lot of people were thinking, ‘What’s going to happen?’ Tarek and I were so tied together on everything: real estate, the show, our children, our house. It was so stressful, and everyone was worried that it was going to explode.”
Despite the drama, there was no explosion and the pair continued working together while co-parenting their daughter, Taylor, 7, and son, Brayden, 2. “Somehow we managed to build something even bigger than we had before,” she says.
With the dust settled and the drama mostly behind them, Christina is moving into the next chapter of her life. “I thought of this year like a rebuild,” she says. “So I’m starting from scratch. I’m moving, I have a new TV show, a new boyfriend—there’s a lot of projects going on. I’m just so happy, and for the first time in a long time, I feel at peace, which is such a good feeling.”
It’s what I suspected: they’ve managed to still stay tangled up professionally and financially, but Christina now has the freedom to do her own thing, to move on romantically, and to slowly build up her own separate professional profile. On the new season, they seem to have figured out how to work on houses separately too – it feels like for the bulk of the renovations, only one of them is there at a time, but they’re constantly checking in with each other every day. It’s not the worst. And I’m happy for Christina that she managed to figure it out and carve out her own life in the wake of his bulls–t.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, cover courtesy of People.
Unrelated but I just find those HGTV couple shows so strange, I mean great that couples can work together but I couldn’t even line the shelves with my SO without wanting to jump out the window lol so more power to them.
I like Hgtv but it’s annoying that some of the shows are too family oriented. I’m interested in the design and decisions not watching your kids do crafts.
DIY is a lot better. HGTV has ceded its interesting shows and become personality driven.
I’ve binged on property brothers while pregnant and while sick.
Those bros… they look like they each switched an eye. Like they each had a normal set of eyes and then they swapped an eye for an eye and now both bros have wonky looking, mismatched looking eyes.
I know it’s very superficial. But when you stare at them for hours that’s what you see. I actually like them, corny as they are. They are soothing to me in some way hahah.
Tarek always made me feel kind of nervous. I love Christina’s design and her personality. I wish her the best and I hope she keeps taking steps to untangle her life from him over time.
The eye thing has me rolling laughing. So true hahahah
I like the Property Brothers. There is a little of the creepy factor, like the Olson twins, in just HOW intermingled their lives are, but they seem pretty genuine (met them once at an industry function), I like how they engage with homeowners, they are great when kids are part of the family they are working with, and that they actually seem to understand not everyone has $100K reno budgets.
Don’t be so quick to say that … They are coming to my city (Calgary) and one of the requirements is a MINIMUM renovation budget of, you guessed it… $100,000 DOLLARS.
Haha.
OMG the eye comment is too funny! They definitely creep me out a little.
The eye swap theory is killing me!! Lol?!!😂
SO funny! You summed them up perfectly! But they are harmless LOL (They’re Canadian after all!)
I also binge watch the Property Brothers. I have nothing but love for them!
They are EXTREMELY patient with some of the people on the show who just HAVE TO have marble countertops even when they are already over budget.
I
I LOVE property brothers, they are my favorite of all of those shows. These two are kind of creepy: IDK, they seem fake and so capitalistic their greed shines through.
She cheated on him. She is not the nice one here.
He cheated on her as well and was abusive. The moment he abused her she was the good one. Sorry not sorry.
he never cheated on her.
So if a woman cheats, it’s ok for her husband to threaten her and her children with an assault rifle?
Good to know which side you’re on.
I never said that. Try to read.
But you said yourself that she wasn’t the nice one. Clearly you feel her cheating is a greater offense that his violent tendencies.
She cheated and is a horrible woman and he reacted violently and is a terrible man. There.
I don’t get why she is getting a People cover, unless HGTV is desperate to find a replacement for the Gaines. Of the two, I find Tarek the warmer personality, though his design choices, not so great. And will look at his IG once in awhile and can be cringeworthy.
