Christina Haack Breaks Down Telling Ex Tarek El Moussa Kids Asked Her to Leave Josh Hall After 'Blow Up' (Exclusive)

Christina Haack (formerly Hall) shares the heart-wrenching details of her split from Josh Hall in a PEOPLE exclusive first look at her new show.

In a scene from the upcoming series premiere ofThe Flip Off (out Jan. 29), above, the HGTV star, 41, has a tearful heart to heart about the end of her third marriage with an unlikely companion: her first husband, Tarek El Moussa.

Tarek, 43, stops by Christina's Newport Beach, Calif. home to find her clearly unsettled and asks hesitantly, "You good?" to which she replies, "No... Josh and I officially split up."

Related: Christina Hall Calls Ex Josh 'Insecure Man with a Big Ego' amid Divorce

Josh, 44, filed for divorce from Christina in July 2024 after nearly three years of marriage, and the pair have since been involved in a contentious legal dispute that has often played out in the public eye. The Tennessee-based real estate professional was originally set to co-star with his then-wife in The Flip Off when HGTV announced it two months earlier, but shortly after the split, Christina returned to filming without him.

In the clip, Christina recounts to Tarek, "We had a blow up... middle fingers in my face," adding, "Things with Josh have been bad for a long time."

The most heartbreaking revelation, however, involves Christina and Tarek's two children: Taylor, 14, and Brayden, 9.

"The kids literally asked me to leave," Christina says of the end of her relationship with Josh. "They told me he’s not nice to me. Why would I stick around?"

Related: Josh Hall Denies Asking for $65,000 Per Month in Spousal Support from HGTV Star Ex Christina Haack

The mom of three continues, "I feel like I’m in a tornado all the time and I just can’t get out of it," before finally breaking down.

"Everything since like 2016 has been so hard and so horrible," she says while wiping away tears. "It’s really taken a really bad toll on me."

Related: Christina Haack & Josh Hall Are Happily Together in New Christina in the Country Episodes Filmed Before Split

Christina and Tarek's seven-year marriage ended in December 2016 with a harrowing incident involving him fleeing their family home with a gun and later, entering rehab for addiction. The exes, who continued to appear together on their show Flip or Flop for several seasons after their split, have had a bumpy road to becoming amicable co-parents. But, with a few exceptions, in recent years, they've been on good terms.

In January, Tarek told PEOPLE his relationship with Christina was “better than it's been ever, since the separation."

Seemingly calling up their own history, Christina tells Tarek in the clip, "I’m really sorry for s--- too. I really am. I just want you to know."

Getting a bit emotional himself, Tarek tells her. "I understand that feeling of being a little bit lost. And I acknowledge that I’m a big part, if not the entire part, of all of this."

This is the first time either partner has addressed their split so candidly on screen.

Related: Tarek El Moussa Finally Tells His Version of Gun Incident That Ended Marriage to Christina Hall (Exclusive) 

Tarek previously opened up to PEOPLE about how he spiraled after their breakup in 2016, describing the weeks immediately after the split as “physical and emotional hell,” and writing in his memoir Flip Your Life about hiding out on his boat, drinking himself unconscious and going through extreme withdrawal from testosterone he'd been taking until friends stepped in to get him to a rehab facility.

He got back on his feet and found love again with Heather, whom he married in 2021. They welcomed son Tristan in February 2023.

Related: Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa Celebrate Thanksgiving With Baby Tristan While Taylor Celebrates With Mom Christina Hall

Christina has been married twice since. She married British TV host Ant Anstead in 2018 and welcomed a son, Hudson, now 5, before splitting in Sept. 2020. She wed Hall in a secret courthouse ceremony in Oct. 2021 and the parted ways in July 2024.

Despite Christina and Tarek's path toward becoming friendly exes, fans were shocked when HGTV announced in May 2024 that they would reunite for The Flip Off, a house flipping "showdown" in which they planned to compete alongside their new spouses. The show's 2025 premiere will be the first time they've appeared on screen together since the end of Flip or Flop in March 2022.

Related: Exes Christina Haack and Ant Anstead Spotted Together for the First Time Filming New HGTV Series: PHOTOS

"I never thought I’d be doing this," Christina said in the show's first teaser trailer. Added Tarek, "I will do whatever it takes to win." Christina, Tarek, Heather, and occasionally Josh, have appeared in a number of campy promos for the show since, often playing on the sticky parts of their past and criticism they've faced over their years in the spotlight.

The network also confirmed on Thursday that Anstead will be appearing on the show as a guest judge, after he was spotted filming with Christina last month. Other guest judges will include Heather's former Selling Sunset co-star Amanza Smith, Real Housewives of Orange County's Heather Dubrow, and Tarek and Christina’s moms.

HGTV has not addressed if Josh will appear in the show, which seemingly started production before he filed for divorce. However, he's been removed from the the new promotional image seen above, and is not mentioned by name in a press release shared with PEOPLE.

"As The Flip Off begins, Christina will start the competition against Tarek and Heather alongside her husband, but a sudden life change will bring a shocking twist," HGTV's synopsis teases.

Related: Christina Hall Joins Tarek and Heather El Moussa In New The Flip Off Promotion Without Ex Josh Hall

"Tarek, Heather and I have all been through a lot of stuff together, and we are all highly competitive,” Christina says in the press release. “Tarek is the self-proclaimed ‘best flipper in the world,’ but, honestly, give me a break. I can’t wait to smoke them at their own game.”

Adds Tarek, "When it comes to distressed real estate, I own the space and Christina doesn’t stand a chance. It all comes down to this—who’s going to rise higher from the ashes of everything that we burned to the ground?” 

The Flip Off premieres Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a two-hour episode.  

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