Getty Heather Rae El Moussa in 2019
Her bag is packed for the hospital, but Heather Rae El Moussa’s final days of pregnancy will likely be spent in bed. The wife of longtime HGTV star Tarek El Moussa and “Selling Sunset” star, who’s expecting her first child in early 2023, has revealed via social media that she’s in severe pain as she nears the end of her pregnancy and her doctor has ordered bed rest for the holidays.
Heather Rae El Moussa Says Her Sciatica Pain Has Returned
GettyHeather Rae and Tarek El Moussa in June 2022
On the morning of December 22, 2022, Heather posted a video from the car on her Instagram Stories. Dressed down in a casual “BABE” sweatshirt from Raesin and with her hair in a messy braid, she said she was just leaving a checkup with her doctor.
“Everything’s good with baby, I’m not doing very good,” she said. “The sciatica pain is just unbearable, worse than before, so she wants me resting, laying down, which is hard for me, as you guys know.”
“But obviously, most important thing is feeling better and taking care of the baby,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Getting close but there’s still some time, so I have to do what’s best,” Heather continued. “I’m trying acupuncture tomorrow, still doing my physical therapy. I’m hoping this goes away soon, but I cannot feel this for the rest of the pregnancy.”
Heather struggled with sciatica nerve pain in the fall, telling her Instagram followers on October 19 that her baby’s position had been triggering sciatic pain for 10 days.
At the time, she wrote, “The crazy thing is I sat on my mom’s sciatic nerve to the point where she couldn’t even stand up straight so maybe it’s a littleee bit of payback.”
But after a myriad of treatments — including weekly physical therapy, using ice and a heating pad daily, and going to an acupuncturist for the first time — she reported that the pain was nearly non-existent within weeks.
Heather El Moussa Will Rest at Home for the Holidays
Though many women have periodic back pain during pregnancy, sciatic pain creates a shooting pain down the lower back and legs, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It’s commonly caused by a pinched or inflamed sciatic nerve, which can run from the lower back, down the leg, and even into the toes, with pain ranging from mild to severe.
The pain tends to worsen toward the end of a pregnancy, according to Cleveland Clinic OB/GYN Rebecca Stark, who says that as the body’s center of gravity shifts, especially in the third trimester, ligaments loosen, and the sciatic nerve can shift and get pinched. Usually, the only complete relief is delivering the baby.
On the evening of December 22, Heather posted a photo from her bed of her dog cuddling with seven-year-old Brayden, who is Tarek’s son with ex-wife Christina Hall. In the photo, Brayden could be seen laughing while lying on the bed, holding the pup.
“He just lights up my day,” Heather wrote over the photo. “Comes in the room to check on me to make sure I’m feeling OK.”
Fortunately, Heather and Tarek just wrapped filming their first series together, “The Flipping El Moussas,” which will premiere on HGTV on March 23, 2023.
The couple, who married in October 2021, announced their surprise pregnancy in July. They’d begun IVF treatments, not expecting to get pregnant without medical intervention. Weeks later, they threw a lavish gender reveal party and learned they’re expecting a boy. This will be Heather’s first child and Tarek’s third; he also has a 12-year-old daughter, Taylor, with Hall.