Christina Hall; Ant Anstead HGTV;David Fisher/Shutterstock
The highs and lows of parenthood. Christina Hall (née Haack) opened up about the emotional toll of her custody battle with Ant Anstead in a lengthy Mother’s Day message.
“Crazy how much life can change in a year. Last Mother’s Day I was in a very bad place,” the HGTV star, 39, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, May 14, alongside a selfie with daughter Taylor, 12, and sons Brayden, 7, and Hudson, 3. “Going through an extremely unnecessary custody battle, family issues, dealing with a health scare- amongst other things. During all this we were momentarily displaced and in the process of moving into a temporary rental.”
The Flip or Flop alum — who married Josh Hall in early 2022 — remembered finding an “amazing care package” from the owners of the rented property as she dealt with “the stress of moving.” The thoughtful gift included her “fav[orite] champagne and a sweet note,” as well as something special for her children.
“At the time I was having the worst month so all of this meant SO much to me,” Christina recalled. “I started crying when I saw it, and I didn’t want to upset anyone so I quickly went to hide in the first room I saw (the laundry room). Surprisingly, the owner of the rental happened to be in there … I broke down crying and told her what I was going through and how much her gesture meant to me.”
The Wellness Remodel author noted that she’s “usually never vulnerable,” but she was so overwhelmed in that moment that she couldn’t help but share her story — and the owner happened to relate. “It felt so good to speak to someone who understood. When I think of this now it still makes my eyes water. What a gift from God that moment was,” she wrote.
Things soon “turned around” for the Christina on the Coast star, who sent a positive reminder to other moms. “I know I’ve made mistakes but I know what I’ve done right… I know with all my heart my kids love me… and I know I’m a good mom… life is crazy but being a mama makes it all worth it. Alllll of it,” she concluded. “Happy Mother’s Day, no matter where you are in life or what’s happening stay positive- It can all change in a year! ❤️.”
Christina gave fans a glimpse of how she and Josh celebrated on Sunday, sharing photos from a Mother’s Day brunch via her Instagram Story. She snapped a selfie at the table with Taylor before uploading a sweet pic of her husband hugging her sons outside.
The California native shares her eldest two children with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, to whom she was married from 2009 to 2018. She welcomed Hudson with Anstead, 44, one year after their 2018 wedding. The former couple called it quits in September 2020, finalizing their divorce the following June.
The pair’s post-split dynamic took a turn in April 2022 when Anstead filed for full custody of Hudson, claiming in his petition that Christina was an unfit mother. She denied his allegations in her own set of court docs at the time, arguing, “Mr. Anstead is simply trying to smear my good name and tarnish my image.”
The British TV personality’s request was denied, but the battle continued when he accused his ex-wife of exploiting Hudson for paid social media partnerships. Christina fired back at the discourse in November 2022 after covering the toddler’s face with an emoji in an Instagram upload.
“I was NOT told I could no longer post Hudson … I was NOT told anything by a judge because I was never in front of a judge. I CHOSE and choose not to post Hudson because I was exhausted with Instagram being used as a tool against me,” she wrote. “This has nothing to do with ads, people need to wrap their heads around the fact that none of this actually has to do with advertisements. This is about CONTROL.”
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Us Weekly confirmed one month later that Christina and the Wheeler Dealers host settled their legal dispute and will “continue to have joint legal and joint physical custody” of Hudson, with some “exceptions” being made to their initial June 2021 agreement. The twosome have since remained relatively quiet about their coparenting relationship.
