Weird Things About Christina Haack & Heather Rae El Moussa's Friendship We Can't Ignore

Heather Rae El Moussa and Christina Haack are, at first glance, unlikely friends. Christina was previously married to Tarek El Moussa, and the two became famous for their HGTV hit "Flip or Flop." They welcomed two children together and built a reality TV empire around flipping houses. However, they separated in 2016, and their divorce was finalized in January 2018. Some speculations about their divorce led to relationship rumors that Christina couldn't escape, and some have continued to plague her.

Tarek went on to find love a second time with Heather, who became a stepmother to the two children that Tarek and Christina share. The couple married in Montecito, California on October 23, 2021. While Heather and Christina initially had some bumps in their relationship – fans will recall the infamous soccer fight incident in May 2022 – the two women have gone on to form a very close bond all their own. There's business mixed in, too; the group stars in a new house flipping reality show called "The Flip Off," where Tarek and Heather compete against Christina for the best house flip. But Christina and Heather's friendship has roots that grow independently of this TV venture. While there's no denying that Christina and Heather's close-knit friendship is co-parenting done right, their friendship also has some oddities about it that are tough to look past.

Things didn't begin smoothly for Heather Rae El Moussa and Christina Haack. First, there was a big, public fight at Christina and Tarek El Moussa's son's soccer game in May 2022, back when Heather and Tarek were dating. The two women got into a volatile exchange and Tarek had to pull Heather away by the arm, according to the Daily Mail, who obtained photos of the exchange. A ref at the soccer game also had to get involved. While their reps released a statement afterwards saying that things had been resolved, it was clear that the two women did not feel warmly towards each other.

Then there was an awkward interview in November 2022, where Heather admitted that she had anxiety about Christina, claiming that it felt like she often came second in her budding relationship with Tarek. "I haven't talked about this much because I'm a very happy, positive person, but I felt like I was always second," Heather said on Today's "The New Rules." "No one ever made me feel that way, but I think when your significant other has such a long relationship with the previous spouse and a lot of love and it was a very public divorce and you're coming into it, you fall in love with each other, but you always kind of think of the ex." That's a very vulnerable thing to admit.

There's no denying that Christina Haack and Heather Rae El Moussa look alike. They are both amongst the five HGTV stars who are plagued by plastic surgery rumors, and even their alleged cosmetic surgeries are similar. They've both confirmed having breast augmentations, among other procedures.

The result is that people online have called them sister wives because of how similar they look. So Tarek El Moussa, Heather, and Christina addressed this in a video on Instagram, but their explanation only made things weirder. When a fan asked Tarek how he tells the two women apart, he joked that their shoes provide the clue. "From behind, [Tarek] doesn't know," Heather joked, and then they all burst out laughing at how awkwardly people could take that comment. The fact that all three of them play along with it could be seen as odd by some; but for the most part, fans were supportive of their lighthearted approach to criticism.

It seems that for almost any event, Heather Rae El Moussa and Tarek El Moussa spend time with Christina Haack and her significant other, Chris Larocca. All of their Instagram feeds are full of vacations and activities together. They celebrate Christmas together, they traveled to Las Vegas together, and it seems like every other post is a shot of the four of them together.

Of course, a big part of this is motivated by the fact that Tarek and Christina are co-parenting their two children, Taylor and Brayden. But it begs the question: How much time is too much time with your ex? Is there a healthier mix of appropriate boundaries? Is this too familiar for blended families? The Center for Divorce Education notes that while an amicable relationship between exes is positive for children, too much time together can blur boundaries for children of divorced homes. A healthy, emotional distance makes the dynamic easier for children to process their dual home lives. It seems clear that Tarek, Heather, and Christina are all committed to doing what's best for the children, so fans can assume that some of this is just social media hype and that each family also spends time nurturing more nuclear, individual home bonds.

Not only are Christina Haack and Heather Rae El Moussa close friends, but they also mix a lot of business with their personal friendship. There's the obvious one: their HGTV show "The Flip Off," where they compete against each other for the best house flip. But Heather and Christina each have their own businesses, and they involve each other in marketing and promotions.

Heather has her cosmetic and skincare line, Heather Rae Essentials. When she advertises her lip glosses online, she often posts content with Christina. Heather's Instagram feed is packed with videos of the two of them trying on her glosses and raving about them together. Similarly, Christina has launched a champagne line called Clé Cachée, and she does the same thing. Christina's Instagram page is full of shots of her and Heather pouring and drinking her champagne. While they're both entrepreneurs, it could be risky mixing business and family. There's obviously a hazard in mixing finances with a blended family, a dynamic that's arguably already slightly more complicated by its very nature.

Heather Rae El Moussa has literally admitted that she often takes on the role of mediator between exes Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack. This happens most frequently while they're filming their show "The Flip Off." On the final episode of Season 1, Heather told her friends, "[Tarek and Christina are] so competitive with each other in general. They fight like they're brother and sister. I'm always mediating things."

It's a tricky role to fill. As Tarek's wife, Heather is likely going to take his side just by the very nature of their relationship. But then she's pushed into the role of mediator because of her friendship with Christina. It's a complicated position for Heather, and one might argue that patching things up between the exes isn't her job. While Heather seems lighthearted about it for now, it may not always be something that she wants to do, nor should she have to.