Christina Haack, Ant Anstead Address Complicated History on Flip Off

Christina Haack and Ant Anstead‘s onscreen reunion allowed the former couple to candidly discuss their tumultuous relationship over the years.

After her divorce from Tarek El Moussa, Christina, 41, found love with Ant, 45. The pair got married in 2018 and welcomed their son, Hudson, one year later. But in 2020 the duo called it quits, finalizing their divorce the following year.

“Ant and I split up when Hudson was 1 and now he is 5. Between the time of his first birthday and fifth, we did not communicate a lot,” Christina explained on the Wednesday, February 19, episode of HGTV’s The Flip Off.

Christina subsequently exchanged vows with Josh Hall, who was her original partner on The Flip Off before their split. Ant, for his part, moved on with Renée Zellweger. Before inviting Ant to join the show as a one-episode judge, Christina recalled what led to her and Ant’s reconciliation.

“After Josh and I split up, I went over to his house to pick up Hudson and he gave me a huge hug. We hadn’t hugged in years and he said, ‘I am so sorry for everything you are going through and I am here for you no matter what you need,’” Christina explained. “It was a very nice moment and we had a very long talk after. We decided to put all the BS aside and be good coparents.”

Ant proved that he was on the same page as Christina when he helped her win the challenge against Tarek, 43, and his wife, Heather El Moussa.

“You and I will be connected forever because we have a child so ultimately I have to stand by the mother of my kid,” Ant told Christina. “It is not going to be something you want to hear but unfortunately it puts Christina and me on the same team forever. Because of that, this judge is swayed and she’s on my team and you guys lose.”

The Flip Off airs on HGTV Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and is available the same day to stream on Max and Discovery+. Keep scrolling the biggest highlights from Ant and Christina’s reunion:

The Reason for Ant’s Invitation

A few factors contributed to Christina choosing Ant — starting with her attempt to “mess with” Tarek. After her and Tarek’s daughter Taylor asked whether her father had “any enemies,” Christina decided to give Ant a call.

“I have an idea for the judge. You might think this is crazy but I chose my second ex-husband because I just love to mess with Tarek,” she explained. “He’s going to be so thrown off when I say the judge is Ant. He is going to be so in his own head.”

Christina elaborated on her decision in a confessional, adding, “Ant is my second ex-husband and he’s the father to my third child, Hudson. If Ant was a judge — because Tarek is aware of some of the issues Ant and I have had throughout the years — it would be a little surprising and shocking.”

Having Some Regrets

“I just don’t want Ant thinking I am overstepping in the relationship or this favor is too soon,” Christina admitted before speaking with Ant. “I am a bit nervous to call and ask him.”

Ant, however, was quick to agree. “I will do it because I am very interested to see you up against Tarek and Heather,” he said. “There’s a few conditions. First of all, it has to be authentic. So if your room is rubbish, I am going to tell you. And you can’t hold it against me if Tarek happens to be the winner.”

Despite agreeing to the terms, Christina joked that she would tell Hudson if Ant didn’t pick her.

Tarek’s Unfiltered Reaction — And History With Ant

After finding out that Ant would be making an appearance, Tarek appeared less than thrilled by the potential bias.

“Why don’t you just have Josh come and they can judge together?” Tarek quipped before explaining further in a confessional with Heather. “Pretty shortly after me and Christina split, she got in a relationship with Ant. I remember they had been dating for a few months and I was on my bed scrolling through social media when I saw a photo of them after they got married. I didn’t know anything about it.”

He continued: “I sent Ant a message asking him to, ‘Please treat my kids as your own.’ He never responded by the way. Wonder why they got divorced.”

Tarek and Heather both agreed that Christina was interacting with Ant “just to piss off” Josh.

“After Ant and Christina split, he changed,” Tarek continued. “He reached out to me to vent and over time we built a relationship. Honestly, I think our relationship with him has been way better over the years.”

A Throwback Reunion

“It is all coming back to me now. It is like PTSD,” Christina joked about sharing the screen with Ant again after they collaborated on Christina on the Coast. “He is charming, he has that going for him with the accent. But it is the over-explaining and him being a little bit bossy. It is quite the balance.”

Christina didn’t think Ant took it “easy” on her with the judging process. “I forgot how meticulous he was,” she told the cameras. “There’s a lot I want to say to him but I am holding back because I am worried if I say too much, he won’t pick me.”

Meanwhile, Ant whispered while Christina wasn’t looking that she “did a great job,” adding, “I am just giving her a little bit of grief.”

Ant was largely on Christina’s side, but he still bonded with Tarek about how they were “both innocent victims” of hers. In response, Tarek suggested he should get together with Ant and Josh so they could “start a boy band.”

Always on Christina’s Side

The first part of Ant’s judging process ended in a tie.

“Ultimately, I came into this endeavor thinking it was assessing and judging based on the design and the execution. But it dawned on me that it was so much more than that,” Ant explained. “Hudson is 5 now and in those years, it has been really, really difficult. That changed three months ago and the relationship that we have now is really important. It has been a transformation. As parents, it took us four-and-a-half years to get to that point, which is very shameful.”

He continued: “My parents raised me in a way where when you know who your family is, you stick with your family. Regardless of rules or performance, when I left the house this morning, Christina had already won.”