HGTV star Christina Haack claims filming new reality show with ex Josh Hall was 'recipe for disaster'
2025-01-30
Category: entertainment

Christina Haack is getting candid about filming her show "The Flip Off" without her estranged husband Josh Hall following their split. The 41-year-old real estate investor and TV personality is starring alongside her first ex-husband, Tarek El Moussa, and his wife Heather Rae El Moussa in the new HGTV reality competition series. Hall was originally set to join the trio in "The Flip Off" but he departed the show after he and Haack both filed for divorce last summer. While speaking to Fox News Digital in a joint interview with Tarek and Heather, Haack explained why she believes that Hall's exit was for the best. "I think on camera — some people are very comfortable on camera, some aren't," she said. "And that's totally understandable. He wasn't super comfortable on camera. I think he's too hard on himself, too much in his head."  Haack continued, "And when you get like that, I feel like you can't really fully relax or be yourself. So there's that aspect." HGTV STAR CHRISTINA HAACK SAYS REALITY SHOW IS ‘SO MUCH EASIER’ WITHOUT ESTRANGED HUSBAND ‘WEIGHING ME DOWN’ "And then also, he doesn't have a lot of experience in flipping houses," she added. "So if you combine the two, it's kind of a recipe for disaster." In May, HGTV announced the show, which was to follow Haack and Hall as they competed against Tarek and Heather in a series of real estate flip-off contests. Production on the series started shortly before the former couple filed for divorce on July 7, and Haack continued filming the show afterward without her estranged spouse. Hall, who was featured in promos for "The Flip Off," appeared in the show's premiere episode, but he will no longer be seen in the six-part series' future installments. For her part, Heather told Fox News Digital that she believed Hall's continued presence would only have led to trouble on "The Flip Off" set. "I thought that our dynamic was better. I think with Josh, it would have been heavily tense And I think there would have been some real fighting, to be honest," she said. "It would have been a very different show," Haack noted. "It would have been very different," Heather agreed. "I think with us three, it's very lighthearted and fun, and we've all been this a really long time, and it made really good TV."  In December 2016, Haack and Tarek, who share daughter Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9, announced they were separating after seven years of marriage. The two finalized their divorce in 2018. The former couple rose to fame when they co-starred in the hit HGTV reality show "Flip or Flop" for 10 seasons from 2013 to 2022, continuing to work together after their split. Since 2018, Haack has starred in the HGTV "Flip or Flop" spin-off series "Christina on the Coast." She also hosted HGTV's "Christina in the Country," which ran for two seasons and also featured appearances by Hall. Tarek has headlined three seasons of the HGTV show "Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa," which debuted in 2020. Heather, who married Tarek in 2021, previously starred in seven seasons of Netflix's "Selling Sunset."&nbsp; The couple, who share son Tristan, 1, also teamed up for two seasons of the HGTV show "The Flipping El Moussas."  While speaking with Fox News Digital, Tarek weighed in on whether Haack was disadvantaged by having to compete solo against himself and Heather following Hall's departure from "The Flip Off." "No, not very much," Tarek said. "It gave her an advantage because she didn't have to deal with Josh anymore. She had to make all her own decisions." Though Hall's exit left Haack without a partner, the reality star enlisted her "trusted team of experts" to help her win the competition in place of her ex, according to People magazine. WATCH: HGTV STAR CHRISTINA HAACK SAYS FILMING NEW REALITY SHOW WITH EX JOSH HALL WAS ‘RECIPE FOR DISASTER’  "She'll tell you, she has a strong team," Heather said. "I feel like she's doing better on her own." Haack explained that "The Flip Off" is "very different" from "Flip or Flop." HGTV STAR TAREK EL MOUSSA, HEATHER RAE ADMIT ONE THING CAUSES 'TENSION' ON SET WITH HIS EX-WIFE CHRISTINA HALL "'Flip or Flop' was totally buy a house, fix it up, sell it. And there really wasn't much personal life to it," she said. "It was really about the house."&nbsp; "This show, it's obviously them against me, and it's very real," Haack continued. "It's very more like docuseries. You get to see our real personalities, and it's highly competitive."  