With a new baby and a new HGTV show, Heather Rae El Moussa says she doesn’t have time for the “hate” directed at her online. Married since October 2021 to longtime HGTV personality Tarek El Moussa, with whom she now stars on “The Flipping El Moussas,” the new mom says she’s so “obsessed” with their six-week-old son, Tristan Jay, that she is focused on him instead of online negativity.
The 35-year-old realtor, who has also appeared on Netflix’s “Selling Sunset” since it premiered in 2019, is used to the online criticism that often comes with being in the public eye. In a new interview with British digital magazine Blush, El Moussa said she’s doing her best to ignore the naysayers as she settles into life as a new mom and one of HGTV’s newest stars.
Heather Rae El Moussa says she tries to avoid drama
GettyHeather and Tarek El Moussa with some of her “Selling Sunset” pals
In her interview with Blush, El Moussa said she was pleasantly surprised that most followers on social media have been kind to her baby boy, born on January 31, given that she usually gets so much pushback on his posts.
With over three million Instagram followers, El Moussa has plenty of fans who love peeks into her often glamorous life, but she also regularly receives hostile, hateful comments about everything from her voice to her looks, including many comparisons to her husband’s ex-wife and former “Flip or Flop” co-star Christina Hall. Even her mother-in-law tried to stick up for her recently, clapping back at Facebook users who left unkind comments.
“I get a lot of hate in general, for so many things, and you don’t want to please everybody,” El Moussa told Blush. “Plus I don’t just post things for other people, I post things for myself.”
“I’ve never been the type of girl who has a ton of drama,” she added.
However, she has been known to stick up for her friends when she sees them being bullied online. When El Moussa posted photos from her baby shower in November, many lambasted her friends, criticizing them for being too glamorous or scantily clad for the event. Her “Selling Sunset” co-star Chrishell Stause received so much backlash for her outfit that El Moussa took time to respond to comments.
“I see a lot of negative comments and I just don’t understand why so many people choose to live with such negativity and tear people down when the day was so perfect,” she wrote. “Who cares what my friends wore?? They’re all beautiful and I want them to feel empowered. And no it wasn’t a ‘normal baby shower’ but what is normal anymore…? ? Let’s really just lift each other up and stop the mean comments that tear a woman down. Isn’t there enough hate in the world already??”
El Moussa told Blush: “I think the way you see me on (‘Selling Sunset’), I’m good friends with all the girls. I’m the one who keeps the peace. I try to see everyone’s point of view. I quit , when I’m supposed to speak up.”
Heather Rae El Moussa is happy that most followers seem to appreciate her real-life posts as a new mom
Since baby Tristan’s birth, El Moussa has said her entire focus is on her little one, and wants to be honest about what the early days of motherhood are like for her. On February 15, when the couple announced Tristan’s name, El Moussa said they had received a “very positive response” from fans.
“I think everyone is just excited to finally hear his name,” she said, aware that supporters had grown impatient after waiting 15 days for the couple to announce the name and share photos of his face. which first appeared in Us Weekly.
She explained: “We wanted to keep things a little private in the beginning, especially because we were just so busy.”
In the weeks since, El Moussa has tried to honestly share her postpartum experience, including challenges with breastfeeding and juggling the pressures of work — including having to film segments for both of her shows. On March 11, when she had to dress up to shoot scenes for “The Flipping El Moussas” and leave baby Tristan at home, she wrote how hard it was to leave him behind.
“I’m completely done with these pictures because I still need to finish a few scenes for Flipping El Moussas, but it really kills me to leave him,” she wrote. “I cried the first time I was away from him for 4 hours because my whole world revolves around Tristan and it’s hard to think about anything else.”
She added: “Only sharing this because I don’t want to post a picture of myself done without also sharing some reality.”
Most people responded with empathy or shared their own early motherhood stories, but El Moussa still received backlash from some on the post.
For example, one person wrote: “But hey, gotta keep Heather in the spotlight. Before long nanny will take over 💯 and you’ll be back shoving selfies down our faces. Am I wrong?”
El Moussa also received some criticism for her March 14 post of two photos from a photo shoot with her toddler Tristan, while wearing a pale blue tulle dress with puffed sleeves. Many argued that she should not be in his newborn photos, calling her appearance in them “selfish” and “bizarre”, while others harshly criticized the dress.
But any backlash from followers online doesn’t seem to affect the growing popularity of the El Moussas’ new HGTV series, which airs Thursday night. Three weeks into their first season, early ratings results via ShowBuzzDaily show that the latest episode, which aired on March 16, drew more viewers than their previous two weeks — despite the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament monopolizing the ratings. “The Flipping El Moussas” landed in the top 10 non-basketball programs on television that night.