Christina Haack Was Stunned by Emotional Embrace from Ex Ant Anstead After 3rd Divorce: ‘He Said I’m So Sorry’
After her split from third husband Josh Hall in July 2024, the HGTV star’s second ex surprised her with a heartfelt gesture
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Christina Haack is revealing the moment she unexpectedly reconciled with her second ex-husband, Ant Anstead after four years.
The HGTV star, 41, opened up about the interaction in a teaser for episode 4 of The Flip Off (airing Feb. 19) on Instagram. In the clip, Christina goes into detail about a surprising gesture that happened right after her split from her third husband, Josh Hall in July 2024.
“Ant and I split up when Hudson was one and now Hudson is 5,” Christina says, referring to her son she welcomed with Anstead in September 2019. “During the time between his first birthday and I would say, his fifth birthday, we did not communicate a lot.”
After the pair split in September 2020, they became embroiled in a heated custody battle involving Hudson that was finally settled in December 2022.
“After Josh and I split up, I went over to [Ant’s] house to pick Hudson up because I was taking him to a birthday party,” Christina says. “And when I walked up to the door, he gave me a huge hug. We hadn’t hugged in years.”
The genuine show of support proved to be a turning point in their relationship.
“He just said ‘I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through and I’m here for you no matter what you need.’ It was a very nice moment. We had a long talk after and we decided to put all the BS aside and be good co-parents, like Tarek and I, for Hudson.”
Christina and her first husband Tarek El Moussa share two children, Taylor, 14, and Brayden, 9.
Later in the scene, Christina calls Anstead to ask him whether he’d be open to appearing as a guest judge on The Flip Off.
The new series follows Christina and her trusted team as they compete in a house flipping competition against Tarek and his wife Heather El Moussa. She was originally set to partner up with her now-estranged husband Josh before the pair split two months after the series was announced.
Tarek and Heather previously opened up about how they were in complete shock when they found out Anstead would be appearing on the show during an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in January.
They said that the series of events especially caught them off guard because they had no clue Christina and Anstead were even on speaking terms following their tense divorce.
“All of a sudden they’re besties,” Tarek recalled of his reaction to seeing Anstead and Christina interact on set. Heather added that it “really threw us off” because they were under the impression that Christina and Ant “weren’t talking.”
JON KOPALOFF/GETTY; MICHAEL TULLBERG/GETTY; AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY
Heather explained how watching Christina and Anstead’s newly-mended relationship “unfold in front of our eyes” was a whirlwind experience.
“[Christina] started following [Ant] on Instagram and we were like, ‘What? What’s going on?’ It really was like that for us,” she said at the time. “You see it transpire on TV and we’re so thrown off by the situation. I think we texted her, ‘Why are you following Ant? What’s going on?’”
Referring to Tarek, Christina chimed in, “I feel like some of [the judges] that I picked were just to mess with him. It worked.”
Fans first got a hint that Anstead might be joining the show when Christina joked about him replacing Josh on the series following his sudden exit.
Christina and Anstead were then spotted filming together in November 2024, and a source told PEOPLE at the time: “Ant is going to appear on the show, but he won’t be Christina’s partner.”
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Both Christina and Ant are currently in relationships. Christina is dating businessman Christopher Larocca, and Anstead is in a nearly four-year relationship with Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger.
The Flip Off airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.
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Christina Haack’s Ex Ant Anstead Teases “Awkward” Reunion on The Flip Off
Christina Haack and ex-husband Ant Anstead reunited to promote his cameo on The Flip Off, her HGTV show with her first former spouse Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather Rae El Moussa.
Christina Haack just doubled down on the term friendly.
In fact, the 41-year-old reunites with ex-husband Ant Anstead on the HGTV competition series The Flip Off, which she stars in alongside former spouse Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather Rae El Moussa.
“Now this is kind of a bizarre day for me,” Ant said in a video shared to Instagram page Feb. 19, hours before the show is set to air, “because I got asked by someone I know relatively well to step in to a TV show and do them a favor and yeah, it feels really weird, because that person is currently on the couch, looking, pretending like she’s working.”
Ant—who shares son Hudson London Anstead, 5, with Christina—then panned the phone camera at his ex-wife, adding, “I advise that you tune in to the show. It’s called The Flip Off and it involves that lady and another couple. That’s not awkward, is it?”
Christina commented on the post, “All’s fair in love and war ….. tune in tonight: #theflipoff just got spicier.”
In an HGTV promo for the Feb. 19 episode, Christina—also a mom to kids Taylor El Moussa, 14, and Brayden El Moussa, 9, from her first marriage—tells teammate Kylie Wing that she wants to bring in Ant to be a guest judge on the show, adding, “Because I just love to mess with Tarek.”