Though Haack said that she and Heather initially "didn't know what to expect" when they first began production on "The Flip Off," the two quickly discovered that they enjoyed working together. "Obviously, she's been on ‘Selling Sunset,’ and I've done my things with HGTV but this is different," Haack said. "And so going into it, I think both of us were kind of like, we didn't really know what was going to happen. But after the first shoot, I was just like laughing, and I was in such a good mood. And I texted Heather and I was like, 'You're so fun to film with.' Because it really was. And it only got better after that." "Surprisingly, they got along so well that they teamed up and picked on me," Tarek joked. While fans were initially surprised when it was announced that Haack would be starring in a reality TV show with her ex-husband and his wife, the trio told Fox News Digital that Taylor and Brayden were unfazed by their on-screen collaboration. "They didn't really care," Tarek said. "I don't even know if they don't know that none of us even work together," Haack added. "It was like, ‘Oh, we’re filming a show together. And they're like, "OK." "They're so used to it," Heather said as Haack laughed. "They're just like, "OK, cool." However, Tarek said that their children ended up taking sides.&nbsp; "Of course, Taylor was Team Christina, Brayden was Team Heather and Tarek. And at the end they were both team Christina," Tarek recalled. WATCH: TAREK AND HEATHER EL MOUSSA EXPLAIN WHY NEW SHOW ‘THE FLIP OFF’ WAS ‘BETTER’ AFTER JOSH HALL'S DEPARTURE  During their interview with Fox News Digital, Tarek and Haack also reflected on their secret to successful co-parenting. "Putting the kids first," Haack said. "Yeah, adults should act like adults," Tarek agreed. "And honestly, the kids are number one, right? So if you don't put the kids number one, you're not going to co-parent well because there's going to be animosity. So, as long as it's about the kids, then things are gonna work out." HGTV STAR CHRISTINA HALL'S TENSE FIGHT WITH ESTRANGED HUSBAND JOSH CAUGHT ON CAMERA He continued, "The good thing about that is even if you have a couple that doesn't get along, but they're co-parenting well over time, you know, relationships rebuild." "Are you saying that I don't get along with you?" Haack asked. "A long time ago!" Tarek replied. "Oh, jeez, it's been many years," Haack said. LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS "There's been some ups and downs," Heather added with a smile.&nbsp; "You have a couple, and they don't get along. But if they co-parent well over time because of that co-parenting, there's an opportunity to rebuild that relationship and that friendship," Tarek explained. "Everyone has the same end goal, and that is the kids being happy, healthy and feeling supported," Heather said. WATCH: CHRISTINA HAACK, TAREK AND HEATHER EL MOUSSA ON FILMING NEW REALITY SHOW ‘THE FLIP OFF’ TOGETHER  Haack pointed out that she, Tarek and Heather recently celebrated the holidays together with their families. "We did Christmas Eve together this year, all of us," Haack said.&nbsp; "His parents, my parents and yours would have been there if they were in town," she continued, gesturing at Heather, who nodded. "It was wonderful," Haack added. "It went great." "Everyone just gets along and loves it, and it's really nice," Heather said.&nbsp; "It's nice for the kids to have us all there together," Haack said.&nbsp;  Haack also shares son Hudson, 5, with her ex-husband Ant Anstead. The two tied the knot in 2018 but finalized their divorce in 2021. Following their split, the former couple engaged in a bitter custody battle over Hudson. However, they reached an agreement in 2022 and decided to maintain their previously established joint custody arrangement. Anstead and Haack now have an amicable co-parenting relationship, and in November, it was revealed that the "Wheeler Dealers" host would be joining his ex-wife on "The Flip Off." CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER At the time, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital that Anstead is "filming a portion of the show" with Haack. Meanwhile, Haack and Hall's split has become increasingly acrimonious since they filed for divorce after two years of marriage on July 7. Haack accused Hall of transferring $35,000 of her money into his personal bank account on July 8 after their divorce filing, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. "I would not have asked him to send himself my money the day after I told him we are getting divorced," Haack stated in the documents.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In his divorce filing, Hall requested spousal support from Haack. In a November court filing, Haack stated that her ex "should not need" spousal support as he has his own source of income.&nbsp; The two have also battled over ownership of a Tennessee farmhouse, where Hall had been living after their separation, and both have taken shots at each other over social media. Haack recently said the two are "not even close" to settling their split.&nbsp; "We’re going to be going to trial, I hear," the HGTV star said during a Jan. 12 appearance on Sirius XM's "Jeff Lewis Live." "He doesn’t want to do mediation. It’s going to be fun. Can’t wait." New episodes of "The Flip Off" will be released every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on HGTV.