HGTV star reinvents himself from 'overweight, chain-smoking alcoholic'
Tarek El Moussa, host of 'The Flipping El Moussas,' has battled cancer, transformed his diet
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tarek El Moussa has undergone several dramatic changes in the past three years.
The HGTV star shared a shirtless photo of himself to show how far he’s come on his health journey. He told Fox News Digital what he’s been doing to get those results.
"The health journey has really been since 2013, but I really stepped it up in the past three years," he said at the Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter’s Magic of Music Gala. "It’s amazing what we really can do when we focus and we set goals, and you know, Heather has been a huge part of that, cleaning up my diet and really motivating me to take better care of my health."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tarek El Moussa attends the Alzheimer's Association California Southland Chapter's Magic of Music Gala at Sony Pictures Studios on May 9, 2024, in Culver City, California.
He and his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa, have been married since 2021. From 2009 to 2018, he was married to Christina Hall, his former "Flip or Flop" co-star.
El Moussa added, "I’m almost 43 years old, I feel better and I look better than I have in 30 years, so it’s working pretty well."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WATCH: TAREK EL MOUSSA SHARES DETAILS ON HIS HEALTH JOURNEY
When asked what he does to maintain his new look, Heather said, "Wake up early, take vitamins, limit alcohol, eat really healthy."
"I’ve become very used to doing things I don’t want to do," El Moussa said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the photo he shared on Instagram, it’s clear his hard work has paid off. In the shot, he’s wearing swim trunks and sunglasses – and he jokingly told Fox News Digital that the image was "photoshopped."
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"Sooooo….it’s been a few years since I posted a knockoff male model photo but hey….I’m finally in shape!" he wrote in the caption. "No joke, 3 years ago I bought a scale and when I saw my health metrics I freaked out and went to the gym the next day!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He continued, "Over the last three years I’ve been in the gym almost every day with my buddy and fitness expert @seantorbati…. I say it all the time, I was an overweight, chain-smoking alcoholic, who was always stressed!"
"It doesn’t matter how tired you are or how beat up you are or how drained you are. We can all come back to feeling like we are in the best shape of our life! All you have to do is get started! Also….can anyone see my ab?"
Heather Rae El Moussa and Tarek El Moussa have been married since 2021. (Getty Images)
While responding to questions from his followers, he confirmed that as part of his move toward better health, he gave up smoking.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HGTV STAR TAREK EL MOUSSA GIVES HIS SIDE OF 911 CALL THAT ENDED MARRIAGE TO CHRISTINA HALL
One of his followers suggested that it would be "easy" to make those kinds of changes with access to a fitness expert, and he shot back with, "Ya it’s easy to get up 4:30am, work from home, then go to the gym from 6:45 to 8:15. What’s easy is to make excuses about why you yourself can’t do something so you can convince yourself not to do it. There are about 1 million free training programs on the Internet try one."
When El Moussa said that his health journey truly began in 2013, he was referring to his cancer diagnoses. He was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which was discovered after a fan noticed a lump on his neck during one of his shows and suggested he see a doctor. Soon after, he was given an additional diagnosis of testicular cancer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tarek El Moussa battled two cancers simultaneously a decade ago. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for MTV)
Just months after the cancer went into remission, he injured his back while playing golf.
In an excerpt from his book, "Flip Your Life: How to Find Opportunity in Distress in Real Estate, Business, and Life" obtained by People, he called the injury "the beginning of fifteen months of a whole new medical challenge." He also wrote that it was "debilitating."
"On a typical day, I would swallow eight or ten painkillers just to get through the day," he confessed. "Between the Vicodin and the Dilaudid and the morphine, I was high as a kite all day long."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He lost 60 pounds during this period, then finally made the decision to get back surgery.
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The operation went well, El Moussa wrote, but he experienced a serious complication from his hospital stay: after his catheter was removed, his urethra swelled completely shut. No one realized, and he was discharged.
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He wasn’t able to go to the bathroom, but "By 6:30 in the morning, I hadn’t slept a night, and I was screaming. It was obvious that my bladder was about to explode, which was something I hadn’t considered during the night. Realizing I could actually die, I grabbed my phone and called 911."
Tarek El Moussa was married to Christina Hall when he experienced his cancers and back injury. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)
In an interview, he told People, "I got my first cancer in 2013. I was fighting cancers in ’13 and ’14, and I had surgeries, and then for a few months I got better. And then in ’15, I hurt my back. For a year I could barely work. And then after that I had that awful surgery with complications. So for four years, I just lived through hell."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In addition to issues with his physical health, El Moussa has been open about how he's also struggled with his mental health. He and Hall announced their split in 2016, and toward the end of their marriage, he'd admitted to being in a bad place emotionally.
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"My hormonal levels were off, and I wasn’t feeling really well a lot of the time, and I just wasn’t being the best person I could have been," he told Dr. Drew during a 2018 episode of his podcast.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tarek and Christina found fame together hosting "Flip or Flop." (Aaron Rapoport)
Things ended in dramatic fashion when he left the family's home one day with a gun. He explained in his book that he'd wanted to go for a walk on a trail near the house and took the gun because mountain lions had been seen in the area, but it frightened Hall enough to call the police. He was found by helicopter and detained for hours as the situation was resolved.
"That was the very last time we were together as a family: with Christina walking down the driveway, crying, and me sitting there in handcuffs, asking myself, ‘What in the world is going on?’" he wrote.
Now, El Moussa tells Fox News Digital that his relationship with Hall is going well and that they're working together to co-parent their two children, 13-year-old Taylor and 8-year-old Brayden.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WATCH: TAREK EL MOUSSA EXPLAINS SECRET TO CO-PARENTING WITH EX CHRISTINA HALL
When asked about his secret to getting along with her, he answered, "It's simple: kids are No. 1. That's it. There's no other answer. Kids are No. 1."
"Do what you got to do, eat s--- when you got to eat s---, kids are No. 1," he continued. "The truth is, we're actually friends today, we're getting along great, and we've made a lot of progress.
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In addition to the children he shares with Hall, El Moussa also has a 1-year-old son, Tristan, with Heather.