Last January 31, 2023, Heather Rae Young and Tarek El Moussa finally welcomed their little one. The celebrity couple announced the most awaited news with a joint Instagram post featuring both of their hands resting on their newborn son. In the caption, Tarek assured fans that mama and baby are both happy and healthy.
The Magical Meeting
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Heather Rae Young and Tarek El Moussa’s love story was something straight out of a romance film. While they both work in the real estate industry and star in reality TV – Young on Selling Sunset and El Moussa on Flip or Flop – the two never crossed paths until one fishing trip with mutual friends on the Fourth of July 2019 down in Newport Beach. And it was love at first sight.
What made this romance tale even more magical was the fact that, according to Young on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, she was living in LA back then, and she never really came to Newport. She also added, “It was very, very rare that I came down that day.”
The couple made their relationship public just a little over a month later. Then they moved in at the start of 2020 and got engaged on their first year anniversary during their boat trip to Catalina Island in California.
Finally, on October 23, 2021, in Santa Barbara, Young officially became an El Moussa, along with Tarek’s two children with ex-wife Christina Haack – a daughter named Taylor and a son named Brayden.
In an exclusive statement with PEOPLE, the new El Moussa said, “We’re best friends, we’re true soulmates, and our love is so rare and so special.” And most important of all, it was the love she had always dreamed of her whole life.
Building a Family Together
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In December 2021, Heather Rae opened up about her plans to have children with her husband, Tarek. Straight from her fertility clinic, the reality TV star explained the whole process of egg freezing. She also shared that if they decide to move forward, she will immediately start the preparation of freezing her eggs in January.
Young already had the procedure done back then, and she had six on ice. The Selling Sunsets cast member noted that she had low fertility and low egg count in the past.
Before the two got married, they didn’t really have any plans to build a family together. That is, Heather was already happy being what she called a bonus mom to Tarek’s children. In an Instagram post, she said that they decided to say their vows to the kids first before to each other to show their hundred percent commitment to them.
But things changed after tying the knot, and they went from certain to ‘let’s-see-what-happens’ to ‘why-not-just-have-one-more.’ In a chat with E! News Daily Pop ahead of Thanksgiving 2021, the couple revealed that they had been ‘practicing having babies’ and were waiting for the right time to have their own kid.
Then on July 13, 2022, a month after news of their 8-episode docu-series with HGTV titled The Flipping El Moussas, the couple announced they were expecting their first baby.
The news of their pregnancy, which they shared exclusively with PEOPLE back in July 2022, came as a huge shock for the couple, who had just gone through in-vitro fertilization and was scheduled for an embryo implant in the fall.
Ultimately, they were happy with how things turned out for them and conceiving their first naturally. In her statement, Heather noted that everything fell into place when they least expected it (and when there was less stress).
They had their gender reveal on the 24th with confetti-filled canons, and it was a boy! Mom-to-be Heather shared photos and videos of the event on her Instagram Story. A month later, she uploaded their first glimpse of their baby boy and expressed her nervousness about the pregnancy. She wanted to ensure the baby was healthy and always in the best condition possible.
In November, the couple celebrated their baby boy with a winter-wonderland-themed baby shower. The event was held at the Balboa Bay Resort in their favorite Newport Beach.
Instead of gifts and greeting cards, they had guests bring a children’s book with a note inscribed inside. According to Heather, she wanted to start a library for their baby with special notes that they could read to him later on.
The Arrival of Their Little One
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A month before the arrival of Tarek and Heather baby, the HGTV star shared with Us Weekly that his kids were so excited to meet their brother. The younger El Moussa, Brayden, had been tracking the baby’s growth weekly with Heather. He and his sister Taylor would even talk to the baby and rub their stepmom’s belly.
And then, on January 31, 2023, the couple’s baby boy finally arrived. They happily shared the news on Instagram. The following days were filled with Tarek and Heather gushing over him and teasing fans about what he looked like. According to the new mom, she was still adjusting to newborn mommyhood, and they also wanted to stay in their private bubble and soak in every moment until they were ready to share him with the world.
Two weeks later, the new parents exclusively shared the name of their little one with Us Weekly: Tristan Jay El Moussa. Heather said that the moniker was inspired by first, Tarek’s initial name, and second, Heather’s dad’s middle name, which has been in their family for three generations already.
They also told the magazine that Tristan had actually arrived several days late. He was due on the 27th but didn’t come, so Heather got an appointment on the 30th, where they did a stress test on her. She was already 35, so it was a routine test they did for her last few weeks of pregnancy. And at that point, Tristan wasn’t moving as much as he usually did. She was rushed to the hospital to be monitored.
Apparently, a scar tissue build-up from a past biopsy made it difficult for her water to break, so they had to induce it (softening her cervix) with half a pill called Cytotec. They were told that Heather would have to push for two to three hours before the baby finally came.
However, the baby decided to move a bit more quickly, so the nurse had to stop her from pushing. Tarek thought his wife would go into an emergency C-section during that time. But after one last big push, Tristan finally came out.
Despite having two kids already, Tarek expressed how surreal the moment was for him. He knew it was happening, but at the same time, it was like a feeling that he didn’t even know could happen. On the other hand, Heather confessed that she didn’t think she’d be so obsessed with Tristan and that she would have time to go on little trips. But even leaving the house or going to the doctor felt already too hard for her.
As of now, Heather Rae Young and Tarek El Moussa are taking their time to be with the new member of the family.
