On Display with Melissa Gorga - Added Love (w/ Heather Rae El Moussa)

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

She’s sold homes on Sunset, she’s flipped houses in SoCal, and there’s nothing stopping her from doing it all.This week Melissa chats with Heather Rae El Moussa about balancing success with the dreaded mom-guilt, her beautiful and inspiring outlook on blended families, why “mom brain” is a real thing, and what’s up with the current housing market.Melissa and Heather also talk about Heather’s latest show “The Flip Off” and all the emotions that go into filming with your husband and his ex.  This is a great episode with two women who keep it real about success, and why it’s important to never talk yourself out of something that feels right.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yeah, it's really hard. You can't do everything and the mom guilt really does set in sometimes. But you know, we're all doing the best we can. We really are. What's up everybody? Happy Thursday. I hope you guys are all having an amazing week so far. I, by the way, am having an amazing week. I have officially launched my sprinkle crumb cake today from Let's Sprinkle. Oh my God, guys. So exciting. So amazing. I really, I know you guys have all watched me from the beginning kind of build these businesses from the ground up, but this one is just so much fun being part of, you know, let's sprinkle and just have being able to make those sprinkle cookies and for you guys all to love them so much.

And now to expand on it with this sprinkle crumb cake. If you haven't checked out Instagram, there's also a nice article on people.com. It's here guys. It's officially here. It is, when I say delicious, I can't even explain. It's soft, it's moist, it's rich, it's colorful. It's just so awesome for spring and this time of year. I want it on all of your Easter tables.

I want it as gifts for everyone's for Mother's Day. It's gotta be on all your Mother's Day brunch tables. It's such a beautiful, delicious crumb cake. Joe and I have obviously been, we've had it in our house for the last two weeks and we have rotated through, you don't even know, my kids love it. We cut a slice of the morning, a slice at night

for our little like nighttime snack It's awesome with a cup of coffee or tea and I'm so happy to bring it to all of you guys. So it's officially Available at let's sprinkle by mg.com It's so yummy. It's so delicious and I cannot wait for you guys to try it. So enjoy it and Speaking of businesses and women grinding, this week I have someone on the pod who fits that mold so perfectly. She's a very talented real estate agent,

a passionate advocate for self-empowerment and an inspiring figure in the world of social media. You know her as one of the stars of Selling Sunset and she just recently starred on the brand new HGTV show, The Flip Off. Guys, you have to check that out. It's such an amazing show. So please welcome the lovely Heather Rae El Moussa.

Hi, that was such a sweet introduction. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm big on introductions. I believe like, I'm also big on like a host at the party. It's all about how your guests enter and how they feel from the second they walk into your party, right or wrong? Yes, absolutely. Yes. Right. The details matter. Yes, details matter. And I believe I you know, it's it's and these are all true things. So congrats on everything.

First of all, you're killing it out there. Thank you. You're pretty new, like not new, I wouldn't, I know, because I'm going by me who's on reality TV for 15 years, you know, but you've been on reality TV for how long now? Okay, let me think. So I did, I'd say I liked six and a half, seven seasons of flipping, sorry, the Selling Sunset. So I left- Oh, that's long, okay. Yeah, I left when I went on maternity leave to have my son.

And then, but at the same time, I was already filming season one of my and my husband's show, The Flipping El Musas. And then I did the flip-off. So I started Selling Sunset, sunset, 2000. Let me think back. It's so hard for me to remember exact dates, especially like when you're on TV, it's like a big blower. It is it is didn't selling sunset. Did that come out

during COVID like that whole 2020? So before that, so okay, so that brings so 2000. I met my husband in 2019. And we had just finished filming season one. So about 2000, end of 2018, 19 is when we filmed it, the first season. I'd say it got big during COVID, probably around 2020, which seems like forever ago. Oh my gosh.

Doesn't it? It does. It feels like forever, but I do remember watching it and learning about all of you guys and learning about the show during COVID because we all just watch Netflix 24 hours a day during COVID. Yeah, exactly. Yes.

I mean, there's so much that I want to talk to you about though. But first off, you're a mom, you're a hustler, and you just launched your own beauty line, which we're going to discuss later on in the show. And I can't wait to get all the details on that. But let me ask you, and it's coming from another mom, Hustler, but how are you balancing all of this? Like, how are you doing at all? Oh, gosh.

