When Tarek El Moussa and his then-wife Christina debuted their house-flipping reality show Flip or Flop on HGTV in 2013, there’s no way they could have predicted that the show about their business would result in some intensely personal moments playing out in the public eye. The couple weathered on-set arguments, a divorce, new relationships and health issues before the series came to an end in 2022 after 10 seasons. Now, as El Moussa and his wife Heather Rae are enjoying life with a new baby, Tarek acknowledged the struggles he’s been through to get to where he is now, revealing that he hit “rock bottom” before his divorce.
Tarek El Moussa opened up to Fox News Digital about his life being “hell” for the first few years of Flip or Flop. Shortly after the show premiered, a viewer noticed a lump on El Moussa’s throat that turned out to be thyroid cancer. He was also diagnosed with testicular cancer, and suffered an accident that required back surgery. Amidst everything, there were problems in his marriage to now-Christina Hall. El Moussa recalled:
You know, hitting rock bottom in 2016, when my ex-wife decided that she wanted to end things, you know, that's that's when I had to dig deep and really figure out who I was and who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go and how I was going to get there. So, I did a lot of work on myself to get to where I am today.
The couple made headlines in May 2016, after a scary altercation went down in which police were called to their house in search of a “possibly suicidal male with a gun,” after Tarek El Moussa grabbed a gun and went out to a hiking trail behind their house. They later called it a “misunderstanding,” with El Moussa saying he had no intention of hurting himself. In January of the following year, he officially filed for divorce.
At the time, he blamed insufficient communication as one of the reasons for the divorce, as their lives had changed so drastically so quickly, with the show and his health issues. He told Fox News Digital just how bad things had become, saying:
You know, after the cancers, I had that terrible accident on my back and I lost like 60 pounds, and I was on all those opiates. I was, you know, I was not doing well. This is what people don't understand – you know, from 2013 to 2016, it was hell. You know, I fought two cancers, I fought back surgery. I was dealing with all these hormone problems. And honestly, I lost my way. I lost who I was. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't know who I was anymore.
Tarek El Moussa seems to be in a much better place today, as he and Selling Sunset star Heather Rae El Moussa welcomed baby Tristan in January (with Christina Hall sending her congratulations), and the three of them work hard to co-parent Tarek and Christina’s two children.
They’re also still busy on the home renovation front, even after the end of Flip or Flop. The new parents are set to star in The Flipping El Moussas, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, March 2, on HGTV, while Christina Hall just wrapped the first season of Christina in the Country with the network. Check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.
