Getty Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa in 2019
Less than 24 hours after enjoying a luxurious baby shower for a room full of family and reality TV star friends, Heather Rae El Moussa, the wife of HGTV host Tarek El Moussa, wound up sick in bed for the first time in her pregnancy. On November 13, 2022, the day after her party, she posted a photo and message on her Instagram Stories, which revealed she was down for the count, curled up under the covers with no makeup. She wrote that she had no appetite, but was trying to drink “coconut water, smoothies, juice and vegan soup.” Lucky for her fans, she wasn’t too sick to share all the details of her party on Instagram while lying in bed…
Future Mom Heather Rae El Moussa Celebrated By Room Full of Reality Stars
On November 12, 2022, friends and family gathered at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, California, to celebrate the first-time mom-to-be, who chose a “Winter Wonderland” theme with white, silver, and light blue decor.
Heather, who appears on Netflix’s “Selling Sunset,” posted many peeks of the celebration on Instagram, including a video in her Stories of her entering the party room with her 12-year-old stepdaughter, Taylor, who is Tarek’s daughter with ex-wife Christina Hall.
Heather was dressed for the shower in a hand-beaded white and blue gown created for her by Made By ILA. Attendees were in full-glam for the daytime event, including multiple family members, many of Heather’s “Selling Sunset” castmates — including Crishell Stause, Emma Hernan, Davina Potratz, Bre Tiesi, and Nicole Young — and other reality stars like “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum Gretchen Rossi and current “RHOC” cast member Heather Dubrow.
The women enjoyed a lunch menu that included mostly vegan and gluten-free items including butternut squash soup, a brown rice bowl, and sorbet with berries. They also played baby shower games, like chugging small baby bottles filled with apple juice. The winners of the shower games received pairs of Camilla Seretti’s Vanessa pearl earrings, which retail for $328.
Heather Rae El Moussa Says Her Stepchildren Made Her Want to Be a Mom
Last summer, Heather and Tarek were shocked when they learned she was pregnant. In a July interview with People, they revealed that they’d been in the middle of in vitro fertilization treatments and had scheduled a date to transfer an embryo.
“It was a huge shock,” said Heather at the time. “We just weren’t expecting this. We had just gone through IVF. We had embryos on ice. We had a plan.”
Though having children hadn’t been a priority to Heather before falling in love with Tarek, becoming a stepmom to his kids, she said, convinced her she wanted to try.
In a video she posted to her Instagram Stories, she told her shower guests, “This has been a long journey. I didn’t think I was gonna have a baby. So, Taylor and Brayden I love you guys so much…you’re the reason I wanted to have babies. I fell in love with being a mommy.”
Tarek also made an appearance at the end of the afternoon, after he spent the day with close guy friends, as the party was wrapping up. He posted an Instagram photo of the two together post-shower.
“It was so fun seeing my wife glowing even more than she already is after being showered with love,” he wrote. “Her smile said it all and I just can’t believe our baby boy is almost here!!!”
According to Heather’s social media updates, the couple returned home for a cozy night watching TV in bed. But by the following morning, she was feeling sick. She posted a photo of a bottle of Earthbar First Aid juice in her hand as she stayed in bed. She posted a face mask emoji and wrote “got me,” along with the pregnant woman and crying emojis.
On Monday afternoon, November 14, she updated fans with a photo in her Instagram Stories of her lying in bed, baring her pregnant belly.
She wrote, “We are down for the count today” and listed the items she’s relying on to get better: lots of fluids, smoothies, tea, coconut water, and soups.
Heather has also been struggling with intense sciatica nerve pain in recent week, updating fans on various treatments she’s trying for relief for the pregnancy-related condition, from physical therapy to acupuncture. Her baby boy is due in early 2023. Heather and Tarek’s new HGTV show, “The Flipping El Moussas,” is also due to premiere around the same time.