Christina Anstead: Things You Didn't Know About The HGTV Star
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Christina Anstead, who was previously known as Christina El Moussa, has had quite a life. After an intense domestic situation, Christina separated from her husband of seven years, Tarek El Moussa. With Tarek, Christina shared two children and the popular HGTV show Flip or Flop, on which the two have transformed short sale and foreclosure homes on TV since 2013. After separating and later finalizing a divorce from El Moussa, Christina began dating a new man — British TV presenter Ant Anstead, a father of two from a previous relationship. The happy couple later married in December 2018 (via People), and, in September 2019, welcomed their first child together, son Hudson.
Though Christina has been a part of so many people's home design fantasies on Flip or Flop and Christina on the Coast, many don't know much about super-stylish Christina. Sit back and get ready to learn a bit more about your favorite HGTV real estate and design star.
Christina Anstead's not a one-trick pony
Though Christina Anstead is known for her role as an interior designer and real estate agent on the TV show Flip or Flop, she dabbles in other money-making areas, including fitness. During her second pregnancy, Anstead worked with her nutritionist to put together a prenatal yoga video. The DVD, Prenatal Power Yoga, walks you through her favorite prenatal workouts and has been described as being intense "without doing too much."
Christina Anstead personally committed to fitness
This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but Christina Anstead is serious about her health. In an interview with nutritionist Cara Clark, Anstead stated, "We have a fast-paced lifestyle, and there is always so much going on but I make working out a priority. I aim for five days per week. Working out is my 'happy pill.' It helps relieve all my tension and anxiety and just makes me feel great."
She made time to work out even during her pregnancies. During her 2015 pregnancy, she said she did prenatal pure barre every morning before her daughter woke up and walked two to three miles on the treadmill several days a week.
Anstead didn't waste much time after having her babies to get back into the gym. As she stated in a later interview, she went for a two mile walk three days after giving birth to her eldest child. Due to having a C-section the second time around, she had to wait two weeks to get into the swing of things.
Knowing her love for fitness, it makes sense Anstead's sanctuary at home is her gym. In a rapid fire question and answer interview with HGTV Insider's David Bromstad, she said her favorite room in the house is the gym. The couple's gym is equipped with a NordicTrack exercise machine.
Christina Anstead actually loves to eat healthy
You might assume that someone so into fitness might be super careful about their eating habits too. If you ask Christina Anstead what kind of diet she's on, she'll likely say she's not on a diet. That's because she just likes to eat healthy. In an HGTV blog post, she shared, "I just truly love to eat healthy so this part is easy for me. Eating bad food makes me feel, well, bad. Healthy eating is part of my lifestyle."
According to another HGTV blog post, in a typical day she eats overnight oats, coffee with stevia, a berry oatmeal bar, a smoothie, hummus, grains, veggies, and lean protein.
Christina Anstead is a believer in meal prepping
To help keep her family on track, foodwise, Christina Anstead has taken to meal prepping. She told nutritionist Cara Clark, "The only problem with healthy eating is it can be time consuming," she said. "That's why last year we turned to meal prep."
She uses a California-based meal prep company, All Purpose Meal Prep, to make nutritious lunches and dinners for the family while they are filming the show. But everyone has to have a bit of a guilty pleasure every once in a while.
You'll never guess what Christina Anstead's guilty pleasure is
We're not sure if this can even be considered a guilty pleasure, but Christina Anstead goes weak for peanut butter.
"The only thing I really crave, which is the only thing I craved during pregnancy too, is peanut butter," she said in an interview with her nutritionist. "I am obsessed! Every day I have a peanut butter 'perfect bar' and also always a snack of rice cake with peanut butter."
She also fancies Cadillac margaritas from her favorite Mexican restaurant, Javier's Cantina & Grill.
Christina Anstead has struggled with fertility
When Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa decided they wanted to have a second baby, they thought it would be no sweat. They had their first child — daughter Taylor Reese — a year after getting married. But in 2013, when they started their quest for baby number, two things didn't go so smoothly. First, El Moussa received a stage II thyroid cancer diagnosis. Because of his radiation therapy to treat the cancer, the couple decided to seek in vitro fertilization to have another baby. The first in vitro attempt failed, and the second ended in miscarriage.
The couple changed doctors and their approach to conception.
"I had to be super strict," Anstead told People. "I had to do one full week in bed. For 13 weeks after that, I couldn't go for a walk and couldn't lift anything over a gallon of milk. We planned it during Christmas break so I wasn't working. We did everything we could to make sure this one worked."
When she did get pregnant, she couldn't pick up her daughter during the first trimester. This was also a hard time for El Moussa, who had just undergone back surgery from a golf-related injury. In the end, the couple finally had baby Brayden in the summer of 2015.
Christina Anstead has mommy guilt
With a TV production schedule that never stops, Christina Anstead says she's often riddled with guilt. "I went back to work at five weeks and that was pretty hard on me," she said in an interview. "My daughter got pretty jealous of the time I was spending with Brayden, so I try to do my girlie stuff with my daughter when I can."
She added, "Since I just want to be with my kids as much as possible, I try to incorporate my workouts with my kids. I love to push the double to Starbucks and relax there with the kids for a bit."
You can't work in TV without dealing with Internet trolls who also have something to say about your parenting. It seems like Anstead might have the formula for dealing with it: shame them.
After posting an absolutely adorable photo of big sister Taylor feeding baby brother Brayden on the couple's Instagram account, a fellow Instagrammer accused her of being a being a "deadbeat" because she had an emergency C-section and bottle fed her baby. She let everyone know she's not hearing any of that, writing, "That is the most disgusting comment I have ever read. It was an emergency C-section. I'm sure you are perfect."
Christina Anstead loves suspense novels
Christina Anstead, who was previously known as Christina El Moussa, is a busy woman, but don't think that means she doesn't take time for the simple things in life. For Anstead, that includes being an avid reader. If you spend any time on her Instagram page, you'll notice the bubbly blonde has a hidden interest in the macabre. Her summer reading list included thrillers like The Girl on the Train, Luckiest Girl Alive, and The Kind Worth Killing. She gets extra cool points for buying hardcover books.
Christina Anstead is a big sister
It's already very clear that family is important to Christina Anstead, who previously went by Christina El Moussa, and that isn't limited just to being a mom. Ten years separate Anstead from little sister Carly, but you really can't tell. The two sisters look very similar (and super cute), and they appear to be very close. Baby sister has flown the coop, having visited Australia, taken courses to become a marine biologist, and worked as a scuba instructor, as noted by Country Living.