The next article contains point out of dependancy

Because of HGTV’s immense reputation and intensive fan base, Tarek El Moussa has turn out to be a family identify for individuals who love the community. El Moussa began his HGTV journey along with his former spouse Christina Haack in 2013, co-hosting the highly-acclaimed present, “Flip or Flop,” which concluded its run in 2022. He has additionally hosted HGTV exhibits like “Tarek’s Flip Facet” and “Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa” and co-hosted “The Flipping El Moussas” along with his present spouse, Heather Rae El Moussa (née Heather Rae Younger).

With all that being mentioned, El Moussa’s actual life has at occasions resembled the homes he renovates in his exhibits. El Moussa might reside a wildly lavish life, however he has handled a lot tragedy and managed to show his life round each single time. Be it alcohol dependence, traumatic accidents, or a extensively publicized divorce, he has withstood all of it and been candid about his struggles. This is a glance contained in the tragedies that formed El Moussa’s life — in his very personal phrases.

As revealed in his 2024 e book, “Flip Your Life: How you can Discover Alternative in Misery — in Actual Property, Enterprise, and Life,” Tarek El Moussa was part of his faculty’s baseball group and envisioned a profession within the sport. Sadly, shortly after getting into highschool, he sustained a catastrophic harm to his shoulder, and it shattered not solely his aspirations but in addition his spirit. He wrote within the e book, “I stayed on the group over the following three years, suiting up, shagging balls, and hoping issues would get higher. However by senior yr, I knew my dream had come to an finish.”

Having his profession plans regularly crumble proper in entrance of his eyes, El Moussa tried discovering solace in alcohol. As he famous in a December 2023 Instagram publish, “At 19 my life went downhill in what felt like over night time. I gained 50 kilos, misplaced my confidence, misplaced my hope, and have become a raging alcoholic.”

El Moussa’s dependence on alcohol was extreme sufficient to maintain him from shifting ahead in life, however he did finally handle to really feel motivated to make issues higher. On the age of 20, a down-and-out El Moussa dwelling in his mom’s storage realized he needed much more in life and made efforts to make that occur. In September 2023, he shared his story on Instagram, writing, “I began taking actual property critical and determined to work tougher then ever earlier than for 90 days straight. … 90 days later I made round $130,000 in fee promoting homes and by no means seemed again.”

In case you or anybody you recognize wants assist with dependancy points, assist is out there. Go to the Substance Abuse and Psychological Well being Companies Administration web site or contact SAMHSA’s Nationwide Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

From the very starting, “Flip or Flop” all the time had an expansive viewers attain. Shortly after the present made its huge debut in 2013, Tarek El Moussa acquired an e-mail from a Texas-based nurse and fan, who observed “a big nodule on his thyroid” and prompt he get it checked. Whereas showing on the 2019 present “Chasing The Remedy,” El Moussa spoke of his prognosis intimately. The HGTV star — who had already had the nodule examined twice earlier than receiving that e-mail and was informed it was nothing regarding — mentioned, “I critically went to the physician the following day [after getting the email]. So, I discovered that I had full blown stage 3 thyroid most cancers.” He ended up having the whole lot of his thyroid and a few of his lymph nodes surgically eliminated.

Submit-surgery, El Moussa underwent radioactive iodine remedy — a therapy that makes the human physique launch radiation, the publicity to which will be dangerous for these across the affected person. Talking of the consequences the therapy had on his household life, El Moussa informed Folks, “It was a nightmare. [My wife and daughter] keep in a distinct bed room, and I am unable to stick with my daughter for quite a lot of minutes at a time. She needed to hug me and watch TV each night time and provides kisses, and we could not do this.” The circumstances did check his resilience and he clearly did not give in, however the “nightmare,” sadly, wasn’t over but.

A few months after being identified with thyroid most cancers in 2013, Tarek El Moussa determined he would undergo all of his medical data to make sure he had no different underlying, undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed circumstances. On this course of, he got here throughout the report of a testicular examination he had gotten achieved a pair years earlier. He found irregularities within the report and, fairly clearly, needed a solution. Sadly, the reply was “testicular most cancers.”

Elaborating on how he obtained identified, El Moussa informed Folks in 2017, “I recover from to the ultrasound and [the technician and I] are speaking and having enjoyable and rapidly he obtained actually quiet … He mentioned, ‘Are you in ache? I believe you are in ache and will go to the emergency room.’ … A half hour later they inform me I’ve most cancers and attempt to signal me up for surgical procedure. That was devastating.” He took fairly some time to return to phrases with the reality and had the malignant testicle eliminated just a few weeks later.

