Glaring Red Flags In Tarek & Heather Rae El Moussa's Marriage We Can't Ignore

Speaking in "Flip or Flop" terms, Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa's marriage may be considered a flop. We've already discussed the signs that their marriage is on the rocks, but now, it's time to unpack all of the suspicious things that go on in their relationship that could be a recipe for disaster.

For starters, Tarek and Heather met less than a year after his puzzling divorce from Christina Haack was finalized in 2018. At first, it seemed like a match made in heaven. He flipped houses on "Flip or Flop," and she sold homes on "Selling Sunset." However, mixing the personal and the professional on their joint shows, "The Flipping El Moussas" and "The Flip Off," gave viewers a rare insight into their relationship, and things got messy. "The Flip Off" features Tarek's ex-wife, Haack, as one of the key members, giving watchers a sneak peek into the trio's peculiar and often unnerving dynamic. Everything from Heather and Tarek battling it out while being filmed to the signs that he is still longing for Haack, the El Moussas certainly have some alarms going off within their marriage, but only time will tell if they go the distance.

As you could expect, Heather El Moussa struggled at the beginning of their relationship, as Tarek El Moussa was fresh out of his marriage to Christina Haack, with whom he shares two kids. Speaking to Today in November 2022 about her journey as a stepmother, she revealed what it was like for her as she and Tarek's relationship was blossoming. "I felt like I was always second, and no one ever made me feel that way, but I think when your significant other had such a long relationship with the previous spouse and a lot of love, and it was very public divorce ... you always kind of think of the ex." She went on to reveal that slowly easing herself into the stepkids' lives pulled her out of that rut, but it's not like her concern was completely unfounded.

In February 2025, Tarek posted a video to Instagram showing one of their contractors accidentally calling Heather "Christina." She clearly wasn't thrilled, and to make matters worse, Tarek admitted to making the same mistake. "I'm lucky to be alive," he remarked, to which Christina explained that it was when they started dating, "and he got cut," she said. We all remember what happened when Ross said "Rachel" when he was getting married to another woman on "Friends," never a good sign.

In February 2021, Heather El Moussa posted a photo to Instagram of what she thought was a sweet and romantic gesture to her then-fiancé, but an outpouring of backlash caused her to delete the post altogether. The TV personality revealed that she had gotten "Yes sir, Mr. El Moussa," tattooed on her, um, backside, according to E! News. The following week, the couple sat down with E! News' Daily Pop to clear the air, or at least attempt to.

"I will be Mrs. El Moussa, so this is my name. And it is a special thing that we do around the house: Daddy is the boss, I'm the queen of the house. We do it with the kids," she said, continuing that they already referred to each other as Mr. and Mrs. El Moussa, and make it a point for each other and their children to say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am." Still seems a little suspicious if you ask us. Many of the comments circulating around the post discussed the outdated take on traditional gender roles, but the El Moussas insisted that it couldn't be further from the truth. However, that claim comes from the same people who established that Tarek was the "boss" while Heather was the "queen."

Tensions run hot in the fabulous world of interior design, and Tarek and Heather El Moussa know that better than anyone. During an episode of "The Flipping El Moussas" from January 2025, emotions boiled over, but not the way the couple originally expected.

Tarek's sister, Angelique, and her boyfriend, Brandon, wanted a piece of the home-flipping pie and asked the couple to join them on their latest renovation. As we all know, sibling rivalries can extend deep into adulthood, and Tarek went into the project with his shields up. Heather asked him if he thought he'd be able to work amicably alongside his sister, to which he quickly declined, later claiming that she still teases him. However, once the work was underway, the script flipped, and his sister wasn't the one Tarek had trouble working with.

Heather and Tarek squabbled about what tile to use for the bathroom, escalating into a full-on shouting match. According to Realtor.com, Tarek yelled, "You're the one who's making it confusing!" When Heather argued, he stormed off, shouting, "All right, break!" Sure, all couples fight, but losing their temper over something so trivial is a tell-tale sign of a rocky relationship.

Heather El Moussa has welcomed her role as stepmother with open arms, and the couple welcomed their first son together, Tristan, in January 2023. She's ready for more babies, but Tarek El Moussa doesn't quite feel the same. The topic has become quite a point of contention for the couple, as Heather revealed during an episode of the "Scrubbing in with Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad" podcast in March 2025 that they had started couples therapy over the disagreement.

"[Tristan] is, like, the light of my life. It makes me so happy. I'm like, 'How could I not want more?' But my husband is very much done," Heather said of Tarek. She went on to detail how therapy has been useful in terms of their communication with one another, but the clock is ticking down for their window to have more kids. "I'm 37. I'm turning 38 this year. So, for me, it's kind of like now or never in a way, not because you can't have babies older, but I don't want to be 40 having babies still 'cause it's a lot." While the couple certainly has their hands full with Tarek's oldest kids, Taylor and Brayden, and their youngest, Tristan, the pair's inability to align on the discussion of having more children is a red flag. If Heather decides that having more children isn't something she can compromise on, it could tear their relationship apart.