You know, I have a great team behind me. I have great assistance. I have a schedule. I am, you know, it's like going over the schedule the week before for the next week and then Making sure I mean down to like the minute, you know Tark and I are both because you know, we're full told to like very busy people who are on TV You are raising kids who have businesses. So it's like our calendar is one so it's like managing that calendar and um Sometimes I wake up the next day. I'm like, I know we went over, but what do we have today? And, you know, it's just being like very, like, I think, strict with

that schedule and following that. But then also giving yourself grace and giving myself like time to have downtime, like and breathe a little bit. And, and self care, I think is huge. I'd say like when I was pregnant, you know, you don't give yourself a lot of self care, because there's not a lot of things you can do in the beauty world when you're pregnant. And then right afterwards, you know, you're breastfeeding or going through all like the crazy postpartum mom things and trying to figure out how to be a mom. And I'd say like now I'm like, okay, I'm back. Like I'm doing my beauty things again. I'm, you know, taking better care of myself. I started working out I think four and a half months after I had Tristan and just taking

time for myself. So I feel like that gives me a good balance with everything. Of course. Yeah. And you're a first time mom with your son. He's your first, right? My first, yeah. So I have step kids.

So I met my step kids when they were three and eight, but going through a pregnancy and the birth and the postpartum, it's a whole nother thing. And I feel like you don't know until you go through it. But being a stepmom kind of gave me like a little insight. It's like, okay, I know I can do it. I know I'm a good mom. So I feel like I got this. I can do this.

Yes. I feel like the whole, you know what it is? It's those first couple months home with a newborn that kind of take you off your feet and you're just like, wow. I am in a new world and it's overwhelming. It's the postpartum. It's a little bit of all of those things. I mean, getting the practice with the other two is great, but that newborn first year

is like, wow, you know, all the new things you're like trying to then to figure out your life. Like, you know, I was still filming my show. And then after I had the baby, it was like, all these magazines wanted to do interviews with me. It was like people in us weekly and you know, all the press and I'm like, Okay, well, I can do it. And I remember like now, I would say after my brain was so foggy and I don't even know what I said. I don't even know what answers I gave.

I don't even know like, I would never do that again. There's so many things that I would never do if I had another one or like going back. I'm like, there's so many things that I just would never have done or done things different, but you don't know the first time. You're just trying to figure out who you are again while trying to raise a little human. Right. It's true. And you get that baby brain. You do, right? You can't fully focus. That's how I used to feel. I would be like, I forget what I was saying and I'd have to go back. Foggy. Foggy. Yes. Yeah. And my thyroid got really thrown off and I went through like that really bad thyroid issue. So I was always exhausted

and I was just like, Oh, I'm you know, it's it's being a new mom. And then I got my levels checked. And my lactation specialist was like, I think you need to get your hormones checked. I think there's something going on. And I got my levels checked and my thyroid was so bad. It was so off. And I'm like, wow, no wonder I felt like, I mean, I felt exhausted beyond. Like I never felt like that in my life. And it was my thyroid and my levels. Wow. Can I ask what they did to help you with that? Like has it cleared up? Have you leveled it out? I had to get on medication. Yeah.

Mine was so bad that I had to get on medication. I would love to always try to do things as natural as possible, but my fluctuations, I was so low, I had to get on high dose. And then I ended up getting so high, they had to drop me down. And then I was so low again, I was all over the place. My doctor said they'd never seen anything like it. So I'm in a good place now with my medication. Good. And that'll make you an emotional mess too, because you're just your feel, you're all over the place, your hormones all over the place. It's like, that's rough. I mean, that's just like when it's like

that. I know so many people that are talking about that now and expressing it more. They're talking about perimenopause so much more now. Like Instagram is making it such a thing. Like hormones. Hormones are huge. I feel like women are paying attention now more to hormones than ever before, which I think is awesome, by the way. I started paying attention more, I'd say, after I had Tristan.

My body was really in tune with itself. Like things I never noticed before after having him, I'm more in tune with certain things now and my hormones and I wasn't before. So I feel like that like helped me like be aware of my body and things I was going through. Right. I mean, it's kids first marriage, second business third. Well, at least that's how I look at things, but they're all kind of like related and one can affect the other, right? But how do you separate the ups and downs of the things that are most important to you?

