Heavy/Getty HGTV's Heather El Moussa
Looking back on 2023, HGTV star Heather El Moussa has realized just how much she’s changed over the past year, proclaiming that for her, “transformation is an understatement.”
In a new Instagram video posted on December 27, 2023, El Moussa said that becoming a first-time mom in January to son Tristan, who she shares with her husband and fellow HGTV star Tarek El Moussa, has changed her in ways she never expected, both physically and emotionally.
“My postpartum journey was… not at all how I expected,” El Moussa wrote, admitting that she thought she’d bounce back physically nine weeks postpartum by “working out 5 days a week & (doing) hot yoga non stop.”
“Then reality set in & my priorities are just different now,” she revealed, touching upon the many ways motherhood has changed her.
Here’s what you need to know:
Heather El Moussa Said Autoimmune Disorder Diagnosis Made Her Physical Journey Harder
El Moussa shared a video chronicling her physical journey since Tristan’s birth, which has included working out at home and deciding to love her body no matter what.
One of the hardest parts of El Moussa’s journey was being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease, an autoimmune disorder that caused extreme fatigue and drastically decreased her milk supply.
In October, she told Today.com, “I remember saying to my assistant, ‘I feel like I’m dead.'”
In El Moussa’s new post about her journey, she wrote, “I’ve always been active and ate clean, nutritious foods throughout my pregnancy— but after 4 1/2 ish months of being postpartum, I got diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disorder which made it a lot harder for my body to go back to ‘normal.'”
When Tristan was four months old, El Moussa began working with celebrity trainer and weight loss coach Paulina Hefferan.
“My trainer (Paulina) came to me at the perfect time,” El Moussa wrote, adding that they did their workouts at home, which allowed her to be near Tristan.
“She’s a mama herself so she knows the female body very well and is super knowledgeable about postpartum,” El Moussa wrote. “We started my journey slow but she also pushes me & holds me accountable. I’m so busy, life is chaotic most days so having someone who comes to my home is a game changer for me. Plus to be honest I’d rather be home in the AM with my baby than leave him to go workout.”
Looking back on her journey, El Moussa wrote, “I’m so proud of myself and of my body. I have truly learned to love my body more than ever, prioritize my health & happiness, and feel confident in the skin I’m in.”
“So much can happen and change within a year,” she added, “so if you’re seeing this, keep going, keep pushing, believe in yourself, but also give yourself time and give yourself grace 🤍 Reflecting on my 2023 postpartum transformation and excited for a new fresh year & I have decided to commit to one day of hot yoga again.”
Heather El Moussa Has Said Other Aspects of Motherhood Haven’t Gone the Way She Expected
El Moussa’s physical journey is not the only thing that didn’t go “as planned” during her first year of motherhood, including Tristan’s birth, which she wrote on Instagram included some “scary moments.”
“Tristan’s heart rate was dropping very low every time I’d push & was staying low,” she wrote, “which was terrifying.”
Another unexpected challenge arrived weeks after his birth, when baby Tristan suffered encountered breastfeeding complications and started dropping weight. The issues were eventually solved with a surgical procedure and work with lactation specialists El Moussa called her “baby fairies.”
In a February Instagram post, she wrote, “I had many tearful nights in the beginning because I’d be up at 3am trying to feed him & felt so defeated.”
Another challenging moment for El Moussa was the first time Tristan got sick over Thanksgiving weekend, when they were staying with her parents in their mountain home.
“I’m not going to lie, this was definitely not how I saw his first Thanksgiving going,” she wrote on Instagram. “It was his first time being sick so it was stressful for me- a lot of long nights & I wasn’t sure how bad it was going to get. As a mama you feel sort of helpless because they can’t ‘tell’ you how they feel.”
El Moussa had already loved being a stepmom to Tarek’s children with ex-wife and HGTV star Christina Hall — 13-year-old Taylor and eight-year-old Brayden — but had never parented a newborn until Tristan’s arrival. Despite all the twists and turns of the first year, she frequently gushes about how in love she is with her baby boy, whose name she recently had tattooed on her neck.
“I am absolutely obsessed with being a mom,” she told Us Weekly in June. ““I’ve had practice with Taylor and Brayden, obviously, but going through the newborn stage and having a baby is a completely different ballgame.”