Tarek and Christina El Moussa could end up becoming a couple again — but it will take a while.
“Flip or Flop” star Tarek El Moussa told ET Online on Friday that he’s open to a reconciliation with his costar and estranged wife, albeit somewhere in the distant future.
“Maybe, like, 10 years from now,” Tarek offered. “Honestly, it took a lot of work to get to a good place for both of us, that I think we are at the point where we aren’t looking back, we are looking towards our future.”
The HGTV star added, “I don’t know where the future is going to take me, but you never know.”
The couple announced their breakup after seven years of marriage in December, with Tarek filing for divorce in January.
Christina likewise doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to take up with Tarek, or anyone else, for that matter. After their breakup, Christina reportedly began dating Gary Anderson, a contractor who’d worked with the couple. Christina and Anderson reportedly parted ways recently, with a spokesperson for Christina telling TheWrap on Wednesday, “Christina is single and being in a relationship is the last thing on her mind. She is taking this time to focus on her children and herself.”
Despite the fact that the El Moussas continue to film “Flip or Flop” together, Tarek told ET Online that he found out about her breakup with Anderson the same way the rest of the world did.
“I found out from the internet, you know? I do not ask personal questions,” he said. “I do not want to get involved. The best thing for me is to focus on myself, and not worry what she is doing. So, the only reason I found out about the split is because it came out in the media.”
The El Moussas issued a statement to People in shortly after their split, acknowledging, “Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage … 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.”
According to the couple, they broke up following a May incident during which law enforcement responded to a call of a “possibly suicidal male with a gun.” The call was made after Tarek retrieved a gun from a safe in the couple’s Orange County, California, home and wandered into nearby Chino Hills State Park.
Tarek told deputies that he headed to the park to “blow off some steam,” and that he brought the gun with him as protection against mountain lions and rattlesnakes.
“Flip or Flop,” which premiered in 2013, revolves around the El Moussas, real estate agents who buy distressed properties and renovate them.
7 Most Outrageous HGTV Scandals: From 'Property Brothers' to 'Flip or Flop' (Photos)
The divorce of "Flip or Flop" stars Christina and Tarek El Moussa is not the first time an HGTV show has made headlines for things happening off-screen.
"Flip or Flop" couple's messy divorce The marital drama between "Flip or Flop" stars Christina and Tarek El Moussa became headline fodder after a May 2016 incident during which law enforcement responded to a call of a "possibly suicidal male with a gun." An even bigger surprise was when HGTV revealed that the show would continue production "as scheduled" despite the couple's separation.
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"Fixer Upper" stars attend anti-gay church Chip and Joanna Gaines, the Waco, Texas couple who hosts the fan-favorite series "Fixer Upper" came under fire in 2016 when a Buzzfeed report pointed out the fact that the show has never featured a gay couple, and that the couple attends an anti-gay church. The Gaineses refused to comment on the uproar, with Chip simply tweeting "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith."
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Homophobic hosts' show axed before debut In 2014, HGTV pulled the plug on the show "Flip It Forward" in the middle of production when it was uncovered that the hosts, David and Jason Benham were fervently anti-gay. A video surfaced online of David talking about "homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation" and advocating for a ban on same-sex marriage.
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"House Hunters" is fake One of HGTV's most popular shows, "House Hunters," has long been rumored to be staged, but in 2012 one of the former home buyers featured on the show said her entire experience was staged by producers. In a statement addressing the controversy, the network later admitted to "managing certain production and time constraints."
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"Property Brothers" bar brawl Jonathan Scott, one half of the brother duo behind the hugely popular "Property Brothers" was thrown out of a North Dakota bar in 2016 after getting into a fight with the bouncer when his drink was taken away at closing time.
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"Flip or Flop" scam classes An AP report from Oct. 2016 found that lessons in how to flip houses offered by Christina and Tarek El Moussa were little more than a money-making scam. According to several attendees, the couple did not show up in person, and the classes quickly devolved into a sales pitch for other of the couple's products.
HGTV
"Love It or List It" destroyed a couple's house In April 2016, a Raleigh, North Carolina couple filed a lawsuit over their appearance on the show, claiming that they were the victims of shoddy workmanship that left their home in an unusable state after the renovation. They also claimed that the on-screen personalities had little to do with the actual work, and that they were all assigned "roles" by producers to play for the show.
HGTV
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Including a bar brawl, a lawsuit and a show canceled before it even made it to air
The divorce of "Flip or Flop" stars Christina and Tarek El Moussa is not the first time an HGTV show has made headlines for things happening off-screen.