The Tarek and Christina El Moussa split, a break-up reported by TMZ and later confirmed by the reality stars, shocked fans this week.
Christina and Tarek’s separation, amicable as it may be, has increased speculation about the fate of Flip or Flop, their hit HGTV show.
Will it be canceled?
Not in your life. Yet.
According to the network, production on Flip or Flop will continue for the time being, even if the rift between the show’s stars is widening.
Incredibly, they’ve kept it together and under wraps for over half a year despite separating and seeing other people (more on that shortly).
Tarek and Christina shocked their millions of fans with the announcement, which followed a bombshell report first published by TMZ.
The celebrity news site revealed that they began living apart following a gun incident and suicide fears at their Orange County home.
Police were called when Tarek fled the house with a firearm after he and his wife had a fight; he said he was merely blowing off steam.
While they believed his reasoning that he only grabbed a gun in case he came across any dangerous wildlife, his wife wasn’t as certain.
Christina, however, worried that Tarek might be suicidal; neighbors saw her leave their house shaking and crying after Tarek’s departure.
They later chalked this up to a misunderstanding, and insisted there was no violence or risk of suicide, but implied they’d grown apart.
Anonymous sources who work on Flip or Flop said the couple had been bickering for months, often speaking only through intermediaries.
Still, HGTV put out a statement in support of the couple – at least from a professional standpoint – and of their house flipping hit show:
“We admire and appreciate Tarek and Christina’s great work on Flip or Flop,” the statement issued this week to Deadline began.
“When it comes to matters related to their own family, we respect their privacy and honor any decision that works best for them and their children.”
“HGTV is currently airing episodes of Flip or Flop,” the network added, “and the series will continue production as scheduled.”
Flip or Flop has the second-highest ratings of any show on HGTV, behind Fixer Upper (which was also embroiled in scandal this month).
So it looks like the house-flipping will continue unabated … even as Tarek and Christina are living apart and she’s also flipping relationships.
So to speak.
According to reports, she’s dating Gary Anderson: “Christina’s friendship with a fellow design industry professional has become romantic.”
Long before things broke down, she and Tarek “were on the same page, working together to make it and to do the best with what they had.”
But then fame happened.
An insider close to the couple says they were always incompatible to a certain point personality-wise, and their success widened that gap.
“The stardom [and] the money from the show, meant that she started to feel like she could finally have some of the finer things in life.”
Tarek, who was always the more reserved and reluctant of the two with regard to their star power, “just couldn’t or didn’t want to keep up.”
