HGTV's Flip Or Flop Was Filled With Behind-The-Scenes Scandals
For the most part, HGTV's "Flip or Flop" showed us that even the most distressed of properties can become beautiful, inviting spaces when sprinkled with a little love. But while the show was all about beautifying homes, beneath the surface of all those jaw-dropping transformations hid some off-camera incidents that were anything but pretty.
"Flip or Flop" had a remarkable 10-year run, with former spouses and co-hosts Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall applauded for their impressive ability to recognize the hidden potential within run-down houses, transforming them into stunning homes before selling them for a profit. The funny thing is, the show probably would have never happened if El Moussa hadn't hit send on a message he penned out of the blue all those years ago. "'Flip or Flop' started as a crazy idea and I sent a random e-mail to a production company with a dream of flipping houses on tv before I ever flipped a house," he wrote in an Instagram post. "We were just two kids who wanted to learn how to flip houses and take you on that journey with us — and here we are over a decade later!"
While the show ended with a bang, it was not without its flaws. For one, El Moussa and Hall found themselves in hot water with the law more than once. For another, their split was one of the key reasons why the hit series had to end.
Tarek and Christina faced legal trouble — twice
The first of Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall's run-ins with the law happened in 2017 when a North Carolina man claimed that the pair owed him $37,800 for past work. Per TMZ, the man alleged that he once worked for El Moussa's company to find homes for the couple to flip on the show but was never paid a single cent. While the two stayed silent throughout the ordeal, a source close to them told E! News that the plaintiff's assertions were unwarranted. "It's an absurd claim, and has no merit. Tarek and Christina have never met him," they noted.
Two years later, the duo once again got entangled in legal issues when they were found to have endorsed real estate classes that turned out to be scammy. At the time, the FTC filed a restraining order against Zurixx, LLC, the company that was selling the seminars, for enticing unsuspecting folks into taking the classes, only for it to extort them for more cash. "From start to finish, these defendants used the promise of easy money and in-depth information to lure consumers down a path that could cost them thousands of dollars and put them in serious debt," the FTC noted in a press release. Despite their previous endorsement of the courses, the "Flip or Flop" hosts failed to issue a statement, with HGTV taking the lead in addressing the issue instead. "HGTV, its sister networks, and its parent company are neither associated or affiliated with Zurixx, nor are we involved in any of our talents' personal business associations with Zurixx," they wrote, according to Fox Business.
The former couple's drama led to the demise of the show
Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall infamously started "Flip or Flop" as spouses and ended it as divorcees, making their marriage a total flop. In fact, their marital conflict got so bad that they reportedly got into a heated argument that involved a firearm. In May 2016, authorities told Us Weekly that they had to rush to the former couple's home when they received a report describing El Moussa as "a possibly suicidal male with a gun" and a witness claiming that Hall was "crying and shaking." It wasn't until months later that the two issued an explanation, claiming they just had a normal argument. "There was no violence and no charges were filed," they said — adding that they made the decision to split.
While they continued co-hosting the show despite separating, they would often fight — sometimes explosively — on set, creating a less-than-stellar working environment. There was even a point when they called each other names. "As you can imagine, it can be stressful working with an ex and we did have an incident where some choice words were said on both sides and I'm sure we both wish the whole thing never happened," El Moussa later explained to E! News.
Their HGTV show eventually ended in 2022, with the pair announcing they would explore individual projects. But according to a source, there was another contributing factor. "The show was just too intimate of a setting at this point and it was time to close that chapter," they told People.