What To Know
- Tarek El Moussa credits a fan’s email for prompting him to seek medical attention, leading to the discovery and successful treatment of both thyroid and testicular cancer.
- Despite his health challenges, El Moussa insisted on continuing to film Flip or Flop and managed to significantly grow his house flipping business during his recovery.
- Now in remission for over 10 years, El Moussa will return to HGTV for Season 2 of The Flip Off next year.
Tarek El Moussa is still attributing some of his career (and life) success to an eagle-eyed HGTV viewer.
“A fan’s email saved my life,” El Moussa captioned a Sunday, November 9, Instagram video, in which he reflected on battling two kinds of cancer during his early days on TV. “Going into Season 2 of Flip or Flop, I remember getting an eerie email from my production company saying they received an email from the network,” he recalled in the clip. “The email said, ‘I’m a registered nurse from Texas. I noticed there’s a lump on Tarek’s neck. This is not a joke. He needs to get it checked out.’”
Noting that he received “nose spray and allergy medicine” from doctors after getting the spot checked out in the past, El Moussa decided to see a new physician about it. “They did a biopsy. It came back as atypical, meaning it could or could not be cancer,” he shared. “I went in for exploratory surgery, which means they were just gonna open me up, see what’s going on. I woke up five hours later. My entire family looking down on me, crying.”
The surgery revealed that he had thyroid cancer. In addition to having his thyroid removed, his lymph nodes were also removed, as the cancer had spread there, as well. Following the surgery, El Moussa found “an irregular testicle exam” while going through old medical records and decided to look into it.
“I was at my thyroid cancer appointment. Last minute, they had an opening at the ultrasound down the hall. So, I go down the hall for the ultrasound,” El Moussa explained. He recalled questioning the ultrasound technician after he “got real quiet on me.” The technician then asked if he had been experiencing any pain and recommended that he visit the emergency room.
“I knew something was wrong. 20 minutes later, I found out I had testicular cancer,” El Moussa stated. “So now, I’m 31, two different cancers, thinking I’m gonna die. I’m a young father.”
Additionally, El Moussa stated that HGTV considered canceling Flip or Flop due to his diagnosis. “My response was, ‘The show’s not done. We’re gonna film my a** rolling into the surgery. I’m gonna film until the end,’” he shared. “It was really important to me that I didn’t quit, to prove to myself and my family that nothing would stop me from building what I was building.”
El Moussa has now been in remission for over 10 years. His hard work during his cancer battle also paid off, as he ended the clip by stating, “I’m most proud to say that year that I had the surges and I fought the two cancers and I was in hospitals, I quadrupled the size of my house flipping business.”
El Moussa starred on HGTV’s Flip or Flop with his ex-wife, Christina Haack, from 2013 to 2022. The exes — who share kids Taylor, 15, and Brayden, 10 — were married from 2009 to 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2018. Tarek went on to wed Heather Rae El Moussa in 2021, and the couple welcomed their son, Tristan, in 2023. (Haack also shares her youngest son, Hudson, 6, with her ex-husband Ant Anstead.)
Tarek, Heather, and Haack will return to HGTV for Season 2 of their competition series, The Flip Off, next year. The show sees Tarek and Heather face off against Haack to see who can score the biggest financial gain from their respective house renovations.
The Flip Off, Season 2, 2026, HGTV