Tarek and Christina El Moussa have flamed out in frightening fashion.
As previously reported, the Flip or Flop co-hosts separated in May amidst an incident that involved multiple guns and an alleged suicide attempt.
According to TMZ insiders, a 911 call was placed after Tarek fled his residence while armed, prompting Christina to fear that her husband was going to kill himself.
Authorities responded en masse to the incident, with 11 deputies and a helicopter being dispatched to the couple’s Orange County home.
Multiple onlookers say that Tarek was spotted (with a gun), fleeing down a hiking trail. He was quickly followed by a sobbing Christina, who was visibly shaken up.
After Tarek was ordered to relinquish his weapon, he told law enforcement officials on the scene that he simply wanted to “blow off some steam” and grabbed the weapon to fend off any animals he may have encountered.
He said he has no intention of hurting himself or anyone else.
Deputies searched the couple’s home and seized five guns, including an AR-15. But all were lawfully registered.
Parents to a six-year old and a one-year old, Tarek and Christina have confirmed their separation, saying via statement:
“[We] will continue to work through this process civilly and cooperatively, and plan to continue our professional life together.”
And that latter part is true, TMZ confirms.
Season 7 of Flip or Flop is currently airing on HGTV, with producers telling the above-mentioned celebrity gossip site that they “will continue production as scheduled” for Season 8 of the reality series.
As for what led to this stunning split?
A source tells People Magazine that tension has been building ever since the couple’s program struck it big.
Tarek isn’t a big fan of the spotlight, while Christina can’t get enough of the fame and/or fortune.
“In a lot of ways they just seemed wildly incompatible,” the source says of Tarek and Christina. “She has champagne tastes, and he’s a beer-from-a-can kind of guy.”
The insider went on to say this was “okay for a while when all they could afford was canned beer.”
The couple was on the “same page” while building their series. HOWEVER…
“The stardom from the show, and the money from the show, meant that she started to feel like she could finally have some of the finer things in life… He just couldn’t or didn’t want to keep up.”
Anyone who regularly watched Flip or Flop can’t be all that stunned by this report.
This is the second HGTV scandal of the past couple weeks.
While Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper are VERY happy in their marriage, the stars have been in the news of late due to the anti-homosexual views of their church’s pastor.
That is an odd story, one you can learn more about by clicking the preceding link.
But it says nothing at all about the state of the Gaines’ marriage.
Tarek and Christina, conversely, have released a joint statement to People that reference the scary gun incident in a broad sense and which reads as follows:
Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage.
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.
During the [separation] process, we are committed to our kids and being the best parents we can be.
The El Moussas got married in 2009 and share two children: daughter Taylor, 6, and son Brayden, 1.
For the sake of their children, we hope they work out their issues in a fair and amicable manner.
And we really hope Tarek is more careful in the future with all those guns.