Well, kids, number one, like you said, I mean, over anything, their happiness, their just their life is more important than anything else. And being a good mom is the most important thing to me. And the joy of raising my son from a newborn and seeing the world through his eyes has opened up so many things for me. He says one word, I'm like, oh, it's like the cutest thing in the world, you know, it's just the best. It's the best, the most fulfilling, rewarding job I've ever done job, you know, but and the easiest, like, I just love it so much. Marriage, you know, I've been married almost four years, we've been together almost six, and we're, we went

from being like, and we're still best friends, but joined at the hip doing everything together. And then when we had our son, you know, we have the older kids, it was kind of like divide and conquer. And I'd be home a lot with a newborn. And he was like doing the soccer and the sports and the school stuff. And he'd then be going off on like business trips and then working and, and I'd be like, Okay, well, I'm just I'm home breastfeeding, you know, okay, I'm home. And so that was like challenging for our marriage because it was like, we, you know, we weren't used to that. We were used

to just being together all the time, filming together and doing everything together. And then it was like, okay, how do we figure out this new situation in our lives and, and handle it? And it took a while, I'd say it definitely took a while. And it took about a year, I'd say, to really kind of get our groove. And then work, you know, we film a TV show together and we work together a lot. I'm lucky I get to work from home a lot.

So I do a lot of my meetings and stuff at home so that I can still be a very present mom. And then Tarek and I, my husband and I, we carve out a lot of quality time to just talk, catch up. Even if it's 30 minutes at night, we just sit with the no TV on. We sit together and we talk and we catch up about the day and what we've worked on throughout the day.

Because before it was always together, we knew what each other were doing. And now it's like, okay, well, how was your day? What did you work on? And same with me and just checking in on each other. Right. I always thought that that's for my marriage as well. I just thought it's always the most difficult when you're so used to just getting up and going, right? You just do everything together. You vacation together. You travel together. If he has a business trip, you go with him, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Like it's just, and then when you have to sit back, it is such a new norm and it's kind of challenging to figure out like, you know, because you're so overwhelmingly happy that you have the baby in front of you and you have this like blessing, but at the same time, you're a little resentful because you're like, wait a second, like he's still running around everywhere. I want to jump on the plane with him. I want to go too, but you know, and it's like that mom guilt, right? Like enter the mom guilt when you're like, okay, what how much should I be traveling? How long and and then wife guilt? Because like you still want to be a good wife You know you want like your relationship is so important like the foundation of you and your husband is so important

And then it trickles down to the kids and like the environment that you're setting for them and You know if you guys are strong and happy and united and laughing, then the kids are happy and laughing and in this beautiful environment. But if the parents are, you know, not getting along and add each other, kids feel everything they like they they see things that you don't even know they see they feel things and um, you know, that was so that was like, challenging for us. Like you said, I wanted it. I did. I wanted to just jump on a plane and go with him, but then my priorities were my newborn

and I'm the one that was breastfeeding. I'm the one that was doing all the things. And Tarek wasn't, he can't do those things. So it was like, oh, he did. I'm going to the gym. And I'm like, okay. We're like, all right. But we made it through.

We made it through. We made it through. You make it through. Yeah. Do you think you would have another or do you feel like you're done? It's a hard question to answer because I think if you asked me that like six months ago, for me it was like 100% yes or even three months ago 100% yes and my husband it was like 100% yes, or even three months ago, 100% yes. And my husband, it's like 100% no. So we're very like on the opposite, you know, what we want in that department.

But you know, we do have the two, we have a 14 year old and a nine year old and now a two year old. And so for him, he's like, I've been raising kids since I was in my 20s. Like I'm ready to be like, I want to leave. He wants to travel sooner than later. Right. I get it. And he's thinking I have three, but. And I'm like, well, I'm, I'm, I love nesting.

I love being at home. I like watching movies, you know? And he's like, let's go out. Let's, you know, and so it's, it's, you know, we've had like multiple conversations and I had some really like rough times when he was like, you know, no, it's a no for me. And really rough times when he was like, no. It's a no from me.

