Tarek Flips Out on Christina’s Ex

Flip or Flop’s Tarek El Moussa loses his cool — and further damages his and Christina’s brand

Tarek El Moussa wants the world to know that he’s on his best behavior when it comes to his estranged wife, Christina. After learning that his ex was seeing contractor Gary Anderson, Tarek claimed in two separate interviews in late February that he was focusing on his kids and “staying positive.”

But days later on March 1, Tarek’s facade cracked. After Kacey Anderson shared a photo on Instagram of her dad, 58-year-old Gary — the Orange County, Calif., contractor who dated Christina, 33, for the past few months — Tarek snarkily commented, “Thank God those heart attacks didn’t kill him…he may make 60.” (And Tarek doesn’t even follow Kacey’s public account.) Though the comment has since been deleted, sources tell In Touch it’s typically volatile behavior from the Flip or Flop star, 35. “He’s a bully who doesn’t care about hurting anyone’s feelings,” says an HGTV source. A Flip or Flop production insider agrees: “It’s a classic Tarek move to say absurdly rude things. He doesn’t think before he speaks.” (Or, apparently, before he posts!)

But these days, his temper could cost him his livelihood. Tarek and Christina’s explosive breakup (complete with a police visit to their house last May, cruel on-set behavior and more) preceded their book deal falling through (see sidebar). Now Tarek and Christina realize that “they have to fight harder to show their fans that they still get along,” or their personal animosity could cost them big paydays by consumers who liked the dynamic of a happily married couple, says the HGTV source. The pair recently began following each other on Instagram and flooding their social media with a barrage of happy photos and videos from the set to appeal to their fans, says the production insider. ( In Touch has also learned that Tarek blocks critics and scrubs negative comments from his Instagram, keeping up the illusion that he is getting only positive feedback.) La-based branding expert Rob Frankel agrees that the best strategy is to put up a united front: “It would show the world that [even though] their marriage fell apart, they can still work together.”

But Tarek needs to get his story straight. He’s been on a baffling comment binge, often contradicting himself in interviews. He claimed to Entertainment Tonight on Feb. 24 — the day after news broke that their book was postponed — that there’s a chance he and Christina could get back together, only to do an about-face on Extra four days later, saying there was no possibility of a reconciliation, which has been Christina’s stance all along. “At this point,” Tarek said, “I think we’re both going separate ways.” The next day, he lashed out at Gary on Instagram, showing a petty and angry side to his personality, which obviously “makes him look worse,” says Frankel, adding that by “contradicting themselves, unfortunately, it’s just reinforcing how this [relationship] is going into complete meltdown.”

All because Tarek still can’t control his rage. Even though Christina had already coldly dumped Gary in mid-february ( he found out she was ending things by reading a recent magazine interview, as In Touch exclusively reported), “Tarek taunted him because he still blames Gary for his divorce,” says the production insider. He believes his marriage is “still fixable,” adds the insider. (As In Touch exclusively reported, he even went to outpatient rehab for his drinking and anger issues in a failed bid to get Christina back.) “Christina just doesn’t want him,” says the insider. “But if there’s anything that will keep them together [ professionally], it’s the money and attention.” ◼