Moving out and moving on. Flip or Flop stars Christina and Tarek El Moussa announced their decision to separate on Monday, December 12, but the pair, who have been separated since May, have already begun dating other people.
“We have both dated other people following the separation, but neither of us is ready to announce anything in terms of another relationship,” Tarek, 35, and Christina, 33, said in a joint statement to People magazine. The HGTV stars have been living apart since a terrifying incident at their Orange County, California, home this past May.
As previously reported, the real estate agents had 11 deputies called to their home on May 23 in response to a “possibly suicidal male with a gun.” An eyewitness told police that he saw Tarek “run out of his back door, jump over his back fence and walk northbound into the hiking trails of the Chino Hills State Park.”
Tarek later clarified that he “had no intention of hurting himself” and had only grabbed the gun “for safety because of mountain lions and rattlesnakes in the area,” according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
“Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage,” the former couple said in a statement to Us Weekly Monday. “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. We chose to get counseling to sort out our relationship. Together, we have decided to separate while we reevaluate the future of our marriage. During this 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.”
The pair share two kids — daughter Taylor, 6, and son Brayden, 15 months.
Christina and Tarek tied the knot in May 2009. In their interview with People, they clarified that at present, they have no plans to officially file for divorce. “The most difficult part of the decision to separate was the kids,” they said. “We want the best for them, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that.”