Agree Tarek still has feelings; I’ve watched a few episodes this season and she is clearly over it and has been far more snarky/rude to him than vice versa. However I don’t think it was all on him and his BS. He’s acknowledged between the multiple bouts of cancer, back surgery, etc. he was not his norm. Not the first couple to split over life stresses.
I’ve only seen a few episodes of this show, but like most HGTV, it followed a really basic script, and if you watch more than one or two in a row, it’s really obvious. OMG there’s unforseen structural problems! OMG the tile she picked is too expensive! OMG he went above budget buying the house! OMG let’s decorate this house in gray and white.
I’ll give them props for trying to be good co-parents, but that whole gun incident would make me extremely nervous.
I’m kind of sick of just how much People dedicates to the HGTV stars. I haven’t owned a TV in nearly a year so it’s been awhile since I’ve watched HGTV. I like the Property Brothers, I don’t find them creepy, they seem like warm and decent people who care about their projects and the people they are helping.
I have probably watched a few episodes of Flip or Flop here and there but it wasn’t memorable enough for me to remember the El Moussas. And I don’t think I’ve ever watched Fixer Upper but I am just tired of Chip and Joanna Gaines! They might be nice people but I swear to God People devotes a million articles to them, their show ending (that is something to cover sure) but I don’t need hourly updates on the pregnancy, the birth, their marriage, etc. They have been so in our faces this past year and they’re like the Kardashians to me, I wish they would go away!
Better the HGTV stars than the Duggers! Please and thank you!
Who keeps trying to make this woman happen?
Don’t care about her. Her 15 minutes are up, IMO.
This woman is exhausting. Thank goodness I stocked up on groceries this weekend for the next few weeks so that I don’t have to have this desperate famewh-re looking at me in the checkout aisle. Her gummy, forced vibrance rings as hallow and generic as the grey IKEA-meet-Restoration Hardware “design” elements she offers up.
It’s the nadir of civilisation when these two are considered the foundational personalities of a network.
The Property Brothers are fug.
This woman is not doing anything any different than other divorced mothers out there except she is on TV. Move along people, nothing to see here. Wasn’t she the one that was in People (or some other magazine) in her bathing suit? Somebody give her a glass of water because she is a little thirsty.
Last time I watched a couple of fixer uppers I watched joanna restore 10 pieces of barnwood, bring Chip fresh lemonade .help the “girls”with their sewing lessons. (her words), visit her favorite antique shop , make plans for their new breakfast diner and let chip taste five flavors of cupcakes she just finished making for their magnolia bakery.Would like what she’s taking but am too exhausted to swallow.
Ugh. Using her kids on a magazine cover to publicize her divorce from their father? Christina and Tarek are both trash. Poor kids.
I think there has to be a lot more to the story than just the gun incident. She seems pretty thirsty for fame (all the pap photos with the various men she has been dating). I feel bad for their kids – they went thru all the stress of cancer and trying to have another baby – seems like maybe they could have tried a little hard to reconcile for their children’s sake.
I thought that was Kristin Cavallari on the cover at first. I really hate how often reality stars are on the cover of People. I wish there was a tabloid that only covered legit stars.
I used to be creeped out by the Property brothers too but my 10 year old likes the show so we binged one day when we were sick and it changed my mind! Now I think it’s sweet how close they are, their entire family seems to be that way and they always include them when making decisions on their personal homes, you don’t see that often. Plus they are lgbtq friendly so that’s a plus.
As for Christina I’m glad she got away from moody ole Tarek. I’ve always thought she needed someone more relaxed and goofy like she is, he’s just too high strung. He even seems to be better off, he looks like he’s taking better care of himself. Sometimes people just don’t work as a couple and that’s ok, hopefully they’ll continue with flip or flop because I’m enjoying the new season.
My favourite HGTV shows are House Hunters Renovation and Hiuse Hunters International. I don’t watch either fixer Upper or Flip or Flop because of the ‘stars’ annoying personalities. I don’t want to see Joanna’s kids craft projects I want to see the house design and transformation!