And I would cry a lot, and like, how could you say that? Because he's the type of man, he gives me what I want. It's very much like, I get what I want normally, and you're not giving me what I want. What is this? But it goes deeper than that. I'm at an interesting age, too. I'm 37 turning 38.

He's 43 turning 44. And I think as a woman, you're like, I'm at an interesting age too. I'm 37 turning 38. He's 43 turning 44. And I think as a woman, you're like, I might not have the opportunity to have another one. And am I gonna regret it later on that I didn't have another one? And I love it so much. I love being a mom more than anything that, why would I not want more of that?

When I walk in the door of my baby, like I could be having the crappiest day and I walk in and his smile and his hugs and his kisses. I'm just like, oh, like it brings me back to like a centered place or a chill calm like happy place and why would I not want more of that? That's kind of like how I feel. So I don't know. We're talking through it. It's not I mean, it was a hard no, but I feel like he's like warming up to it maybe so we'll see. Just keep pushing just a little bit here a little bit there. And's not, I mean, it was a hard no, but I feel like he's like warming up to it maybe. So we'll see. You got to just keep pushing. Just a little bit here, a little bit there. And you know what I will, my two cents that I'll put into that is to do it sooner than later just so

that it doesn't extend his like vacation life even longer. I agree. I would have already had another one. Let's go. We should have already done it. Then we would have been out of that. We could have been traveling. Exactly. I agree with that because it's like, all right, we're in baby mode and let's just bang it out and then I have- We're deep in it right now. We have a two-year-old. Exactly. You never know. He might soften up to it, but I get his point. He's kind of feeling like, all right, I've been raising kids forever, but I feel like you're going to get what you want.

So just keep, you know. But also to my question, because how many kids do you have? I have three and I started very young. I started at 25. I got pregnant with my daughter. So I literally have a 19-year-old right now. Wow. Crazy. And my youngest is 14. So yeah, I started young. And so I feel like, I always say this,

even when you were talking, I was thinking this, like there's stages of life, right? And I feel like they go in decades, like every 10 years. So your 30s is one stage of life. It's usually when you're raising the little ones, right? You're raising the young kids. You're kind of in the nesting phase. You're in the let's watch the movies phase. Let's like stay home once in a while. We'll go to dinner, but we'll bring the kids. And then you get to the 40s and it's like, okay, you're in a different stage and you're like, no, I want to go to dinner. I want to go grab a drink. I want to travel. I want to do this. I want to do that. So when you're in two different stages,

it's sometimes rough because you got to, but I feel like you two are going to make it work and you guys will figure it out. We'll figure it out. Either I'll come to like a place where I'm like, you know what, we're good. We have three. I'm, you know, focusing on my businesses.

We're filming our shows. You know, we're in a great place in our marriage. And then, but then you don't know, you added another one, could that rock the boat and cause issues? You never regret it, right? What would the dynamic be adding another one? What would the dynamic be not adding another one? I'm in like that, I just need the answer to come to me.

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Quince. Go to quince.com slash Melissa for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com slash Melissa to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash Melissa. You know, it's one of those things where I sometimes even feel like this, if I'm doing really well in business, then I'm like, hmm, I'm probably not focusing on the right amount at home then. I always juggle, I always say that to myself, how can I be in both places at once? How can I make? Sometimes I do have that guilt because I'm thriving.

When your businesses are thriving, you're like, well, I have to be. There's just no way that I have to be lacking somewhere, whether it be the marriage or the kids or just the mom duties or the PTA or whatever the extras are. It's hard to do everything. You can't be at everything when you're running a business. You can't. I mean, or else then your business is lacking. And I've just launched a business. I know we're going to talk about it. But then I feel like I'm in such a happy place right now

that I'm able to be a better mom because I'm in such a happy place. And I don't know. But yeah, it's really hard. You can't do everything. And the mom guilt really does set in sometimes. such a happy place. I don't know, but yeah, it's really hard. You can't do everything. The mom guilt really does set in sometimes, but we're all doing the best we can. We really are. We are. I agree. I think you're doing an amazing job.

