The second season was set to drop in “early” 2024, but HGTV has yet to announce the release.
The Big Picture
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The Flipping El Moussas
Season 2 renewal saw an increase in episodes from Season 1. - Tarek El Moussa’s new autobiography came out between seasons and details the renovator’s personal struggles and growth.
- The delay in Season 2’s release could be due to Tarek’s book content and HGTV’s concern over image.
The Flipping El Moussas was renewed for a second season in summer 2023, with HGTV announcing an extension from 10 episodes to 14 episodes with the renewal. The series features HGTV all-star Tarek El Moussa, who rose to fame on the network with his now ex-wife Christina Hall on their series Flip or Flop. He also developed the series Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa for HGTV. The Flipping El Moussas follows Tarek with his new wife Heather Rae El Moussa, the renowned real estate agent from Selling Sunset on Netflix, as they renovate, elevate, and flip high-end homes together as a growing family. The release for the second season of The Flipping El Moussaswas slated for “early” 2024. Season 1 of the home renovation and flipping series was released in March 2023, so the reasonable expectation was that viewers would see the second season come to air sometime around March 2024.
There has been little promotion for the series from either HGTV or from the El Moussas themselves since the renewal was announced in summer 2023. However, Tarek has been in the headlines recently after the release of his tell-all biography and self-help book, Flip Your Life: How To Find Opportunity In Distress – In Real-Estate, Business, and Life in February. One of the most talked about bombshells from the book has been Tarek providing his side of the infamous “gun incident” from his 2016 separation from his ex-wife. The book reveals many more shocking details from Tarek’s life, including an attempted murder charge related to gang activity as a teenager, and his struggle with painkiller use after a back injury in 2013.
This is a far cry from the image portrayed on HGTV of Tarek and his family in their current life. The Flipping El Moussas page on the HGTV site describes the series as being “all about family” as the real-estate power couple “work together, learn together and grow together with Tarek’s two kids and a new baby on the way.” Since HGTV is a family and business oriented network, and the series emphasizes the El Moussa’s wholesome love story and growing family as a significant story line, the publication of Tarek’s biography may explain the delayed release date for The Flipping El Moussas. While Tarek’s honesty about his journey to a healthier lifestyle is admirable, could it also be the reason for the delayed release of Season 2?
The Flipping El Moussas
Follows couple Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa during their personal and professional journey of newlyweds and real estate experts.
- Release Date
- March 2, 2023
- Cast
- Tarek El Moussa , Heather El Moussa , Heather Rae Young
- Seasons
- 2
Tarek El Moussa’s History on HGTV
Flip or Flop ran on HGTV from 2013 to 2021. At the time, Tarek was still married to Christina Hall and the couple showed their journey flipping dilapidated houses into profitable properties together. When the couple was promoting their show together in a Fox News interview in 2015, Tarek detailed how they had filmed an audition tape together to submit to a local production company, which eventually led to their start on HGTV. Christina noted that at the time they were filming the audition tape she had been five-months pregnant, and during the interview with Fox she discussed being pregnant once again. The couple seemed to be perfectly happy building their successful business and family together.
Then in 2016, the couple divorced. Tarek detailed this period in his book as a time when he was “experiencing the biggest emotional trauma of [his] life.” However, Tarek and Christina continued to film their series together after their divorce. This lasted until the surprising announcement after the season 10 finale aired that the show would not be renewed, after some reportedly tense moments filming together. An “insider” source told People Magazine in 2022 that the series had become “too intimate” of a setting for the ex-partners as they continued to navigate separate lives as co-parents.
In 2021, Tarek began to film a solo series for HGTV, Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa. That year he also filmed an exclusive special of his marriage to second wife, Heather Rae, titled Tarek and Heather: The Big I Do. This led to their series, The Flipping El Moussas, first developed to air in March 2023. While there has been little news of the second season’s release date, Tarek has recently been promoting the release of his new book, Flip Your Life.
The Biggest Takeaways From Tarek El Moussa’s ‘Flip Your Life’
In an April 2024 interview with Jennifer Hudson, Tarek remarked that in many ways, Flip Your Life is meant to be an apology to his children, his ex-wife, and his family for the years of turmoil that followed his cancer diagnosis in 2013. In the book, Tarek described how, nearly nine months into his treatment for thyroid and testicular cancer, he also slipped several discs in his back and pinched a nerve during a golf game. The renovator wrote that during his recovery he was “high as a kite all day long.” Throughout the ordeal of back surgery, bed-rest, addiction to painkillers, use of testosterone, and mental health struggles, his ex-wife and co-star Christina had to shoulder the household and family responsibilities. This, coupled with the highly publicized gun incident that resulted in police being called to the house, ultimately contributed to the couple’s divorce. An “insider” also attributed the sudden success of their HGTV series as a contributing factor to the couple growing apart.
