Real estate agent and house renovation expert Tarek El Moussa is a home design TV star. El Moussa discovered his passion for house flipping in 2010 and gained quick success. By 2017, he had flipped over 500 homes.
HGTV renewed two of El Moussa’s home renovation shows for 2021. The network released season 2 of Flipping 101 on September 16. Flip or Flop’s eleventh season premiered earlier this year.
“There’s one thing I know about life. If you would’ve told me 10 years ago, this would be my life today, I would have said there’s no way,” El Moussa told The Link.
Tarek El Moussa became an HGTV Star
El Moussa became licensed in real estate at 21 years old in Orange County, California. He and his then-wife Christina Haack began flipping homes after the housing market crisis in 2008. The pair filmed one of their renovations from start to finish in 2011 to send to HGTV. The network first signed the couple on in 2012.
The HGTV hit series Flip or Flop debuted in 2013. El Moussa transformed deteriorating estates to sell them with interior design-savvy real estate partner Haack. In 2019, Flip or Flop landed in the top 10 highest ranked shows. The 2013 spinoff Flip or Flop: Selling Summer became the highest rated on cable the same day. The show grew into a large franchise, with 7 spin-offs including shows in Vegas, Nashville, and Atlanta.
El Moussa himself soon became famous. The 2019 Discovery+ series Tarek’s Flip Side delves into El Moussa’s background and family life.
After the success of Flip or Flop, El Moussa went on to star in his own show Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa. The TV star uses his renovation prowess to mentor upcoming house flipping professionals. The first episode aired on March 5, 2020.
Tarek El Moussa’s family life on TV
El Moussa was born and raised in California. He maintains close ties with his parents, stepfather, and sister.
“I have a very, very close family, so my parents come over for a few days a week,” El Moussa said. “We’re all about family and we all spend a lot of time together.”
The TV personality married his Flip or Flop partner Haack in 2009. Together they had two children, Taylor and Brayden. The couple separated in 2016 and divorced two years later.
El Moussa endured significant health troubles while filming. He received diagnoses of testicular and thyroid cancer in 2013, which remitted in 2018. A fan of the show happened to be a registered nurse and wrote El Moussa’s production company. She had identified a lump on the star’s neck that was visible on the show. El Moussa has also undertaken surgery and stem cell therapy for back injuries.
“I wasn’t healthy for years,” El Moussa told CountryLiving.com. “I had my cancer, and I was filming. Then my second cancer and I was filming. And then I hurt my back and I was filming, and then I had surgery and I was filming.”
Now, “everything’s looking good,” the TV star said. “[I’m in] the best shape of my life.”
El Moussa got engaged to fellow real estate agent and Selling Sunset star Heather Rae Young in 2020. The pair planned their wedding for fall 2021.
HGTV Renews two Shows starring El Moussa
HGTV renewed Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa for season 2 in July 2020. The season will contain 12 episodes lengthened to a one-hour format. Episode 1 premiered on September 16, 2021.
“Season 2 is super fun, super exciting,” El Moussa told People Magazine. “I would say my favorite part about Season 2 is that we got to incorporate Heather a lot more into the show, so she’s more involved with me and some of the rookie flippers.”
The renewal follows the success of the first season, which garnered over 17 million viewers in the first 10 episodes.
“The road to becoming a successful flipper is not easy,” said El Moussa. “I can’t wait to show more first-time flippers that with hard work, patience and persistence they can turn their dreams into a profitable reality.”
Flip or Flop returned with its 5-episode eleventh season in April 2021. El Moussa stars alongside ex-wife Haack.
Watch season 11 of Flip or Flop on HGTV or Google Play. Season 2 of Flipping 101 is available to stream on HGTV.
