Months before “The Flip Off” premiered, people were flipping over what happened between exes and former co-stars, Christina Haack and Josh Hall— and whether it was caught on camera.
Haack and Hall were initially a team competing on “The Flip Off,” a new home-flipping competition show on HGTV. They were going up against Haack’s first ex-husband, Tarek El Moussa, and his wife, Heather El Moussa.
But in July 2024, three months after the show was announced, Hall filed for divorce from Haack, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
Despite the shakeup in dynamics, it became apparent that the show must go on, and Haack moved forward in the competition without Hall.
During a recent interview with TODAY.com, Haack said that the breakup didn’t make her think twice about continuing the show.
“It was definitely not a thought,” she said. “(Tarek, Heather and I) came up with the idea, it was always a plan.”
A preview clip shared on Dec. 12 confirmed Hall and Haack’s breakup made it into the show. In it, a tearful Haack tells Tarek El Moussa that she and Hall had “officially split.”
HGTV released another preview clip on Jan. 2 showing a tense interaction between Haack and Hall in the lead-up to their breakup.
Following the show’s Jan. 29 premiere, how did “The Flip Off” address Haack and Hall’s breakup? Keep reading to find out what happened, plus more details on the house-flipping show starring Haack, Tarek El Moussa and Heather El Moussa.
What is ‘The Flip Off’ about?
Haack and Tarek El Moussa, who were married from 2009 until 2018, rose to HGTV stardom for their joint hit show “Flip or Flop,” which ran for 10 seasons.
The former couple ended “Flip or Flop” in 2022 and both had their own HGTV shows. Then, they reunited for “The Flip Off,” which focused on seeing “which ex can find, buy, renovate and flip a house for the biggest financial gain, earning the chance at ultimate bragging rights and a first-class vacation paid for by the loser,” according to a press release.
While Hall was initially Haack’s renovator in crime on the show, following their split, the “Christina on the Coast” star brings on a few friends to beat Tarek El Moussa’s at a high-stakes game of who can do a better house flip. Haack and Tarek El Moussa’s two kids, Taylor and Brayden, also make appearances in the show.
“Tarek, Heather and I have all been through a lot of stuff together, and we are all highly competitive,” Haack said in the release. “Tarek is the self-proclaimed ‘best flipper in the world,’ but, honestly, give me a break. I can’t wait to smoke them at their own game.”
How does ‘The Flip Off’ address Christina Haack and Josh Hall’s breakup?
Tension arises between Haack and Hall in the premiere episode of “The Flip Off.” In one scene, previously teased in a preview clip, the duo is in the car on the way to meet their contractor when bickering begins.
“Remember, you’re a Hall now,” Hall tells Haack, who took his last name after they got married. “Don’t get confused in this competition about what your last name is.”
He then calls her “rude” for not listening to him and says, “I wish you’d just shut up already.”
In a solo interview, Haack defends his behavior by saying “he’s been a bit moody lately” due to her history with Tarek El Moussa and stressors from the competition.
Then, in another moment, Haack and Hall butt heads while talking about whether they should expand their home’s square footage.
“Josh doesn’t like to be wrong and so I try to tiptoe around it but ultimately, I’m thinking like a house flipper, not like a designer with an unlimited budget,” Haack shares in a separate interview. “I am in this competition to win it and I feel like he needs to have a little bit more respect for the fact that I know what I’m talking about.”
Fast forward to another scene, which was previously shown in a sneak peek, Haack asks Tarek El Moussa to come over to talk about something in person.
“I know that look, what’s going on?” he says as he enters her house, seeing her arms crossed.
“Josh and I officially split up,” she revealed after a moment of pause.
“We had a blowup over nothing, truly, nothing. In my face, middle finger, in my face,” she starts to explain, admitting that “things have been bad for a long time” between her and Hall.
Haack shares that her and Tarek El Moussa’s kids asked her to leave Hall because he’s “not nice” to her.
“You’re a great mother, a great daughter, you are a great human,” he reassures her.
Tarek El Moussa later asks Haack whether she still wants to go through with the house flipping competition.
“What do you think? Yes, I’m still going to do it. And I’m going to do it better, I have more time now,” she responds, saying that she has a team ready to bring on and help her reach victory.
In the next scene, viewers meet who that team is: Michael Lange, Haack’s contractor, and Kylie Wing, her design partner.
