- Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa have a tear-filled, healing heart-to-heart during the series premiere of their new HGTV show, The Flip Off
- The exes and co-stars separated in 2016 when their relationship “imploded” after a harrowing incident involving a gun
- Their co-parenting relationship has had its ups and downs in the 8 years since, with more than one public spat
- They now star on the house flipping competition series together alongside Tarek’s current wife, Heather Rae El Moussa
Christina Haack (formerly Hall) and Tarek El Moussa are finally having a conversation 8 years in the making.
In a PEOPLE exclusive clip from the series premiere of The Flip Off (airing Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT), the exes have an emotional talk about how they treated each other during their seven-year marriage and in the often-trying times since. The discussion sparks after Christina, 41, tearfully tells her ex that she and her third husband, Josh Hall, have officially split.
During their talk at her Newport Beach, Calif. home, Christina opens up about her tendency to keep jumping into relationships that she knows “aren’t right” for her. She breaks down into tears when she tells Tarek, 43, how “horrible” things have been since their marriage ended in 2016, prompting the two to have a candid conversation that eventually leads them to offer their forgiveness to each other.
“I know we’re in a good place now,” Christina tells Tarek. “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.”
She continues, “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. And that really, really, really hurt me a lot and really affected me.”
Choking up himself, Tarek responds, “I understand that feeling of being a little bit lost. And I acknowledge that I’m a big part, if not the entire part, of all of this.”
The pair first met in 2005 when Tarek was 24 and Christina was 22. After building their house flipping business together, as was documented on their hit HGTV show Flip or Flop, the former couple’s marriage came to an end in 2016 after a scary incident that involved Tarek fleeing their California home with a gun.
“I’m really sorry for s—. I really am. I just want you to know that,” Christina says as she wipes a tear from her face. She continues to say “I’m sorry” as Tarek reaches out his hand and places it on her knee.
“You forgive me?” Christina asks, to which Tarek responds, “A hundred percent, yeah.”
With tears in her eyes, she asks again, “Promise?”
“A hundred percent. I did a lot of things too,” Tarek says as he starts to get emotional. “I hold zero against you.”
What Christina shares next brings Tarek to tears, prompting him to cover his face with his hand.
“You’re a great dad. I’m really proud of you,” she tells him. “You’ve come a really long way. I can see it, you know. You’re so much calmer, you’re so much wiser, for real.”
In separate confessional clips, the two explain the events that led to the downfall of their marriage prior to the gun incident, including Tarek’s health issues that he previously went into detail on in his 2024 memoir, Flip Your Life.
“I got diagnosed with cancer and then I hurt my back. I lost 60 lbs. because I was taking so many opiates and Vicodin and painkillers,” he explains. “I lost my way, lost who I was. I just wasn’t the best husband. I wasn’t the best father. You know, I own my s—. It wasn’t me, but it was me.”
In her own confessional, Christina says that Tarek “didn’t always treat me right, and he’ll admit that.” She adds, “Tarek was more focused on work than his family. When we split up, it’s like it forced him to be like, oh, I have to be present for these kids.”
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The pair share two children together — daughter Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9. Christina also shares son Hudson, 5, with her second husband Ant Anstead, while Tarek has a two-year-old son named Tristan with his wife Heather Rae El Moussa.
Heather also stars on The Flip Off as her husband’s teammate throughout the series, while Christina turns to her trusted design team from her solo series Christina on the Coast to help her in the house flipping showdown. She was originally set to have her third husband Josh as her teammate before their July 2024 split.
The Flip Off airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.
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