“For the next several hours, I sat on a cooler on my driveway, handcuffed,” the television star says of the incident where he brought a pistol into a state park.
Tarek El Moussa is opening up about one of the darkest times in his life — his very public split from Flip or Flop co-star Christina Hall.
The father of three is baring all to his fans in his upcoming memoir Flip Your Life: How to Find Opportunity in Distress — in Real Estate, Business and Life which details not only his divorce but past health issues as well as giving insight into how he became a successful entrepreneur.
The pair announced their split in December 2016, following an altercation involving a gun and the police, El Moussa tells People.
The 42-year-old says he had a “blow up” with Hall which led him to leave their property and and go on a “hike”. He “went out to our backyard in Yorba Linda and hopped over the fence” into a hiking area of Chino Hills State Park with a pistol.
Getty
Tarek El Moussa Lived in a Halfway House After Christina Hall Divorce
View Story
While he was away, his former wife, Hall is said to have called 911 and soon, police came looking for him on foot and from the air.
“A police officer leaning out of the helicopter pointed a rifle at me. Dust swirled around me from the spin of the blades, and a loudspeaker crackled, ‘Get your hands in the air!'” he says.
El Moussa says he was not fleeing from the argument but wanted to exercise on the trails near their house. He says the nature area near their home is reportedly a habitat for mountain lions and bobcats, hence the pistol.
“For the next several hours, I sat on a cooler on my driveway, handcuffed,” he says in an excerpt obtained by 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?”
No charges were filed against the HGTV star. El Moussa told TODAY that he has a valid concealed weapons permit meaning he was legally able to carry a firearm.
Getty
These Celebrities Were Diagnosed By Fans – And, For Some, It Saved Their Lives
View Story
During the incident in 2016, it was reported that police responded to “a call of a possibly suicidal male with a gun.”
“I went out for a hike to scout some trails, it wasn’t even a big deal. I didn’t understand. It got really blown out of proportion,” he said of the incident on TODAY.
When asked if he was suicidal, he said, “No, never, never, absolutely never.”
“I was hiking in the mountains by myself. The sun was going to be going down soon. Why wouldn’t I go out with protection if I’ve legally gone through the courses to be able to do so?” he added.
Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae Young Reveal Sex of Baby on the Way
View Story
El Moussa has recently admitted that following his split he lived in a halfway house.
“When my ex left me, I went to some soul-searching places, I actually lived in a halfway house. This is my first time sharing that,” he said while making an appearance on The Jeff Fenster Show podcast.
Hall began dating her second husband Ant Anstead in 2017. When El Moussa learned of the news, he recalls to People that, “devastating would be an understatement”. Now, seven years on the pair are civil as they share children Taylor and son Brayden, now 13 and 8.
“I hold nothing against Christina. I understand why she did what she did. We had a lot of hard years through my sicknesses and my mental health struggles from the testosterone,” he told the publication. Tarek has previously spoken about taking testosterone injections and other hormone drugs, which he said contributed to his struggles.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
The 42-year-old married Hall in 2009 after nearly three years of dating. El Moussa is now married to former Selling Sunsets star Heather Rae. The pair tied the knot in July 2020 and the couple welcomed their first baby together, a son named Tristan, in February 2023.
Hall is now 40 years old and married to her third husband, Josh. The pair got married secretly in 2022 after less than a year of dating.
Getty
Heather Rae El Moussa Reveals Hashimoto’s Disease Diagnosis
View Story
