Another round of happily ever after in real estate is written on the twinkly glass door at the hearts of ‘Flip or Flop’ stars and friends
Heather Rae Young and Tarek El Moussa have been practically inseparable, since their HGTV show Flip or Flop made them stars. They didn’t marry until April, but they are already looking at ring ideas, and they know marriage puts them on the fast track to the moment when they enter “our next great chapter”.
Happy Ever After: Tarek El Moussa marries longtime girlfriend after giving birth to son T.J. Jr. Read more
They tied the knot on Thursday, with the delightfully giddy duo cutting off the celebration with the words: “Today we became man and wife.” Their wedding couldn’t have come any sooner for the two men who have been seen on TV as the wise-cracking real estate consultant and his family’s expert flipper.
For them, that next chapter could mean just about anything they want it to. And maybe it will. Or maybe they’ll stop getting married and just date other people. Maybe they’ll stick it out for the long haul. “After the event,” they announced on Instagram, “we’ll take a much-needed couple of weeks to recover and reflect on what’s next.”
Also due this week: a sequel to the 2003 film version of Love Actually. And Love Actually has to be as good, or better, than an HGTV wedding.
Marriage is just one of the life lessons the couple have already acquired. With each successive unexpected fall from a flatbed truck, they’ve dug themselves out of new holes. They were both going through big, ugly divorces, and were rebuilding their lives together, only to get cursed with a TV show that has been No 1 in its time slot for four years. They have survived, pulled back, and started anew. They ended up asking their show’s producers to bring her around, though as of now they won’t be collaborating on future seasons.
And they’ve already tried out three careers. El Moussa went to San Diego University to study physical therapy, but he turned to flipping homes and became a TV star. He took time off after T.J. was born, and moved to Costa Mesa, California, in 2002. He sold a house in 2005 and bought a second one at home. He learned to fly, and even taught an aviation pilot how to land a plane.
TV cameras started rolling, and the fan base grew with each big show he bought and sold. After Flip or Flop (as it’s still called on HGTV), he sold his second house and moved to Orange County in 2011. He released his own book in 2015. Last year, his longtime girlfriend, Kelly Sargent, got pregnant with a boy. Their first child, a girl, was born in July.
In an email, El Moussa wrote that Sargent was at the ceremony with him, but she’s due in a few days, so they’ll start a new phase before she leaves for her medical residency.
He said this is a “very memorable day” for him. “I am very grateful to God and my family and friends that have helped me get to this point. We are very excited to take this next step. We look forward to this new chapter of our lives.”
The wedding featured on the HGTV series Flip or Flop. Photograph: HGTV
The HGTV crew was in tuxedos and designer dresses, but the ceremony was a low-key affair. Sharyn Giananti, Sargent’s friend, was her maid of honor, and audience members sang when the newlyweds were about to say “I do”.
El Moussa said in an email he was “very excited and happy to share the day with my beautiful daughter and my entire family. It’s been a long journey getting to this day, and it feels like a perfect culmination of all of our hard work.”
All in all, El Moussa told the Associated Press, his wedding “was a long time coming”.