The British TV personality’s guest appearance on The Flip Off was first reported in November, when he was spotted filming with Christina more than three months after she and Josh Hall filed for divorce to end their two-year marriage.
Ant, who began dating actress Renée Zellweger after finalizing his divorce from Christina in 2021, replaces the HGTV star’s estranged third husband on the series.
On HGTV’s The Flip Off promo, Christina also provides insight into her and Ant’s relationship, past and present, noting a change in it that came after she and Josh separated.
“Ant and I split up when Hudson was 1 and now Hudson is 5. Between the time of his first birthday and I would say fifth birthday, we did not communicate a lot,” she said in a confessional. “After Josh and I split up, I went over to his house to pick up Hudson, because I was taking him to a birthday party, and when I walked up to the door, he gave me a huge hug.”
The Christina on the Coast star continued, “We hadn’t hugged in years. And he just said, ‘I’m so sorry for everything that you’re going through and I’m here for you, no matter what you need.’ And it was a very nice moment and we had a long talk after and we decided to put all the B.S. aside and be good coparents, like Tarek and I are, for Hudson.”
Look back at Christina and Tarek’s family tree…
Christina and Tarek welcomed their first child together on Sept. 22, 2010.
Following their divorce, the pair continued to co-parent their daughter, who Christina has described as an “old soul who one minute can talk super deep about life and then quickly go back to being a kid.”
“Her greatest ability is being able to start a conversation with anyone, anywhere,” she said of Taylor. “Fun, smart, athletic, HAPPY, and always keeping us on our toes.”
Christina and Tarek welcomed their second child together on Aug. 20, 2015.
In addition to their oldest child Taylor, the two have continued to co-parent Brayden after their divorce. In the past, Tarek has described their son as “a ball of energy” and the “sweetest boy with the biggest heart.”
“No words can describe how much brighter this boy makes my day,” Tarek shared. “I feel blessed every single day to be his and Tay’s dad and raising him and seeing him grow up makes me the happiest dad alive.”
Almost a year after announcing her split from Tarek, Christina started dating Ant, a TV presenter from England, in October 2017. The two went public with their relationship in January 2018—the same month Christina’s divorce from Tarek was finalized—and tied the knot in a winter-themed wedding at their home in Newport Beach, Calif., on Dec. 22, 2018.
Christina and Ant—who is dad to daughter Amelie and son Archie with his first wife Louise Storey—welcomed their first child together, son Hudson, in 2019.
The couple were married for less than two years before announcing their separation in September 2020. Their divorce was finalized nine months later.
Since the split, Ant has moved on with actress Renée Zellweger.
Christina and Ant welcomed their son on Sept. 6, 2019. At the time, the baby boy arrived weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measured at 19.5 inches long.
Though they agreed on shared legal and physical custody of Hudson when their divorce was finalized in June 2021, Ant filed for full custody in April 2022, claiming in court documents that his ex spends roughly “9 full days” with their child each month.
The following December, the exes reached an agreement in which both would “continue to have joint legal and joint physical custody” of Hudson, according to court documents obtained by E! News.
Heather Rae Young, Tarek’s Second Wife
Tarek met the Selling Sunset star on the Fourth of July in 2019, when they were partying on boats that had docked next to each other at a marina in Newport Beach, Calif. Later that month, the pair were spotted kissing on a yacht and Tarek confirmed to E! News they were dating that August, saying, “I never thought I’d say this word again, but this beautiful young lady, Heather Rae, is my girlfriend, officially.”
The couple got engaged in July 2020 and became husband and wife on Oct. 23, 2021, exchanging vows during a romantic outdoor ceremony near Santa Barbara, Calif.
Heather has often referred to herself as the “bonus mom” of Tarek’s two older children, Taylor and Brayden. “I already feel like I have two kids,” she previously explained to E! News. “I’m raising Tarek’s babies, and we have them 50 percent of the time. I am such a good bonus mommy. I adore those kids. I raise them like they’re mine.”
Tristan Jay El Moussa, Tarek and Heather’s Son
Tarek and Heather welcomed their son on Jan. 31, 2023. At the time, the baby boy arrived weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces.
He was named Tristan because “Tarek was supposed to be named Tristan,” according to Heather, “and his parents ended up naming him Tarek.”
His middle name is a nod to Heather’s dad.
After calling it quits with her second husband Ant, Christina began dating Josh in 2021. The pair went public with their relationship that July, with Christina revealing that they had been together for “a few solid months.”
According to the Flip or Flop star, she met Josh, a licensed realtor, that spring at a time in her life when she “wasn’t in a state of fear or fight-or-flight” and had “taken time off social, hired a spiritual coach and smoked a Bufo toad” to “reset” her brain.
Christina and Josh got engaged that September and tied the knot on Oct. 6, 2021.
