Tarek El Moussa Facts: Details About the HGTV Star’s Life and Career

HGTV personality Tarek El Moussa first began sharing his life with viewers on Flip or Flop in 2013. He, alongside his ex-wife, Christina Haack, built an impressive career out of flipping homes and selling them for 10 seasons. Longtime viewers of the series may be interested to learn five facts about its leading man.

Tarek, born in 1981, knew very early on in his life that he wanted to sell real estate. The California native bought his first home with an asking price of $800,000 at the age of 21. He did not have enough money to buy furniture at the time and lived in the empty home for nine months. Tarek reflected on the experience in a July 2018 piece he wrote for Realtor.com.

“That was fifteen years ago, and although I laugh looking back at it now, the experience taught me an important lesson: Buying a home is exciting. So exciting, in fact, that it’s all too easy to get swept up in your emotions and make some mistakes,” he shared.

The television star was able to learn from his mistakes and land his successful HGTV show with Christina four years after they wed. The couple became parents for the first time when they welcomed their daughter, Taylor, in 2010. Three years after becoming a dad, Tarek received a devastating thyroid and testicular cancer diagnosis while filming season 2 of Flip or Flop.

“I gained 50 pounds that season from cancer side effects, had two surgeries and went through radioactive iodine treatment,” the father of two shared on Instagram in March 2019. “I was very sick with terrible migraines and nauseous every day. But, I told myself no matter what you can’t quit!!! It was tough but I knew deep down I had to keep going. I was very scared and suffering inside but never showed it.”

Tarek, now in remission, and Christina welcomed their second child, son Brayden, in 2015. The pair announced their split in 2016 and were officially divorced by 2018. They continued to costar on their show before announcing it was coming to an end in March 2022. The Flipping 101 host found love again with his second wife, Heather Rae Young. They began dating in July 2019 and were married in October 2021.

“I’m happy, healthy, loved, protected and thriving all because of my beautiful bride,” Tarek gushed on Instagram on Valentine’s Day in 2021. “Never ever give up on you and what you want in your life. You deserve the best so fight like hell to get it for yourself and your family. I fought like hell to find heather and I’m so glad I did.”

Keep scrolling to learn five surprising facts about Tarek.

Tarek Fell in Love At First Sight

Tarek saw Heather for the first time in July 2019 on a boat dock in Newport Beach, California. He revealed in a January 2021 Instagram post that the pair were dating for four days before deciding to move in together.

“The second I saw Heather, I knew she was The One, or at least I hoped she was,” he told Us Weekly that month.

A Fan Saved His Life

Tarek has one Flip or Flop viewer to thank for saving his life. Ryan Reed, a registered nurse from Texas, was watching the show when she spotted a lump on Tarek’s neck. She contacted the show’s producers and the HGTV star visited with doctors leading up to his cancer diagnosis. After beating cancer, Tarek met Ryan in person during a November 2015 episode of The Doctors.

“If it wasn’t for TV or her noticing this huge lump on my neck, I would still be moving forward with my life with cancer in my body and never doing anything about it,” he said during the appearance.

He Bought the Kids an Adorable Puppy

In August 2021, the proud dad announced that he and Heather added a new addition to the family. He shared a video of their new puppy, Bugz, meeting the kids for the first time. Bugz has since become a huge part of Tarek’s Instagram feed, even joining the family for their Christmas photos that year.

He Never Expected to Be Famous

While Tarek did hope to become successful in the real estate business, he never expected to find such tremendous success on television.

“Getting a TV show is pretty much the last thing I ever imagined us doing,” he said during an HGTV promo. “We had no idea what to expect … One day you’re doing a TV show with no experience.”

Tarek Shared A Little More About His Background

In a September 2018 interview with Country Living, Tarek shared the origin of his last name.

“I’m half Middle-Eastern, so it comes from Middle-Eastern descent,” he said. “My dad was raised Catholic in the Middle East in Lebanon and then Egypt. My mom’s from Belgium, and my dad moved to Europe when he was in his late teens.”