Tarek El Moussa opens up about the night ex-wife Christina thought he was suicidal

The television star appeared on Dr. Oz recently to explain an incident that had people thinking he was suicidal. Tarek El Moussa told the doctor that it was all a misunderstanding.

On the May 2016 event, Tarek was almost detained when his then-wife thought he had taken a gun because he was suicidal. The star revealed the truth of that day’s events in a Dr. Oz episode that aired on April 20, 2018, according to Pop Culture.

Tarek, 36, finally opened up about an incident that occurred when he was still married to Christina El Moussa, 34. At the time, police responded to the Flip or Flop couple’s home after receiving a “call of a possibly suicidal male with a gun.”

Tarek had allegedly run from their home with a firearm but dropped the weapon when a helicopter spotted him and officers ordered him to. He then told police that he did not intend to hurt himself, but wanted to “blow off some steam.”

Witnesses at the time said Christina was “crying and shaking," while she ran to someone at a neighbor’s residence. She had gone there to tell the neighbor that Tarek taken a handgun, put it in his backpack, and ran outside.

Christina said that she had already called emergency services. Six months later, the couple officially filed for separation after their wedding in 2009, they share two children.

Christina later told People that the incident made her realize that being separated was healthier for both of them. During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, Tarek confessed that the incident was a huge misunderstanding on her his ex-wife’s part.

“I have a CCW, California Concealed Carry, which means I can legally carry a firearm. I live in the canyons where there’s wildlife and bobcats and mountain lions and I literally went on a hike.”

Tarek El Moussa, Pop Culture, April 19, 2018

“I had bought two mountain bikes. I sent my neighbor a text. I said, ‘Can I borrow your bikes, because I want to go scout trails.’ He wasn’t home,” the star explained.

He lived at a place where there was wildlife and he wanted to hike, hence the firearm. Tarek said that the next thing he saw was sheriff’s helicopter circling and he figured they must be looking for someone bad.

He then realized that they were looking for him when he saw 11 sheriffs around, with off-road vehicles, and guns on him. The star was shocked when he made the realization and wondered what he had done.

Dr. Oz told him during the interview that he had though Tarek was suicidal or that something else was going on. Tarek adamantly denied this and insisted that he still had the text message proving his claim.

He shared that he showed the message to the police who were quite apologetic for their intrusion. “So it was a surreal experience. It was like my life was in slow motion, my life paused for a moment, and it was like I was living a movie,” the star confessed.

He filed for divorce in January 2017, and the separation was finalized at the start of 2018. Christina is now dating British TV star, Ant Anstead.