A Look Back At HGTV Star Tarek El Moussa's Troubled Past

Real estate agent and television personality Tarek El Moussa is best known for co-hosting the HGTV show "Flip or Flop" alongside his ex-wife, Christina Hall. The show ran from 2013 to 2022, even after the pair divorced. Tarek is now the star of "The Flipping El Moussas," with his current wife Heather Rae El Moussa, which has also become a HGTV hit. With his impressive net worth of an estimated $15 million and a massive fanbase, it's hard to believe that Tarek came from a troubled past.

Tarek dealt with steep financial troubles before landing in real estate. The entrepreneur sold knives and washed trucks to make ends meet. In his early twenties, things became so dire that he was forced to live in his mother's garage. Even as life began to improve, Tarek was hit with the devastating news shortly after his television debut that he had both thyroid and testicular cancer. Today, he is cancer-free, though money and medical woes were not all of Tarek's past problems.

Before Tarek El Moussa was a house-flipping guru, he was admittedly a wild teen who found himself in a gang, likely due to the rough neighborhood he grew up in. That would lead him down a dark path that saw Tarek nearly facing jail time following a fight. At just 17 years old, Tarek was arrested and charged after hitting a man in the head with a baseball bat during an altercation. He detailed this incident in his February 2024 memoir, "Flip Your Life."

According to Tarek, the incident began when his friends and an opposing group met at a local park to square off. As the squabble began, Tarek was hit with much force with a bat and retaliated by snatching the bat and hitting the guy in the head. This immediately knocked him unconscious, leading to Tarek being charged with a string of charges. "I must have blacked out. When I came to, I was sitting in the back of a police car, in handcuffs, charged with assault and battery, aggravated assault, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon," Tarek wrote in an excerpt obtained by People. 

Tarek was briefly detained in juvenile detention before it was determined in court that he acted in self-defense, though it's unclear what happened to the other young man that he struck with the bat. This second chance struck a chord with Tarek, who became determined to change his life.

Tarek El Moussa had another disturbing run-in with police years later. This time, it stemmed from an argument with his now ex-wife, Christina Hall. Things unfolded in May 2016 when police received a call in regards to a male who was possibly suicidal. When police responded, Tarek was gone. They later caught up with him in Chino Hills State Park. 

Tarek assured them that he wouldn't harm himself and just needed to cool off. He claimed he only took his firearm for protection against potential wildlife on the trail. However, authorities weren't entirely buying it, as his alleged erratic behavior was observed by a witness who saw him jolt out of his back door and jump a fence before heading to the nature trail with the gun. Tarek was not arrested in the case but did voluntarily relinquish all his firearms for 30 days.

That frightening day proved too much for the couple. Tarek filed for divorce in January 2017. Today, however, he seems to be on a much happier path. Tarek wed Heather Rae El Moussa in October 2021 and continues to make strides in his career. Still, Tarek wants to be a testament to those battling similar hardships that he had in his life, telling People in February 2024, "You can literally be a gang banger right now, robbing people, and you can flip your life. Anybody can change. They just have to want to."