How Tarek El Moussa's Health Issues Impacted His Divorce From Christina Hall
Tarek El Moussa went through a lot in a short period of time dealing with health issues on top of a divorce from his first wife, Christina Hall. Fans first met the house flip-savvy couple on the HGTV show "Flip or Flop" in 2013 and not too long after the introduction, some of their marital woes played out in the press. The couple separated in May of 2016 though it wasn't until December of that year that they made the news public. "Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage," El Moussa and Hall said via 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." The pair added that they were seeing a counselor and trying to figure out "the future" of their marriage, but ultimately, they finalized the divorce in 2018.
Before facing some major struggles in his relationship with Hall, El Moussa dealt with not just one but two forms of cancer. In 2013, a "Flip or Flop" viewer spotted a lump in the star's throat during an episode of "Flip or Flop," and sounded the alarm bells. When she called in, Tarek got it checked, only to find out that he had thyroid cancer, and not too long after, he found out that he had testicular cancer.
It was a tough road for El Moussa and his health issues impacted his divorce.
Tarek El Moussa says he hit rock bottom
Tarek El Moussa has been pretty candid about his divorce from his wife Christina Hall, including how his health played a role. In February, the "Flip or Flop" star sat down for an interview with Fox News and explained how testicular and thyroid cancer, in addition to his back injury, took a toll on him. El Moussa revealed that he lost 60 pounds during his health woes because of all the opiates he was on. "This is what people don't understand -– you know, from 2013 to 2016, it was hell. You know, I fought two cancers, I fought back surgery. I was dealing with all these hormone problems," the reality star told the outlet. "And honestly, I lost my way. I lost who I was. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't know who I was anymore."
El Moussa explained that once he hit "rock bottom" and Hall told him that she wanted to end things, he had to "dig deep" to get through such a difficult time in his life. "So, I did a lot of work on myself to get to where I am today," he added. Of course, he is speaking of his relationship with Heather Rae Young, who stars in the Netflix hit "Selling Sunset." That interview is not the first time that El Moussa spoke about how his health issues and how it affected his relationship with Hall and he's been very candid about things in the past.
Tarek El Moussa spoke about his health issues and marriage woes in 2017
In another interview with People in 2017, Tarek El Moussa shed a little more light on his health issues and the toll it took on his marriage to Christina Hall. "I went through hell," he said, adding that he and Christina used to be "energetic" before his cancer. "But with the businesses and the cameras and the cancers and the surgeries and my back, we started losing that energy. That's what led us to where we are," he confessed. The star also pointed out that his post-iodine radiation treatment made him very emotional and affected his mental health. "I was stressed and anxious and exhausted," he shared. To make things worse, Hall was going through health issues of her own, suffering a miscarriage and also going through an IVF cycle to try and have a third child.
During their struggles, the pair tried to save their marriage with counseling. In the statement announcing their split, El Moussa and Hall revealed to fans that they had gone to marriage counseling, and it's clear that they tried to make things work. In fact, a source close to the couple confirmed to People that El Moussa and Hall kept their woes under wraps since they weren't the "Hollywood type" sharing that they did go to counseling. "They were separated and going through counseling and trying to figure out what to do with their marriage," the source said. At least they tried!