Reality star Heather Rae El Moussa is opening up about her role as a stepparent and how she has created a healthy co-parenting relationship with husband Tarek El Moussa’s ex-wife, Christina Hall.
In a new episode of "The New Rules" with Jill Martin on TODAY, El Moussa admits she hasn't talked much about her journey as a stepparent.
"I'm a very happy, positive person, but I felt like I was always second," El Moussa says. "No one ever made me feel that way, but I think when your significant other has such a long relationship with the previous spouse and a lot of love ... and it was a very public divorce and you're coming into it. You fall in love with each other, but you always kind of think of the ex. For me, I did."
The "Selling Sunset" star (and soon-to-be star of “The Flipping El Moussas”) admits she needed to navigate her feelings, "along with falling in love with a man, raising children, getting a whole new family (and) also filming my own TV shows."
Husband Tarek El Moussa and ex-wife, Christina Hall announced their split in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2018. The pair share two children — daughter Taylor, 12, and son Brayden, 7.
"It wasn't always perfect,' El Moussa tells TODAY of navigating her relationship with Hall. "I mean, we've definitely had some ups and downs. They had ups and downs."
El Moussa says she feels the shared love for Taylor and Brayden has made the trio closer.
"I think she realized how much I love the kids and they are number one to me over anything," El Moussa says. "So any drama aside, the kids are the most important thing to all of us."
The El Moussas tied the knot in Santa Barbara, California, on Oct. 23, 2021 and will soon welcome a baby boy.
In an interview with People, the El Moussas explained the pregnancy came as an early surprise to them while they were preparing to try to conceive via IVF.
“It was a huge shock,” she said at the time. “We just weren’t expecting this. We had just gone through IVF. We had embryos on ice. We had a plan.”
