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Christina Anstead takes back maiden name, Haack, honoring her grandmother

In an Instagram post, she says her grandmother was "real in a world of so many fakes."
/ Source: TODAY

It's official: Christina Anstead is now Christina Haack, so update your address books!

Haack has left her ex-husband Ant Anstead's name behind and explained the reason behind using "Haack" in a post on Instagram Wednesday:

"My grandma, Mildred 'Biddy' Haack, was my greatest influence growing up," the HGTV star wrote in the caption, which accompanied a retro photo of Biddy and, we presume, Grandpa Haack, too. A quick click reveals a more recent photo of Christina and her grandmother in the background. "She was always real in a world of so many fakes. I spent the summers on my family's farm and we would stay up all night talking.

"She’s the only person I've ever really trusted with my life," Haack continued. "Even in the era she grew up in she colored outside the lines and did things without fear of judgement. She loved me hard and always let me know I could achieve anything I wanted to. She spoke life into me when I was down and taught me what unconditional love is. I miss her every single day. Taking back the family’s last name and know my grandparents are smiling from above."

Her name is already reflected in her Instagram handle.

Image: Discovery Networks Present At Winter TCA Tour 2019
Christina Haack during an HGTV presentation in Pasadena, California in 2019. Amanda Edwards / Getty Images for Discovery

Haack first came to the attention of the masses while hosting "Flip or Flop" with then-husband Tarek El Moussa (whose surname she used then). They married in 2009 and finalized their divorce in 2018, and continue to co-parent their kids Taylor, 10, and Brayden, 5. They seem to be on good terms, continuing to host the show; El Moussa's mother joined Haack and the children on a ski trip in February.

After her divorce from El Moussa, Haack wed British TV personality Ant Anstead; they have a son, Hudson, who was born in 2019. For a time she was Christina Anstead. They separated last September after less than two years of being married, which has led her to reclaiming the family name.

"I never thought I would have one divorce let alone two," she wrote on an Instagram post last September. "I never thought I would have 2 baby daddies — but sometimes life throws us curve balls... I appreciate the support and I hope my story inspires you to not be so hard on yourself for the decisions/choices you've made. We are all a work in progress."