Tarek El Moussa is doing very well these days.
Despite his split last year from wife Christina, the Flip or Flop co-host has made it clear that he’s very happy being single these days, while also enjoying fatherhood.
But things were not always this positive for the HGTV personality.
It wasn’t that long ago, in fact, that Tarek was battling two forms of cancer and had fallen into at least some kind of depression.
He doesn’t talk about this period of his life often, but he did share the photo above on Instagram this week, reflecting via caption on how far he has come.
“NOT embarrassed to share!!! This was one of the absolute lowest points of my life!! After beating cancer twice I had a horrific back injury,” explained Tarek, expounding as follows:
“Over the course of 10 months I lost 50 pounds from all the pain meds which prevented me from wanting to eat and I was nauseous all the time. I remember those days…in this photo I’m pale white….eyes are black…. and I was 169 pounds!!”
Shortly after her split from Tarek, Christina admitted that this was a very challenging time for the couple in general.
They were trying to have a baby and both were dealing with so many personal issues that communication problems arose.
“My clothing didn’t fit and it looks like I’m wearing drapes! This photo is a reminder than anything is possible with hope,” wrote Tarek as part of his caption, concluding:
“While I went through this it was the first time in my life I wanted to quit! Thank god I didn’t…or I wouldn’t be standing tall today!!
“Reminder everyone, anything is possible! You just have to believe!”
It was 2013 when the reality star and father of two battled thyroid cancer after a fan took note of a lump on his neck and called the show’s producers to say he might have a thyroid problem.
El Moussa was diagnosed with testicular cancer that same year, but kept that a secret until he opened up about it to People Magazine in March.
Tarek and Christina are no longer married, but they remain on solid terms.
They are dedicated to raising their kids in as healthy and as loving an environment as possible and they continue to co-host Flip or Flop together.
Ratings have even been on the uptick of late.
Moreover, the two have agreed to extend their professional relationship by going into the production realm as a team.
“I am really excited about creating new shows, even those that I don’t appear in,” Tarek told Variety of these projects, adding last month:
“I’ve always loved venturing out and trying new things and Executive Producing gets me out of my comfort zone, which is great.”
