On Monday, the hosts of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop”, Tarek and Christina El Moussa, announced their separation after seven years of marriage and now they’re speaking out on why they secretly split in May this year.
In a statement to People, the couple revealed that they sought counselling after an altercation at their home earlier this year: “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.”
According to TMZ, in May the police were called the couple’s California home after receiving a call of a “possibly suicidal male with a gun.” Tarek had a firearm on him after running from their home and dropped it after he was spotted by a helicopter, telling officers he wanted to “blow off some steam” and hadn’t intended to harm anyone.
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The couple got married in 2009 and have two children together, son Brayden, 1, and daughter Taylor, 6.
They remain committed to being the best parents for their children according to their statement: “During the process, we are committed to our kids and being the best parents we can be. We will continue to work through this process civilly and cooperatively, and plan to continue our professional life together.”
On Wednesday, the pair explained they’ve been separated since May 2016, telling People, they decided to split after reevaluating the next steps in their marriage. “We believed this was in the best interests of the children and the best way to determine a path forward,” the couple told the magazine. They also admitted they’re each back on the market: “We have both dated other people following the separation, but neither of us is ready to announce anything in terms of another relationship.”
In regards to their professional relationship together, they will continue to be partners in that aspect, “We plan to continue our professional life together by being professional, by doing our jobs well, by being prepared and by working hard.”