'Flip or Flop' Alums Christina and Tarek Have Moved On Since Their Split — but Why Did They Break Up?

We miss watching Christina and Tarek El Moussa flip foreclosed houses on Flip or Flop, but we're lucky their show did so well that HGTV came up with a whole Flip or Flop franchise!

These days, Christina and Tarek have had new projects and relationships since their 2016 separation. But why did Christina and Tarek break up in the first place? Here's what to know.

Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa married in 2009, right after the housing bubble burst of 2008. The newlyweds, who were both already in the real estate industry, began flipping foreclosed and distresses houses around California.

Then, they made another incredible decision and emailed HGTV's production company, cold, to tell them what they were doing. "They liked us and said to send a home video," Tarek told Country Living. "A year and a half later, HGTV picked us up for a pilot."

Their show began airing on HGTV in April 2013, three years after the birth of their first daughter, Taylor Reese, and two years before their son, Brayden James, was born. And it was an instant success, but behind the scenes, Christina's and Tarek's private life was floundering.

Not long after Flip or Flop hit the air, the married couple faced some health challenges. First, Tarek was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, then testicular cancer. While he was going through radiation, Christina suffered a miscarriage.

She was able to get pregnant with Brayden James, but this time around had to be "super strict," Christina said to People. "We did everything we could to make sure this one worked," she said. At the same time, Tarek hurt his back, and both husband and wife were put on bed rest.

"[His recovery] was two months of sheer torture," Christina explained, while Tarek took to an Instagram post. "I lost 50 pounds and was taking large amount of pain meds to try and help the pain," he wrote. "Truthfully those meds really affected my mental and physical state and changed who I was."

Then, their baby boy arrived in August of 2015. But Christina went back to work just one month later, a decision she regrets. "It was too soon for me," she said in another interview with People. "I was overwhelmed." 

Health complications, pregnancy scare, and being with each other 24/7 certainly contributed to their split. "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," she went on to say.

In May 2016, TMZ reported emerged that police had swarmed the El Moussas' house following a call that a possibly suicidal male had fled to a hiking trail while carrying a gun. Tarek told police that he was only trying to "blow off some steam" after having an explosive argument with Christina, and brought the gun for protection from mountain lions and rattlesnakes.

Tarek would later reflect on this in his book Flip Your Life, writing: “For the next several hours, I sat on a cooler on my driveway, handcuffed. That was the very last time we were together as a family: with Christina walking down the driveway, crying, and me sitting there in handcuffs, asking myself, What in the world is going on?”

A dark period for Tarek followed, in which he turned to alcohol. He was also feeling the affects of withdrawal from testosterone, which he'd been taking "way too much" of. Friends eventually got him into rehab.

Christina went on to marry TV host Ant Anstead in 2018, and she changed her name to Christina Anstead. The couple welcomed son Hudson in 2019, but they split the following year, and their divorce was finalized in 2021. Christina went on to date realtor Josh Hall, and they got married in 2022. Christina changed her name to Christina Hall.

Meanwhile, Tarek began dating Selling Sunset star Heather Rae Young in 2019. They got married in 2021 and welcomed baby boy Tristan in 2023.

Though Christina and Tarek continued hosting Flip or Flop together for more than five years after their 2016 split, they also moved on to other projects as well. Christina launched Christina on the Coast and Christina in the Country, while Tarek starred on The Flipping El Moussas (with Heather) and Flipping 101.