As we all know, the Flip or Flop marriage has officially flopped.
By which we mean that Tarek El Moussa filed for divorce from Christina El Moussa way back in February of this year.
It’s been six months — and only now has Christina El Moussa officially responded to the divorce. And to Tarek’s request for spousal support.
As you’ll recall, Christina and Tarek El Moussa separated and then filed for divorce.
We learned that the inciting incident that caused the Flip or Flop couple to split was apparently after Tarek caught Christina cheating on him.
Now, cheating can be a total dealbreaker in some relationships and a little “bump” for some others.
But apparently, for these two, it was enough to cause a huge incident that involved Tarek brandishing a gun.
Scary stuff.
Christina was so distressed by Tarek’s behavior at the time that she actually called the police out of concern.
But it was Tarek who was first to file for divorce, while it seems that Christina has been dragging her heels since before Valentine’s Day.
The folks over at People obtained court documents that show that Christina El Moussa has finally submitted her own divorce papers.
Christina’s reason cited for the split: irreconcilable differences.
That’s pretty much a catch-all for divorce papers, folks.
Christina is also requesting joint legal and physical custody of the couple’s two children.
(Their daughter, Taylor, is six years old. Their son, Brayden, will turn two later this month)
You remember how Tarek requested spousal support?
Christina asks the court to terminate Tarek’s request for support … and she’s asking for spousal support of her own.
Christina also asks that Tarek be responsible for all of her court costs during the divorce.
The custody thing sounds fine, and reports say that they’re already splitting time with their children pretty evenly.
The money stuff … they’re going to need to figure that out, or things could get ugly.
We’re aware that Tarek and Christina want Flip or Flop to continue for many more episodes.
So they both have a vested interest in presenting the right image and in getting an amicable divorce.
They’re not Real Housewives stars or Kardashians or whatever.
A huge ongoing fight between them, or even readily visible tension, isn’t going to attract viewers to Flip or Flop.
It would just cause the show to flop.
Some shows like Love It or List It run on snarky competition between its two costars who are definitely not married, but Flip or Flop has always had a different dynamic.
And changing a dynamic can either be a fresh, new start for a show … or a death sentence.
For the most part, though, despite the horrifying incident that got them to split in the first place, it sounds like Christina and Tarek El Moussa are getting along.
Amicable divorces are a rare thing, and we don’t know if these two are going to agree on everything without at least some struggle back and fourth in court and between their attorneys.
But it does sound like they’re two people who’ve realized that they’re not right for each other, even though they once loved each other.
So many divorces end with one or the other spouse calling the other “crazy” or “a monster.”
And you know, sometimes they’re right.
But for the sake of Taylor and Brayden, we hope that the El Moussas can reach an agreement and continue on with their lives.
Divorce, on its own, is disruptive enough to their children without it becoming a power struggle.
