Tarek El Moussa, 41, and Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young), 35, have started a new chapter together. In February 2023, the couple announced that they had become parents to their new baby boy, Tristan Jay El Moussa.
The duo, who rose to prominence via different real estate TV franchises, are also co-hosting their own HGTV show titled "The Flipping El Moussas," which premiered in March.
The show documents their personal and professional lives together.
Tarek El Moussa was previously married to Christina Hall, nee Haack from 2009 to 2018. They share their two kids, Taylor, 11, and Brayden, 6, together. Both real estate agents, they hosted the HGTV show "Flip or Flop" together. Hall is now married to Josh Hall.
Young rose to fame as part of the cast of the Netflix show "Selling Sunset," focused on real estate agents of the Oppenheim Group.
Read on for El Moussa and Young’s relationship timeline, in their own words.
They met after Young boarded El Moussa's boat in 2019
On the Fourth of July in 2019, El Moussa and Young met for the first time after she boarded his boat in Newport Beach, California.
She recalled their first meeting in an Instagram post honoring their third anniversary.
"We were both on separate boats in Newport, I was with some of my close friends and he was with his and I randomly, by chance, ended up jumping onto Tarek’s boat… Little did we know that moment would change both of our lives forever, " she said.
El Moussa had asked Young out previously and forgotten
After meeting, El Moussa tried to ask the "Selling Sunset" star out on a date. But there was only one problem: He already asked her out and completely forgot about it.
“She was like, ‘You already asked me out,’” the HGTV star explained on Amanda Hirsch’s “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast in December 2020, alongside Young.
The TV personality said that Heather Rae El Moussa told him that he previously asked her out by sliding into her DMs right before she filmed the "Selling Sunset" pilot. At the time, she said she couldn't go out with him because she was in a relationship.
Once El Moussa checked his messages to verify her story, he then asked Young if she wanted to go on a first date with him to Paris. The reality TV star declined his offer because she was "scared" to date someone else after meeting "a lot of a---oles."
Eventually, she agreed to give him a shot.
“He exceeded all the expectations. He’s the most incredible man in the whole world,” she said on the podcast. “He is loyal, he is kind, he has the biggest heart. So everything that I thought of in that first moment of like being scared and vulnerable and like ... he’s completely opposite.”
In August 2019, El Moussa announced they were dating and that Young makes him 'a better man'
In August 2019, El Moussa and Young announced that they were dating on Instagram, each with separate posts.
"It’s official!!!! After more than 3 years on my own I’m so PROUD to say that this beautiful, sweet and talented young lady is my girlfriend!" El Moussa said on Instagram. "I’ll be honest and say I never thought I would meet someone special in my life after the last three years. Then ... out of the blue @heatherraeyoung walked into my life."
"I just want to let the world know I met someone special that makes me want to be a better man," he added. "So let’s all welcome @heatherraeyoung into my life. It’s still new and we are both so excited for the future!"
In her post, Young said, "My heart is so full and happy. Sometimes someone comes into your life and you just know they are meant to be there. This incredible man @therealtarekelmoussa came into my life at the perfect time and I haven’t stopped smiling since. I am so proud to call him my boyfriend, I just look at him in awe at what an amazing, talented and kind human he is."
"@therealtarekelmoussa thank you for honking your boat horn at me the day we met, that will forever be the moment that you became my game changer. ❤️ You + me," she continued.
They got engaged in July 2020, after a year of dating
After a year of dating, El Moussa and Young got engaged in July 2020.
“She said yes!” El Moussa wrote alongside a photo of himself and Young. El Moussa added the hashtag “#FlippingHerLastName,” referencing his career as a house flipper.
Young posted the same photo on Instagram along with the caption, “The Future Mrs. Tarek El Moussa!!!!”
“I am just the luckiest girl in the world. I have this man who is so loving and romantic, and he honestly has the biggest heart,” she told "Life & Style" after the proposal. “It’s so funny cause he’s like a man, he really is, and then, he has this kind, gentle heart towards me and the kids and our animals and our family.”
They took TODAY on a tour of their house
El Moussa and Young share a house in Newport Beach, Calif. They took TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on a virtual tour in the fall of 2020, passing by a wall of family photos and a "cocktail pool," which El Moussa explained is "in between a pool and a spa."
Tarek 'broke down' during his wedding to Heather in October 2021
On October 23, 2021, El Moussa and Young got married in Montecito, California.
During an interview with People, the "Flipping 101" star said he "broke down" when his daughter Taylor walked him down the aisle.
“I walked my mom down the aisle. I was fine. And then the song ‘Shallow’ comes on, which is one of me and Heather’s songs, and I’m going to get Taylor to walk down the aisle, and I just broke down,” El Moussa said. “Taylor, she’s my everything, I just got so emotional.”
