Christina Haack (formerly Christina Hall) shared a shocking truth about her past relationship with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, and revealed that his mother, Dominique El Moussa, told the HGTV star that she should reconsider marrying her son.
“We have a very good relationship. She even told me not to marry him and to marry the dog. For real,” Christina, 41, told her renovation partner, Kylie Wing, during the Wednesday, February 5, episode of The Flip Off.
During a confessional interview, Christina gave fans insight into her “long history with Tarek’s mom.”
“She’s traveled with me post-divorce of Tarek, me and the children. We talk on the phone. I definitely feel like I’m her favorite,” the Christina in the Country star gushed.
Christina and Tarek, who were married between 2009 and 2016, share kids, daughter Taylor El Moussa, 14, and son Brayden El Moussa, 9.
Tarek’s mom later made an over-the-phone cameo in The Flip Off episode after Christina asked her and her own mother, Laurie Haack, to guest judge during her real estate makeover competition against Tarek and his current wife, Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young).
Although Christina and Tarek, 43, are now friendly exes who work together, it took them a while to get into an amicable friendship after pulling the plug on their marriage.
Things went south for the pair in May 2016 after a heated fight turned into a legal issue. After their angry exchange, Tarek grabbed his gun and left their Yorba Linda, California, property. Officials arrived at the former couple’s home after it was reported that there was a “possibly suicidal male with a gun,” and Christina told police that Tarek “took a handgun, put it in his backpack and ran outside.”
Tarek addressed the frightening situation the following February, two months after he and Christina announced their separation. The family matriarch officially filed for divorce in January 2017. The California native denied being suicidal and explained why he had brought the firearm outside their property.
“There’s mountain lions, bobcats and rattlesnakes and big wildlife back there,” he said during a February 2017 appearance on the Today show. “I went out for a hike to scout some trails, it wasn’t even a big deal. I didn’t understand. It got really blown out of proportion.”
Despite their alarming final months of marriage, Tarek and Christina continued to film Flip or Flop together. They settled their divorce in January 2018 and by the end of the year, the exes gave their first post-separation interview, explaining why they continued to have a working relationship.
“We shot the pilot in the summer of 2011, so we’ve been doing this for a really long time,” Tarek said during a December 2018 appearance on the Today show. “It’s part of who we are and what we do, and for us to just throw everything away, it just wasn’t worth it.”
Christina has since tied the knot and got a divorce twice since she and Tarek ended their relationship. The real estate investor tied the knot with husband No. 2, Ant Anstead, in December 2018. They welcomed their son, Hudson Anstead, 5, in September 2019. Christina and Ant, 45, separated exactly one year later and finalized their divorce in June 2021.
Christina went on to marry husband No. 3, Josh Hall, in September 2022. They both filed for divorce in July 2024.
The duo entered new relationships amid their divorce. Josh, 44, is dating girlfriend Stephanie Gabrys and Christina is dating boyfriend Christopher Larocca.