Their actual wedding date wasn’t known until Josh filed for divorce on July 15, 2024, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.
Until the process of remodeling her childhood home unfolded on the July 11, 2024, episode of Christina on the Coast, she had kept her roots pretty private, mainly sharing glimpses of her parents as grandparents.
In 2019, she shared in an Instagram post that “we all sit together—my family and Tarek’s family” when they watch Taylor perform at her school’s annual Christmas concert.
“A couple people acknowledged how nice this is- I know there are a lot of divorced couples (including Tarek’s mom and dad) who do this too and it’s honestly easier for everyone,” she wrote at the time. “Plus Taylor’s face lights up when she sees us all in the same row supporting her.”
Though Josh’s relationship with Christina pushed him into the spotlight, his sisters found fame way back in the aughts.
Stacie—or “Stacie the Bartender” as some fans remember her—was famously the target of Spencer Pratt’s flirtations on The Hills. She has also appeared on Vanderpump Rules, most notably on season three as one of the bridesmaids in Scheana Shay’s bridesmaids.
As for Jessica, the former Playboy model also made appearances on The Hills, as well as The Girls Next Door, Kendra, Kendra on Top and Kendra Sells Hollywood in support her best friend Kendra Wilkinson.
The older sister of Tarek, Angelique is the owner of Latitude 33 Hair Artistry in Anaheim, Calif. She purchased one of Tarek and Christina’s flipped homes on an episode of Flip or Flop in 2014 and later filmed a digital series with her HGTV host bro in 2019.
Tarek’s mother Dominique is no longer with the Flipping 101 star’s father, whose name he has never publicly shared. She is currently married to Robert, who describes the El Moussa matriarch as “the love of my life” on Instagram.
Tarek has never shared his father’s name, though in a November 2017 Facebook post he announced that his “old man” had turned 70 years old.
“The relationship between a father and his children is so important. I was lucky enough to have a supportive and motivating father that made me believe I could accomplish anything in the world,” he captioned a picture of the family’s birthday celebrations for the patriarch. “I can say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my dad. I will take all the lessons I’ve learned from him and pass it on to my children.”
In an interview with Country Living, Tarek said his father was “raised Catholic in the Middle East in Lebanon and then Egypt” and met his mother, who is from Belgium, in Europe as a teen.
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Christina Haack and ex-husband Ant Anstead reunited to promote his cameo on The Flip Off, her HGTV show with her first former spouse Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather Rae El Moussa.
Taylor Reese El Moussa, Christina and Tarek’s Daughter
Brayden James El Moussa, Christina and Tarek’s Son
Ant Anstead, Christina’s Second Husband
Hudson London Anstead, Christina and Ant’s Son
Heather Rae Young, Tarek’s Second Wife
Tristan Jay El Moussa, Tarek and Heather’s Son
Josh Hall, Christina’s Third Husband
Christina’s Parents
Stacie Adams and Jessica Hall, Christina’s Sister-in-Laws
Angelique El Moussa, Tarek’s Sister
Dominique El Moussa and Robert Carroll, Tarek’s Mom and Stepdad
Tarek’s Dad
Ant Anstead calls out ex-wife Christina Haack, Tarek El Moussa for flirting
February 20, 2025
Ant Anstead is taking notice of Christina Haack and her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa’s playful banter on a show they star alongside El Moussa’s wife Heather.
The British automotive expert and TV host sat with Haack, El Moussa, and Heather in a recent episode of The Flip Off to announce the winner of this week’s guest bedroom design challenge.
Before they began, Haack teased El Moussa while they all were seated outside at Christina’s Newport Beach, California home. “So were you bothering him or what?” referring to Anstead.
Tarek hit back with a smirk, “Your presence just being around him is bothering him,” to which Christina responded, “No, he’s fine.”
Heather also added to the banter, motioning between Anstead and Christina, and asking, “I have a question. How is this situation?” as Anstead and Haack, who married in December 2018, only recently reconciled after their September 2020 divorce. The exes also share a son, Hudson, now 5.
Anstead looked at Christina and Tarek instead and commented, “Once you guys stop flirting with each other, let’s get into it. Cause we’re here to do a job.”
“I’m just an innocent victim,” El Moussa defended himself, adding “I just sit here and she abuses me.”
Agreeing with his ex-wife’s first husband, Anstead joked back, “We are both innocent victims.”
“We should get all of us together and start a boy band,” El Moussa added to the joke by seemingly including Christina’s third husband, Josh Hall, from whom she split in July 2024.
Anstead reiterated that El Moussa and Haack stop flirting, to which Heather gave him a subtle warning. “Ant, now you’re really going to be in trouble if you keep using that word.”
Christina also shares two children—daughter Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9—with Tarek. Meanwhile, Tarek and Heather share a son, Tristan, 2.
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