They got matching tattoos
After the couple wed in October 2021, they went and got matching tattoos together.
“It started out as just @heatherraeyoung and I getting our wedding date. Last minute, before we got there, I decided I also really wanted the kids birthdays and her initials!” he said on Instagram in April 2022. “So now, I have 3 special dates and Heather’s initials on my left arm."
Tarek also said they "left some spots open" for "future kids," and cheekily added "yes I said it."
Prior to this tattoo, Young reportedly got a tattoo of El Moussa’s name on her backside. According to People, she shared a photo of the artwork in a since-deleted Instagram post in February 2021. It reportedly read, “Yes sir, Mr. El Moussa” in cursive.
After the post was live, Young reportedly revealed why she wanted to get the ink in a series of videos that she shared on her Instagram Stories.
Young reportedly said that she went through with it because the tattoo is “very meaningful” and she was doing it for El Moussa.
“It’s something that’s just for us,” she reportedly said.
Heather changed her mind about having kids
After they wed, Young opened up to TODAY about her IVF journey. She said that when she first met El Moussa, she was content being a stepmom.
“We were both a hard no on babies,” she said.
However, when Young saw El Moussa interacting with his kids, she realized that she wanted to have a baby of her own.
"Tarek and I communicate very well with each other, so I didn’t hold back about how I was feeling. At first he was like, ‘Oh, I’m not sure… I already have two beautiful children,'" Young recalled. "But the more we discussed it, the more excited we both became. Now, he’ll just look at me and go, “I can’t wait to have a baby with you!”
As of July 2022, the couple is expecting their first child
In July, Young revealed that she was pregnant with her first child and El Moussa's third on Instagram.
In an interview with People, Young said that it’s been hard to see her body change, but thanks to her hubby she feels better about her new physique.
“He’s just so positive every day, telling me how beautiful I am and how beautiful my body is,” Young said.
She shared a video of the moment Young revealed she was pregnant
The week she announced her pregnancy news, Young posted a video of the moment she told El Moussa in a clip made in sponsorship with First Response.
Young explained the lead-up to the reveal. "I was two days late on my period and Tarek and I are so in tune with each other that he turned over to me and said 'babe will you take a pregnancy test today' and I said sure but kinda blew it off cause I didn’t think I was pregnant," she said. She took the test, though, and was proven wrong.
El Moussa's kids helped him with the gender reveal
Not long after announcing their pregnancy, El Moussa and Young shared news they were having a boy. On Instagram, Young posted a clip from a gender reveal party, in which the couple and El Moussa's kids set off confetti cannons that revealed blue confetti.
“Baby boy El Moussa,” Young wrote in the caption of the Instagram post, along with a blue heart emoji, that accompanied the clip.
Young and El Moussa will co-host their own HGTV show
In June 2022, Young and El Moussa got their fans excited when they revealed that they were coming out with an eight-episode docuseries with the working title "The Flipping El Moussas."
The HGTV show is set to document their lives together both professionally and personally.
“We are so excited to bring viewers into our world to see the ins and outs of our day-to-day lives,” they wrote in a press release.
“As busy parents and successful real estate experts, fans can watch us as we go from making breakfast for the kids in the morning, to making business deals by the afternoon,” they continued. “The cameras are capturing our journey like never before and we can’t wait to share it all.”
Young and El Moussa celebrate their 1-year anniversary
In October 2022, the couple celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary when they shared pictures of their nuptials on Instagram.
"I can’t believe it’s almost been a year of being husband and wife. Crazy to think about all the things that can happen in a year," Young wrote. "We’re now married with another baby El Moussa on the way, happier and more in love than ever. I love this life with you and always tear up a little when I look back on our special day."
El Moussa added, "This time last year I was getting ready to say 'I do' to my best friend! Now, one year later, we are getting ready for a baby!! Life is a crazy thing and when I look back on this day I think about how lucky I am to have met my soulmate. It’s the greatest feeling in life to find someone who knows everything about you and not only accepts you but makes you a better person."
"@Theheatherraeelmoussa you made me whole again," he continued. "You literally changed my life. You brought me hope again and the best part about our relationship is that I fall more and more in love with you every single day. You’re just so special to me and I love this life with you."
El Moussa and Young have a baby
In February 2023, Young took to Instagram to announce that she and her hubby had welcomed their child, son Tristan Jay El Moussa, together.
The couple shared a photo of their hands over their baby boy and captioned it, "Mama & baby are happy, healthy, tired but doing well. Our hearts are so happy.”
They also revealed that Tristan was born on January 31.