Christina Haack has revealed that her emotionally vulnerable scene with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa on Wednesday’s (January 29) season premiere of HGTV‘s The Flip Off wasn’t “intentional.”
After the scene received praise from viewers for showing a raw and real side of the long-time HGTV personalities, Haack spoke with People about how it came about, admitting that the candid confessions between her and Tarek “weren’t even intentional” and all “just came out.”
The Flip Off was intended to be a house-flipping competition series between Haack and her then-husband, Josh Hall, and her ex-husband Tarek and his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa. However, Haack and Hall split early into filming, and the latter exited the show, which viewers saw play out during Wednesday’s premiere.
In the episode, Haack called Tarek over to her Newport Beach, California home to break the news that she and Hall had separated. The scene quickly became emotional as Haack opened up about her struggles ever since she and Tarek split in December 2016.
“When [Tarek] came over, I had been dealing with this in real-time for a week or two, and so I was just emotional, hadn’t been sleeping,” she told People, referring to Hall filing for divorce in July 2024. “And so he walks in and then I just like… it all just came out.”
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“None of it was intentional, but I think it was definitely healing for both of us,” she added. “And I think some closure for viewers that have watched us since our mid-twenties and just seeing the real raw moment. It was very authentic and it wasn’t planned.”
Haack and Tarek first met in 2005 and married on April 17, 2009. They share two children, daughter Taylor Reese (born 2010) and son Brayden James (born 2015). Fans first got to know the former couple on the renovation series Flip or Flop, which debuted on HGTV in 2013. They split in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2018.
On Wednesday’s episode, Haack broke into tears as she reflected on her past with Tarek, saying, “I know we’re in a good place now. But yeah, we went through a lot of stuff. I don’t think anyone understands just how much stuff we went through. We met when we were so young.”
“When our stuff imploded, I felt like not only did I lose… we were best friends, but also I felt like I lost like, I need to be a full-time mom,” she continued. “And that really, really, really hurt me a lot and really affected me.”
Haack went on to apologize for how she treated Tarek after their split and asked him to forgive her. Tarek said he “100 percent” forgave her and also apologized himself, saying, “I did a lot of things too. I hold zero against you.”
The Flip Off, Season 1, Wednesdays, 8/7c, HGTV