A Look Inside Christina Hall’s Three Divorces

When it comes to television, it’s tough to describe Christina Hall’s HGTV success as anything other than meteoric. After all, her first series, “Flip or Flop,” became one of the network’s biggest hits, running for 10 seasons until ending its run in 2022. An unlikely TV star, Hall proved she was no one-trick pony when her follow-up series, “Christina on the Coast,” also became a smash for HGTV.

Her first marriage to her “Flip or Flop” co-star, Tarek El Moussa, ended in divorce. She then tied the knot with British television host Ant Anstead, but that union also ended in ruins. Sadly, the third time was not the charm, when Hall and third husband Joshua Hall announced in the summer of 2024 that they were divorcing, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason.

Interestingly, just days before news of the divorce from Joshua was announced, Christina gushed about how well her life had been going. “It’s been really good,” she told E! News. “I just love where I live, I love my family and I love doing these shows. So, I feel like everything’s going really well.” It seems that what’s on the surface isn’t necessarily the full picture, so we’re breaking down what we know about these three relationships and subsequent divorces.

Christina Haack began dating future husband Tarek El Moussa back in 2006 after meeting through working as real estate agents at the same firm, tying the knot three years later. After the 2008 financial crisis, the couple began cashing in on their skills at renovating rundown houses that they sold at a profit. Their house-flipping efforts brought them financial success and captured the attention of television producers when El Moussa sent a demo tape to Pie Town Productions, which produces several series for HGTV. Seeing the star potential in them, the couple was then tapped to star in their own show titled “Flip or Flop.”

Premiering in 2013, ratings for “Flip or Flop” were through the roof, leading Christina El Moussa (as she was then known) and her husband to become HGTV’s hottest new stars. Becoming an overnight celebrity isn’t something a person can prepare for, though. While the show’s popularity grew, so too did the pressure on their marriage, widening cracks that had already started to form. “Like any couple we had our share of issues,” she admitted about her marriage to Tarek in a 2017 interview with People. “But we went through a lot in a short amount of time.”

Following the birth of their daughter, Taylor, in 2010, Christina and Tarek El Moussa encountered infertility issues while trying to have a second child. Amidst running their increasingly hectic business and shooting their HGTV hit “Flip or Flop,” Tarek was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. While undergoing radiation, Christina struggled to keep it together. “I had never even known anyone with cancer, so it was a very scary time,” she admitted to People.

At the same time, she was undergoing IVF treatment, which resulted in a 2014 pregnancy that sadly ended in a miscarriage. In 2015, they welcomed their son, Brayden. Their busy schedules, however, demanded that Christina return to work just four weeks after giving birth. “It was too soon for me,” she said. “I was overwhelmed. The tension between me and Tarek was high.” As she recalled, communication between them had hit rock bottom. “We weren’t able to properly communicate anymore,” she told the magazine. “It got to the point where we weren’t even driving to set together.”

As their relationship deteriorated, the popularity of “Flip or Flop” continued to grow. Fans of the show had no idea that HGTV’s burgeoning new stars were on the cusp of a dramatic breakup — although they soon would.

The tensions that had been building up within the marriage of Christina and Tarek El Moussa came to a head in May 2016, in a police incident involving a gun. Several months later, the couple announced their separation. “Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage,” the exes said in a joint statement to People. “We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence and no charges were filed.”

Tarek offered more insight into the incident in his 2024 book, “Flip Your Life: How to Find Opportunity in Distress — in Real Estate, Business and Life.” As he wrote, he and Christina had a bitter argument when he decided he needed to clear his head by going for a hike. He brought a handgun with him — not because he was contemplating taking his own life, but in case he encountered any dangerous wildlife. He didn’t realize Christina had called 911 until he was taken into custody by police and placed in handcuffs.

“For the next several hours, I sat on a cooler on my driveway, handcuffed,” he wrote, via an excerpt appearing in People. “That was the very last time we were together as a family: with Christina walking down the driveway, crying, and me sitting there in handcuffs, asking myself, ‘What in the world is going on?'”

Soon after announcing that he and wife Christina had separated, Tarek El Moussa filed for divorce. In their joint statement, the two indicated that while their marriage may be over, their co-parenting and business partnership was not.

That became evident when Christina and Tarek continued to soldier on for HGTV, working together on new episodes of “Flip or Flop.” “It’s part of who we are and what we do, and for us to just throw it all away just wasn’t worth it,” Tarek explained while appearing on “Today.” They did, however, admit that co-starring with an ex-spouse wasn’t always easy, and that tensions arose while filming. When “Today” host Natalie Morales asked whether they wanted to kill each other sometimes, Christina offered a joking (but honest) response. “Yeah, of course,” she said, with Tarek adding, “The question is, are there days when I don’t want to kill her?”

Years later, Christina admitted that their relationship at the time was far thornier than they had let on in that 2018 interview. “There were hard, tense days, but it wasn’t a reality show based on a marriage; it was still about the houses, so that made it easier,” she told Us Weekly (via Deadline). “We had to show up, do our jobs and then went home and didn’t have to talk to each other.”

After splitting up with Tarek El Moussa, Christina El Moussa — as she was still going by — began dating businessman Doug Spedding. That relationship, however, didn’t last long, with Christina calling it quits in October 2017 after being hit with a double whammy when she discovered he had cheated on her, and had also started using drugs again (he was arrested in 2011 for possession of methamphetamine). “Christina encouraged him to go back to rehab,” a source told InTouch Weekly. “Christina is the type of person who sees the best side of others, and that’s how she was with Doug … She just wanted to help him.”

In January 2018, Christina and Tarek’s divorce was finalized. Around that same time, she revealed she was in a relationship with British television host Ant Anstead. They had reportedly been dating since the previous November, around the same time she ended things with Spedding.

Christina made their romance Instagram-official in a since-deleted post. She also shared another Instagram post (which had also been deleted, but immortalized by People) in which she gushed about making a fresh start in the love department. “And suddenly you know … It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of a new beginning,” she wrote, adding, “New year, New beginnings!! 2018 is going to be a great year filled with new experiences, challenges and blessings. Excited for the next chapter.”

The romance between Christina El Moussa and Ant Anstead took off like a rocket. After a whirlwind courtship, at the end of 2018, the pair tied the knot in a covert wedding ceremony they managed to keep under wraps. “We pulled off the perfect surprise wedding,” she subsequently told People.