What You Never Knew About Christina Anstead And Tarek El Moussa's Relationship

What don't you know about Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa's relationship? There's something so oddly satisfying about watching real-life people exist on television, and if they're renovating a house, then you get the added bonus of watching a space come to life — and that's basically the beauty of HGTV. And even if you've never seen an episode of HGTV's Flip or Flop, you've likely heard of Anstead and El Moussa, the formerly married couple who made the show the smashing success it is today. Anstead and El Moussa started the show as a happily married couple, with a growing family and big dreams.

But, as fans know, that all came crashing down when the two separated and then divorced. Of course, the show went on, but viewers couldn't help but become totally fascinated by the state of Anstead and El Moussa's marriage. And while they would both eventually move on with other people, what you never knew about Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa's relationship is that it started out so promising, but then turned extremely complicated.

For anyone who's seen Flip or Flop, it's abundantly clear that Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa have a sensational rapport with each other. But before they were charming stars of a home renovation show, Anstead and El Moussa were mere coworkers; despite any initial attraction they met have felt towards each other, they kept it professional for one very important reason.

In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Anstead explained how she and El Moussa met, and that things were a little complicated at first. Specifically, while Anstead had just graduated from college, El Moussa was already well-known in the real estate business. Specifically, Anstead's manager told her to meet El Moussa think of him as a mentor. At the time, Anstead had just ended a relationship, but El Moussa was still seeing someone, so they remained friends and coworkers for over a year before taking things out of the friend zone.

To look at either Christina Anstead or Tarek El Moussa's social media pages is to glimpse a peek into the lives of the rich and fabulous. But before Flip or Flop – and even before they were married — Anstead and El Moussa faced a ton of financial stress. Before the market crashed in 2008, Anstead and El Moussa had fancy cars, a nice house, and everything you would expect an up-and-coming couple to possess. But it didn't last long.

According to Good Housekeeping, Anstead and El Moussa had to sell El Moussa's house, and couldn't even afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment, so they had to find a roommate. But for as lean as those times were, Anstead wasn't embarrassed by it, and even credits it for making the pair look more appealing for reality television and HGTV. "They liked the fact that we were poor and were trying to make something of ourselves," she told the O.C. Register in an interview. Money or no money, Anstead and El Moussa were in it for the long haul, even at the beginning of their relationship.

Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa certainly had a whirlwind of a romance, as they've basically always been spontaneous people. Additionally, Once they were able to finally start a romantic relationship, they moved pretty quickly. Hey, if it's meant to be, it'll be, and that certainly seems to be the mindset Anstead and El Moussa had, right from the start.

Specifically, about 14 months after Anstead and El Moussa first met at work, his previous relationship ended, freeing him up to date Anstead. And while it's unclear how long they waited after the breakup to begin seeing each other, once they became boyfriend and girlfriend, there was no stopping them. "The day Tarek and I officially started dating, which was October 9, 2006, we moved in together," Anstead told Good Housekeeping. 

Even though they'd known each other for well over a year, it's still pretty hasty to move in with someone you just started dating; but Anstead and El Moussa apparently had no qualms, and decided to take a leap of faith.

Listen, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the people who star on HGTV shows all share one important quality: they're ridiculously good looking. Chip and Joanna Gaines? Stunning. The Property Brothers? Um, hello gorgeous! So Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead's good looks aren't exactly an anomaly at the network, but that doesn't mean El Moussa was any less taken by his then-wife's beauty. 

In an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles, Anstead and El Moussa discussed their lives and their show, Flip or Flop. While explaining how they landed their dream job with HGTV, El Moussa shared that Anstead was pregnant when they pitched the network, so she filmed him making renovations. But, El Moussa maintains that Anstead is the only reason they got the gig. "All the pictures I sent were of her, not of me," he revealed. Clearly, El Moussa was smitten with Anstead and her wonderful features and wanted the world to know.

Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa have obviously been through a lot as both a married couple and as business partners. But you might not know that while El Moussa has a rather laid-back and goofy demeanor, he's basically a love-sick puppy at heart. Back when Anstead and El Moussa were just two kids in love, El Moussa was pretty romantic with his wife — and he wasn't afraid of grand gestures, either.

In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Anstead described how El Moussa had surprised her with an awesome gift when their daughter, Taylor, was still a baby. "My dream car was always a Cadillac Escalade with big rims, like 26s," Anstead explained. And one day, El Moussa got her exactly that. "I heard something like a revved engine, and I looked out her window, and he'd pulled up with the exact car I liked," she added. It was a total surprise for Anstead, and one that she'll never forget.

For anyone, regardless of fame or fortune, a health scare is the last thing you want to go through. Sadly, Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa had to while they were married, and it ended up being even worse than they initially thought. 

Specifically, a fan watching Flip or Flop noticed that El Moussa had a lump on his neck, and wrote to the network that he should get it checked out. From there, their world exploded. "I actually went to the doctor twice for it, and they said it's nothing. So, once I saw [the note], I was like, 'You know what? I need to get a second opinion,'" El Moussa told People. 

Sadly, that second opinion resulted in a biopsy, which found cancerous cells; that led to surgery for El Moussa, who then had to quarantine away from his family. "It was a nightmare," he continued. "I can't stay with my daughter for more than a few minutes at a time." Fortunately, El Moussa later learned that the cancer hadn't spread past his neck, as they caught it early. At least they got through it together. Sort of.

There is no one right way to grow your family, and parents today are lucky that there are so many options available to them. Still, that doesn't make the process any easier, something both Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa know all too well. While they had already welcomed daughter Taylor to the world, the pair had a harder time getting pregnant the second time around. Unfortunately, Anstead's struggle with infertility lasted a while, and ended up being pretty heartbreaking and hard to deal with.

