The Stars Align

HGTV hosts Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa married their styles to design their first home together.

- JAIMIE DALESSIO CLAYTON

When spouses are both real estate pros, house hunting can be a little...intense. "We would wake up at 5 a.m. and drive around different neighborhoods, just for fun," says Tarek El Moussa, who stars in The Flipping El Moussas with his wife, real estate agent Heather Rae. After hundreds of viewings, they fell in love with this 3,000-square-foot house just a block from the ocean in Newport Beach, CA-but they weren't sure if they should flip it or make it their first home as a couple. They decided to keep it, and ended up on a year-and-a-half-long renovation roller coaster. More than halfway through construction, the house flooded and they had to start over. Then, just as finishing touches were being put on the nursery, the place flooded again because of a poorly installed pipe. "After all that, the house means so much to us now," Heather says. And it's the perfect spot for their growing family: They share Taylor, 12, and Brayden, 7, with Tarek's ex, Christina Hall, and the couple welcomed baby Tristan in January.