Tarek tells Jennifer Hudson that he “wasn’t the best guy during those years,” which coincided with some of the peak years when Flip or Flop was rising in popularity on HGTV. Another takeaway from Tarek’s book is the time that he spent in a mental health facility during this period. Following the divorce from Christina, Tarek detailed drinking heavily while trying to quit using testosterone and the painkillers from his 2013 injury. His mental health was at a low place, and his friends encouraged him to seek professional help. When Tarek made the decision to change, his treatment included spending two months in a facility that was a half-way house that, in his words, was “occupied mostly by heroin addicts.”
Tarek also revealed in his book that during his youth he spent time in a juvenile detention facility as a result of an attempted murder charge. He described growing up in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles, and having friends involved in gang activity, which ultimately led to the attempted murder charge when he participated in a brawl that got him arrested. Tarek’s honesty about his challenges while growing up and after the demise of his first marriage is admirable. The book certainly offers the image of a man who has learned how to turn unfortunate circumstances into defining moments, modeling an ability to commit to changed behavior in order to succeed. However, the stories Tarek relays in his book are a far-cry from the wholesome family man portrayed on network television.
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Heather Rae El Moussa’s Priorities Have Shifted With Motherhood
It’s been a very busy time for Heather. She and Tarek finished filming their first season of The Flipping El Moussas, which premiered in March 2023. The final episode dealt with Tarek surprising Heather with the news that they have to flip one more house before the baby arrives. She also filmed her last day on Season 7 of Selling Sunset in January 2023, and soon after delivered her first baby, her son Tristan. Heather has also been a step-mother to Tarek’s two children from his previous marriage, who have appeared on their series with them on HGTV. The final episode of The Flipping El Moussas shows exactly how busy Heather has been, as the expecting mother tries to work on the plans for the home they are renovating during a beach day while also supervising the kids playing volleyball.
In a November 2023 interview with People Magazine, Heather talked about being able to shift priorities now that she is a mother. She explained that she loves to be able to put her family first, prioritize her own happiness, “and step away from some of the drama that Selling Sunset brought into my life.” This seems to confirm the star does not plan to return to the highly charged environment at the Oppenheim Group anytime soon, although she is still a practicing real estate agent. She said she was excited to simply film with her husband without the dramatic environment of the Netflix series, saying with her new series on HGTV “the drama is in the houses, not with the people.”
While the drama on Selling Sunset can often be scandalous, Heather has always managed to navigate each situation with grace. Her HGTV series allows her to continue to share her softer side, without the burden of the drama between co-workers. Heather’s desire to shift away from the drama in her life echoes her husband’s desire to unburden himself of the stories from his past, in order to continue celebrating their current success.
‘The Flipping El Moussas’ Season 2 Still Doesn’t Have a Release Date
While promoting his book in his April 2024 interview with Jennifer Hudson, Tarek mentioned that The Flipping El Moussas is now in its second season. While he claimed the second season is some of the best TV he has “ever been involved with,” Tarek did not mention a release date. He praised Heather’s “high-end” eye for design, as he spoke excitedly about the beautiful homes he and his new wife have renovated for the season. Jennifer remarked that she “can’t wait to see it,” but she did not ask any follow-up questions about the season, instead transitioning to a segment of asking Tarek for real-estate advice. Perhaps the goal was to allow Tarek’s autobiography to shine on its own.
An alternative explanation may be that HGTV as a network prefers to distance themselves from his stories of personal growth. Especially those that relate to his off-screen behavior during the years he had been filming Flip or Flop. As Tarek told Jennifer, the book is “all about turning distress into opportunity.” He was vulnerable in discussing the darker periods in his life, and views the book as “a guide” for people who wish to similarly turn their lives around. The stories that Tarek shared offer an example that, with hard work, you can turn unfortunate circumstances into success. However, HGTV does have a family-oriented image to maintain.
In a recent appearance on The Skinny Confidential podcast, Heather noted the difference between filming with her husband and filming with the agents on the Netflix series, Selling Sunset. She stated that she has a much better time on the HGTV series, especially since she and Tarek are also co-producers and have more control of their filming schedule. Both Tarek and Heather have promised the upcoming season is going to be better than ever. Perhaps the decision to delay the release date for season two of The Flipping El Moussas was entirely theirs, hoping to allow time for each project to shine on their own. But it seems likely that the image of HGTV may also have been a factor in the decision once the contents of Tarek’s autobiography became public knowledge. It seems possible that the delay in release could be an intentional effort to distance the second season of the family-oriented The Flipping El Moussas from the release of Flip Your Life.
Catch up on the first season of The Flipping El Moussas on Discovery+ in the U.S.Watch on Discovery+
This article was originally published on collider.com