On July 2, Christina Hall sat down with Us Weekly to discuss the new season of her show Christina on the Coast. During the interview, the HGTV star talked about her nearly three-year marriage to Josh Hall, explaining that they make time for date nights and had plans to go out to dinner for her birthday on July 9.
But when the topic turned to the pair’s upcoming series, The Flip Off (which costars her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa), there were undeniable hints of tension.
“It’s never easy to work with a spouse,” Christina said. “It’s a whole new dynamic for us, and it’s going to be interesting how it plays out.”
Interesting, indeed. Two weeks later, on July 15, the pair filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences,” with Christina listing their date of separation as July 7. According to an insider, Christina, 41, and Josh, 44, had been “having issues for a while,” adding that Josh has moved out of their shared home.
The former couple — who quietly tied the knot in October 2021 — got together after her split from British TV host Ant Anstead in September 2020. (Christina shares son Hudson, 4, with Anstead as well as daughter Taylor, 13, and son Brayden, 8, with Tarek, 42.)
“Christina was trying, but things happened, and it just wasn’t working,” the insider shares in the latest issue of Us, noting that the HGTV star is quickly picking up the pieces. “Christina was done when she filed the papers. It’s hard, but she’s doing great.”
Money Matters
Things could get ugly. The insider tells Us Christina didn’t sign a prenup, and in court documents, Josh is requesting spousal support and an equal division of community property acquired during the marriage.
That includes the $12.6 million Newport Beach, California, home purchased in April 2022 (Us can confirm that Christina and Josh’s names are both on the title) and any rights to the Discovery and HGTV shows they developed, produced or contracted with during the marriage. (Josh, who’s worked as a real estate agent, has made appearances on Christina on the Coast and Christina in the Country and has served as a consulting producer on the shows.) Christina isn’t requesting spousal support and is asking the court not to award any to Josh.
The insider says money has long been a source of contention for Christina and Josh. “Christina works very hard and is successful,” says the insider. “She felt like Josh was not contributing enough to the household.” A second source familiar with the matter tells Us Josh was working throughout their partnership.
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New York-based divorce attorney Dror Bikel, who hasn’t worked with the Halls, tells Us that despite the lack of prenup, Christina will likely come out OK.
“She’s the monied spouse, she was more successful. We know that because he’s seeking alimony and equal division of property and assets from the media program they have together,” he explains, noting that when it comes to any shows they’ve worked on together, the court “will ask if people are tuning in for her or for him. Is it equal? Her side will likely argue that people are tuning in for her, [and that] it’s not 50/50, maybe 80/20, so she will have claim over more of that revenue.”
The Fame Game
Bikel says many reality star couples are the victims of Fleeting Fame Syndrome — in which they get together “under magical circumstances” that are unsustainable or hit the skids when their lives — and relationships — are put on public display. (He namechecks The Bachelorette’s Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo, The Real Housewives of Miami’s Alexia and Todd Nepola and Selling Sunset’s Chelsea and Jeff Lazkani as potential victims of Fleeting Fame Syndrome.)
“Under any circumstances, fame is difficult to deal with,” Bikel has said. “When partners react differently to life in the public eye, it’s difficult to maintain a relationship.”
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Not Looking Back
Christina’s moving forward. According to the insider, The Flip Off — which is set to debut in 2025 — is in production without Josh.
“They are moving forward without him,” says the insider, adding that Christina wasn’t going to stay in the marriage any longer for the sake of a TV series. “It doesn’t matter [that] a show was announced. This is her life, and kids are involved.”
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She’s been down this road before. In a sit-down with Us last July, Christina reflected on her previous breakups, saying, “Going through divorce is very hard. It’s hard on me; it’s hard on the kids.”
She later noted that her standards had gotten higher in recent years. “Things that I would put up with in my 20s are things I would never put up with in my 40s,” Christina explained, adding that she wasn’t the type of person to live with regrets. “I’ve made mistakes, but I look at them as lessons learned.”
For more on Christina and Joshua Hall, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
With reporting by Amanda Williams
