Christina El Moussa says her divorce from “Flip or Flop” co-star Tarek was a long time coming.
“I think the separation process begins long before people actually separate,” Christina, 33, told People. “So by the time we officially did, I felt like a weight was lifted off me.”
The catalyst was a harrowing incident in May, in which Tarek, 35, left the family home with a gun and police were called. The pair later called it an “unfortunate misunderstanding.”
Tarek claims that he’s still not entirely sure why Christina called the police that evening. “You’d have to ask her,” he snapped to Us Weekly. “It was blown out of proportion. I went hiking in Chino Hills State Park. We have bobcats, mountain lions. I took my gun for protection.”
“It just made me realize that us being separated was healthier for both of us,” she said, adding that she took daughter Taylor, 6, and son Brayden, 1, and moved in with the family nanny for six weeks until Tarek moved out of the home they shared.
“We didn’t stay together that night,” Tarek confirmed to Us. “We went to counseling to see what we could do to work things out. Ultimately, it was best to separate. Over the summer, I moved out. We thought it was best to have space. We didn’t want the kids to see us upset.”
“I didn’t necessarily know that we weren’t going to get back together,” Christina told People. “It was after seeking therapy and trying to work things out that we both realized this is for the best.”
However, tensions were mounting long before that.
“Like any couple, we had our share of issues,” she admitted, “but we went through a lot in a short amount of time.” Tarek told Us Weekly, “It was a gradual thing over time. We were both very busy people with health issues and kids. We didn’t fight, we just grew apart.”
That may be an understatement: Tarek was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013, their first year on HGTV. Shortly after, he was also diagnosed with testicular cancer, which he revealed on “Today” on Tuesday.
“Getting the thyroid cancer is hard enough, and then a few weeks later finding out I had testicular cancer, I literally thought I was going to die,” he said.
Christina found it difficult to cope with, telling People, “I had never even known anyone with cancer, so it was a very scary time.”
While Tarek was going through radiation treatment, Christina began a grueling struggle to conceive using in vitro fertilization and suffered a miscarriage in 2014.
Tarek made a full recovery and the couple welcomed son Brayden in 2015.
However, adjusting was difficult, especially for Christina, who returned to work just four weeks after giving birth. “It was too soon for me,” she said. “I was overwhelmed. The tension between me and Tarek was high. We weren’t able to properly communicate anymore. It got to the point where we weren’t even driving to set together.”
The couple still plan to work together, though Christina will branch out on her own and is working on a book. “It’s invigorating to know I am starting over,” she said. “It’s fun to be able to create my own destiny right now.”
Tarek admitted to Us Weekly that though they remain professional, it’s not always easy working together. “You have good days and bad days,” he said. “Now we say, ‘Hi, good morning.’ We film together and talk about houses and the kids.”
While Christina claims to be single, Tarek says she is dating a “Flip or Flop” show contractor, Gary Anderson. “It bothered me [at first],” he said. “But she can live her life. I’ve totally moved on.”
Tarek also admitted that he briefly “totally moved on” with the couple’s former nanny, Alyssa Logan, telling Us, “I did date her for a month. I was going through a tough time, and she’s amazing. I never held hands with her around the kids, though. Now I’m not dating anyone specifically. It will be a long time before I’m in a relationship.”