Though El Moussa hid his second most cancers prognosis from the world for just a few years, he now jokes in regards to the testicular implant that changed his cancerous testicle — whereas doing all he can do to lift consciousness about most cancers. Throughout a 2017 look on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM radio channel, Radio Andy (through Folks), El Moussa playfully mentioned, “At the very least my associates name me ‘The One Nut Marvel’ now, so, I imply, I’ve nickname.” In March 2019, the TV persona took to Instagram to announce that he was formally cancer-free.

In 2015, greater than eight months after present process the complete course of most cancers therapy, Tarek El Moussa injured his decrease again whereas taking part in golf. Fairly just a few of his discs slipped and ended up pinching his sciatic nerve, inflicting extreme ache and eventual impairment of his mobility.

Describing the interval as “15 months of a complete new medical problem” in his e book, “Flip Your Life: How you can Discover Alternative in Misery — in Actual Property, Enterprise and Life” (through Folks), El Moussa wrote, “On a typical day, I might swallow eight or 10 painkillers simply to get by means of the day … I used to be as excessive as a kite all day lengthy.” Finally, he ended up requiring surgical procedure, which, in flip, resulted in his urethra getting blocked — and he spent an additional week within the hospital to handle the complication. Fortunately, the post-op restoration was speedy, and after six weeks of being “caught in mattress, drugged up on painkillers,” El Moussa regained his means to maneuver like he used to.

In Might 2018, El Moussa took to Instagram to share that he was coping with one other again harm and wrote, “Final time I harm my again it took me a yr and a half to get well. … I actually cannot even consider that is occurring … I shall be truthful and say I am very down due to this.” Happily, he bounced again from the 2018 harm with out present process surgical procedure and was utterly freed from ache inside lower than two months.

In December 2016, Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack informed the world they had been ending their marriage. In a joint assertion to Folks, the previous couple famous on the time, “We had an unlucky misunderstanding about six months in the past and the police had been known as to our home in an abundance of warning. There was no violence and no expenses had been filed.”

Shortly after the announcement, particulars in regards to the “misunderstanding” got here to gentle and have become the discuss of the city — and the 911 incident turned out to be fairly messier than we thought. Per stories, in Might 2016, the couple had a critical battle at residence, which prompted El Moussa to sprint in the direction of the mountaineering path close to their residence with a handgun in his backpack. Fearing El Moussa would try suicide, Haack known as 911. The police promptly took motion and managed to hint El Moussa with helicopter deployment. Officers mentioned El Moussa was “compliant and cooperated with deputies” when he was being introduced again to his home. When questioned, he informed the police he simply needed to hike to “blow off some steam” and carried the weapon to maintain himself secure from wild animals.

Elaborating on the incident in his 2024 e book (through Folks), El Moussa wrote, “A police officer leaning out of the helicopter pointed a rifle at me. Mud swirled round me from the spin of the blades, and a loudspeaker crackled, ‘Get your arms within the air!’ … For the following a number of hours, I sat on a cooler on my driveway, handcuffed.” Sadly, the mishap grew to become a serious cause behind the “Flip or Flop” couple’s divorce. As El Moussa’s e book learn, “That was the final time we had been collectively as a household: with Christina strolling down the driveway, crying, and me sitting there in handcuffs.”

In case you or somebody you recognize is struggling or in disaster, assist is out there. Name or textual content 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

When Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack’s relationship got here to an finish, it left El Moussa mentally drained and unstable, considerably forcing him to examine himself right into a midway residence, the place he would not be left alone. Opening up about his choice for the primary time throughout a January 2024 look on “The Jeff Fenster Present” podcast, El Moussa mentioned, “When my ex left me, man, I went to some soul-searching locations … I really lived in a midway home … I did not belief myself to be alone.” He additional added, “The rationale I ended up there may be as a result of I did not know the place to go and I wanted 24-hour care. It was fairly dangerous as a result of I had misplaced every thing, it felt like, in a single day.”

On condition that the duo had been collectively since 2006 and had been married for seven lengthy years, it isn’t stunning that El Moussa took time to maneuver on, however fortunately, he did. On the time of writing, El Moussa and Haack proceed to co-parent their youngsters – a daughter named Taylor (born in 2010) and a son named Brayden (born in 2015). El Moussa has been married to actor Heather Rae since 2021, and the 2 grew to become dad and mom to son Tristan in 2023. Haack, alternatively, remarried twice and is, on the time of writing, single. She shares a son named Hudson together with her second husband, Ant Anstead. Her third husband was Josh Corridor.