On the mend! Tarek El Moussa opened up about his state of mind after going through a health scare.
“Enjoying every moment. As I was laying there on the boat with Tay I swear I forgot all about the tear on both my knees and the tear on my bicep — was just all smiles, enjoying a perfect day,” the reality star, 40, captioned a photo on Tuesday, July 5, of him and daughter, Taylor, 11, relaxing on a boat together. In the social media upload, El Moussa has athletic tape placed on both of his knees.
The California native elaborated on his health, writing, “My injuries came from pushing myself too hard (something I do often in almost every part of my life) but hey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right??”
In the lengthy post, El Moussa reflected on the lesson he learned from the recent experience. “Sometimes when we think like we’re in a dark place it can feel like we’ve been buried when really we’re just being planted. Just some food for thought this week since I’m sure some of you are feeling tired from the weekend!!” he concluded. “Keep going and keep giving it all you got- but don’t be like me and get injured while doing so.”
The TV host’s wife, Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young), showed her support in the comments section, adding, “And you never give up. Inspire me my love.”
Tarek was previously diagnosed with two forms of cancer in 2013 after a Flip or Flop viewer brought a concern to producers’ attention. “No joke, I thought I was going to die,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2017, several years after his health scare. “I was like, ‘Two cancers?’”
He continued: “I literally filmed ’til the day I went into my surgery, and within two weeks after, I was back on camera. It was definitely difficult to do, but it definitely pushed my mental strength to the limits. … I just kept moving forward.”
Tarek, who shares daughter Taylor and son Brayden, 6, with ex-wife Christina Hall (née Haack), later revealed that he suffered a serious back injury.
“I got back surgery. I went from 230 pounds to 168 pounds. So I had the cancer and then I got the second cancer. And then four months after I recovered from the second cancer, I hurt my back. I lost 60 pounds, I was on Vicodin every day, my hormones are off, I’m on pain meds and narcotics and I’m filming and working,” he shared on “The Dr. Drew” podcast in 2018. “It’s wild. It was a horrifying experience.”
Following his wedding to Heather, 34, Tarek clapped back after a social media user mocked him for wearing compression socks on his honeymoon.
“The first comments on that post of mine are about my socks … not about how beautiful Dubai is or anything of substance,” he wrote via Instagram Story in November 2021. “I wear these socks because I suffered from clasped veins and when I fly I have to wear them to prevent blood clots. I have thick skin so go say whatever you want but in the future you might want to rethink judging someone for wearing something that physically helps them.”