According to People, Anstead had gone through two failed IVF attempts, one of which ended in a miscarriage at just eight weeks, before she changed doctors and eventually conceived their son. But when she did get pregnant, she was careful. "I had to be super strict," Anstead recalled. "I had to do one full week in bed. For 13 weeks after that, I couldn't go for a walk and couldn't lift anything over a gallon of milk. We planned it during Christmas break so I wasn't working. We did everything we could to make sure this one worked." And happily enough, it did work.

For a couple that's had their fair share of health concerns, Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa seemingly couldn't get a break when they found out their friend and coworker was suffering from cancer. A contractor from Flip or Flop, Frank Miller, sadly died in 2017 of laryngeal cancer, according to People; both Anstead and El Moussa were heartbroken over their loss.

In an Instagram post honoring Miller's life, El Moussa wrote a heartfelt tribute. "You have touched not only myself and my family but thousands and thousands around the world," he shared. "I just love you love you love you more than you know!" 

As if that wasn't sad enough, Anstead also shared her sweet words for Miller on Instagram. "You are so admired and respected by all who know you," she wrote. "God has a special place for you in Heaven." Ugh, if that doesn't just break your heart than what does? The loss of Miller was hard on the couple, and might have contributed to some issues, as well.

It wasn't long after Flip or Flop premiered in 2013 that Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa started having marital issues. Their relationship really took a hit just a couple of years after that, and in 2016 they announced that they were separating. 

However, the news wasn't a total shock to everyone, including those that knew them and were familiar with their marriage. An anonymous source told People that they'd always noticed how the pair was totally incompatible. "She has champagne tastes, and he's a beer-from-a-can kind of guy," the insider revealed. 

However, the source noted that "the stardom from the show, and the money from the show, meant that she started to feel like she could finally have some of the finer things in life." And in the end, El Moussa allegedly couldn't keep up with Anstead's demands. Whatever their situation was, if onlookers thought they didn't belong together, it wasn't good.

Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa weren't always dealing with marital issues, but it appears as though it was more than just their sudden rise to success that caused them to break apart. Seriously, between the stress of work, appearing on a national television show, raising children, and of course, the health issues El Moussa had faced, the couple started to drift apart, and it proved to be detrimental to their entire relationship.

Specifically, El Moussa's cancer diagnosis and treatment caused the couple to really fracture. "Like any couple we had our share of issues," Anstead explained to People about their separation. "But we went through a lot in a short amount of time," she continued, referring to El Moussa's cancer and their fertility issues. "Tension between me and Tarek was high," she added. 

With as much on their plate, it's not shocking that Anstead and El Moussa ended their relationship.

When it comes to the art of a graceful separation, Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa might just take the cake. During the height of their relationship issues, the pair remained committed to keeping their children out of it.

In fact, People reported that Anstead and El Moussa literally went on a family outing with both their children to see Santa Claus mere days before they publicly announced their separation. Clearly, the couple was trying to shelter their children from all the drama as much as possible, which is pretty admirable. In their joint statement about the separation, Anstead and El Moussa explained their choices. "During the process, we are committed to our kids and being the best parents we can be," they shared. "We will continue to work through this process civilly and cooperatively, and plan to continue our professional life together." 

Even with divorce on the horizon, Anstead and El Moussa kept it calm, cool, and collected for their kids.

It's obviously not uncommon for celebs and reality show stars to deal with rumors about their personal lives; it's really just par for the course when you're a public persona. And for Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa, the rumors that began to swirl after they announced their separation were plentiful.

Specifically, the initial assumption was that one of them cheated on the other, though they both denied that. Their initial statement about their separation brushed aside the mention of either of them cheating, but that doesn't mean it's true. "Neither of us was involved in a romantic relationship with any third party prior to our separation or believes the other was," the statement read in part. 

But, reports of Anstead cheating on El Moussa with a contractor from Flip or Flop continued to circulate, with sources claiming it led to a violent altercation on El Moussa's part (via The Hollywood Gossip). Whether or not there was any infidelity, it's clear that tempers were running high in their relationship, and their split might have been for the best.

For as fun and adorable as babies are, adding more children to your family is a big decision. And even if a couple is totally excited to have another child, that doesn't make it any easier once that baby actually shows up and your lives are completely flipped upside down. In Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa's case, the arrival of their second child, son Braydon, didn't seem to help ease any stress and tension they were already dealing with.

In fact, Anstead told People that one of the biggest triggers of their separation was the fact that she went back to work just four weeks after giving birth to Brayden. Obviously that would be stressful for anyone, but for a couple who was already dealing with a lot, it was practically a death sentence. "It was too soon for me," Anstead admitted. "I was overwhelmed." And overwhelmed people tend not to be able to deal with too much else, especially a marriage that's falling apart.

As any couple or relationship expert will tell you, money can be one of the biggest stressors for a married couple, or any romantic partnership really. When you combine finances and run into trouble with them, it can be difficult, something Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa have first-hand experience with.

During an appearance on The Dr. Drew Podcast, El Moussa explained that in the midst of all the craziness they had to deal with, they also had some financial drama that was basically the nail in the coffin of their marriage. "We bought a house, remodeling the house... my hormonal levels were off and I wasn't feeling really well a lot of the time and I wasn't being the best person I could have been," he said on the podcast (via Good Housekeeping). "There's so much going on with TV and the notoriety and the finances and so many different things happening at one time and it slowly pulled us apart." 

Though they had money, things were still uncertain, and that obviously didn't help the state of Anstead and El Moussa's relationship.