How did these exes (and their new spouses!) end up back together!? - Inside The Flip Off

Seven years after their finalizing divorce, Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa are teaming up on TV again - this time with his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa. The real estate stars talk to Us about their dynamic (and the drama!) on and off set

- JAIME HARKIN & ANDREA SIMPSON

The Flip Off premieres Wed., Jan. 29, at 8 P.M. on HGTV.

When Christina Haack, her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa, signed on to do the new HGTV competition series The Flip Off, they weren’t exactly sure what they were getting themselves into. “I’ve never shot with Heather, so I was like, ‘What’s that going to be like? Tarek and I have a playful banter; is she going to be jealous?’” shares Christina, 41, who split from her third husband, Josh Hall, shortly after filming began. (Originally, both couples were set to square off; Christina decided to continue solo.) Heather, 37, also had a few reservations. “It was like, ‘Are we going to get along? Are we going to work well together?’” she says. The Selling Sunset alum married Tarek, 43, in October 2021, and they welcomed son Tristan in January 2023. As for Tarek? “My main fear was that they would team up against me — which they did!”

Jokes aside, the dynamic between the unlikely trio is a harmonious one — and something they’ve all worked hard to attain. (Tarek and Christina split in 2016 after seven years of marriage; they share daughter Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9. Christina also shares son Hudson, 5, with ex-husband Ant Anstead, who makes an appearance on The Flip Off in a surprising twist.) “There have been so many times throughout all of this that I’m like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we did that,’” says Christina. “I’m proud of all of us.”

So, how did this show come about?

TAREK For the last couple years, Heather and I have been talking about creating a house-flipping competition show. Then my ex-wife started talking smack on the soccer field about how she’s a better flipper. Next thing you know, we’re in this.