Doing what’s best. Flip or Flop star Christina Anstead and husband Ant “promised to coparent [son] Hudson respectfully without placing blame on either parent,” an insider exclusively tells Life & Style amid the reality couple’s split. “They love their kids.”
Their split will be a “very difficult transition” for the Christina on the Coast star’s kids, Taylor, 9, and Brayden, 5, who “adore” stepdad Ant and are “super attached to him,” adds the insider. The 37-year-old HGTV host shares her two oldest children with ex-husband Tarek El Moussa. She and Ant, 41, welcomed Hudson in 2019.
“Custody will be worked out, but Ant doesn’t plan on separating Hudson from his siblings,” the insider continues about the blended family. The U.K. native also has two older children, daughter Amelie, 16, and son Archie, 13, from a previous marriage. The insider dished that “Christina really likes” Ant’s teenage kids and “hopes they stay in touch with their younger stepsiblings.”
The Wellness Remodel author announced via Instagram she and Ant, whom she married in 2018, made the “difficult decision to separate” on September 18. “We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority,” she wrote at the time. “We appreciate your support and ask for privacy for us and our family as we navigate the future.”
As far as what went wrong, a second source exclusively told Life & Style the couple “just grew apart.”
“No one saw this coming,” the source explained. “They’re very different people from totally different backgrounds, and that definitely played a factor. Friends say Ant was the first one who started having feelings about splitting.”
Despite looking like a “perfect couple” on the outside, things simply fizzled out. “It’s very sad, but they say they still love and respect each other,” the insider continued. “The conversations about splitting were gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, but they both came to the same conclusion and decided it wasn’t going to be a lifetime marriage.”
Christina and Ant aren’t the only celebrity couple who called it quits while quarantining during the coronavirus pandemic. Clinical psychologist and former associate professor at the University of Nevada, Dr. Cortney S. Warren, exclusively gave Life & Style her insight on why lockdown is causing so many splits.
It’s a “time of high stress that greatly changes our typical routines and social realities,” Dr. Warren said while pointing to lack of “control” as another strain. “Our typical coping outlets may be compromised (from exercising to coffee with friends to time alone) and normal socialization time (from going out to restaurants to making familial or communal meals with loved ones) may be non-existent. These current realities can place great strain on relationships,” she explained.
Hopefully, Christina and Ant have an amicable uncoupling.