“Flip or Flop” star Tarek El Moussa is taking aim at “irresponsible media outlets” he says are reporting “salacious gossip” and “fake news.”
The reality TV star, who’s currently undergoing a divorce from his wife and co-star Christina El Moussa, took to Instagram on Wednesday to issue a strongly worded message aimed at the media, or at least certain corners of it.
“No matter the lies, innuendo, salacious gossip and ‘fake news’ that is thrown at me from irresponsible media outlets via anonymous sources, I will focus on what matters most which is co-parenting our children and working hard on our business,” El Moussa wrote.
Tarek El Moussa filed for divorce from his wife earlier this month, after a barrage of headlines about their marital woes, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
The couple first announced the split on Dec. 12, saying their decision to end their relationship largely stemmed from a domestic incident this past May that involved a gun and resulted in Orange County police getting involved.
The O.C. Sheriff’s Dept. told TheWrap that Christina El Moussa was “crying and shaking” during the incident, while Tarek El Moussa was seen by witnesses to “run out of his back door, jump over his fence and walk northbound into the hiking trails of the Chino Hills State Park.”
The couple told officials that Tarek El Moussa had not made any threats during the incident and was not suicidal, though he did agree to relinquish his firearms for 30 days.
“Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage,” the couple’s statement to People read. “We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence and no charges were filed.”
HGTV said in a statement at the time of their announced separation last month that they planned to continue to work with the El Moussas and that production of “Flip or Flop” would continue as scheduled.
The show features the real estate agent couple’s attempts to buy cheap houses, renovate them, and sell them for a profit.
The El Moussas married in 2009 and have two children.