Thank you. Before we get into it, I know obviously you guys, you're co-parent, right? Yeah. Give my listeners a little background on the situation. Your husband was married before. You guys have a friendly relationship with his ex-wife and the kids. Give them a little background on all of that and talk to me about co-parenting. Is that hard? Have you guys worked that out? Yeah. My husband and I have been married almost four years together almost six. So when we first met, I was living in Los Angeles, and I was filming selling sunset season

one had just finished. And you know, I'm, I'm in LA, I was out of a three year relationship, I think I've been single almost four months. And I was at a place in my life, I was 31. And I was like ready for a husband, like I was ready for that, that big step. Like I wanted that in my life. I was like ready for a husband like I was ready for that, that big step. Like I wanted that in my life. I wanted like true real love. And that's always what I was looking for. But you know, I never found it. And um, so I was in a good place, but you know, I'm coming off of L I'm in LA, I'm with my girlfriend, like I'm having fun. And then I meet him and

met the kids really early on fast forward to he proposes after a year, you know, we get married, I'm raising the kids, co-parenting with Christina. They were still filming Flip or Flop, their show together. So I was filming Selling Sunset, they were filming Flip or Flop, and a lot of people like they can't even, my girlfriends are like, how are you okay with that?

Like how is that okay? Like he's with even, my girlfriends are like, how are you okay with that? How is that okay? He's with us. But I'm like, listen, that was, he was doing that a long time before he met me. Who am I to come in and be like, you can't film with her? Who cares? They're co-parenting anyway. They're in each other's lives.

It was all good for me. But my girlfriends could not even believe it. No, I'm that way. So I'm a super jealous girl. I am. I just admit it. With my husband, we're both like that. I feel like we're like that.

So immediately that was what I wanted to be, I want to say what your girlfriend says. How did you deal with him spending so much time with his ex-wife? That's crazy. I think I knew that they were not in a good place. So it's not like they were like on this like very friendly terms and they're hanging out and they're laughing together. It was very much like we co-parent, we work together. When the cameras are off, it was very separate.

Like they didn't, it's not like they were like chumming, hanging out. And so I think that that was, it was easier for me to come into a situation knowing that it wasn't like this like deep relationship, you know, and, right. And then, you know, they have like their ups and downs. And I'm so happy that we're all in like a really good place. I mean, her and I have always been like, on a you know, really good with each other. I mean, there was a few like

incidents that happened. But overall, her and I always like got along, but it was like very surface, you know, it was like talking about the kids, it was texting about the kids, it was being, I was at school functions and the show that we filmed together got us on like a deeper level of getting to know each other rather than just like, you know, being moms

and texting each other about the kids. And so our relationship is different than it even was, I'd say seven months ago. And I think people are fascinated about that. Like, how do we get along? How are we so friendly with each other? How do we film a show together? How do we co-parent so well together?

And you know, it took years. It's not like you just, we snapped our fingers and, you know, we are like this close. It took a long time and a lot of trust with each other and respect for each other and really seeing each other as real humans. She went through something rough while we were filming our show.

She's going through a divorce. And I think going through that with her, it just got us to a deeper place and to just be there for her no matter what. And yeah, it wasn't always perfect. It just got us to a deeper place and to just be there for her no matter what. But yeah, it wasn't always perfect. There's a lot of ups and downs. There was times when they hated each other.

There was times they liked each other. Then they hated each other again. Then they liked each other. But no matter what, I think we all want the same thing, is the happiness for the kids and to raise good kids. It's hard to do that when you're not united and you're living two separate households. Our communication is so important to raise good kids. And it's hard to do that when you're not united. And you're living, you know, two separate households. So our communication is so important to raise good kids. Of course. Yeah, I mean, I at the core of it. That's all

everybody wants, right? Is like the kids to be happy. Was there was it as a stepmom in the beginning? Was there a lot of like, rules that came with that? Like, did you have to how did you have to navigate that just basically by, you know, because you're, you're going to respect the mom, right? And say like, how do you want me to handle this situation? What do they eat? How do you, right? Is that like, was that difficult in the beginning? Yes and no. So they, they, they were co-parenting, but they weren't, because they weren't getting along at the time. So it wasn't, it was like, kind of like what we do at our house, we do at our house.

What she does at her house, she does at her house. And she never was like the type of woman that was like, what are you feeding my kids? What vitamins are you giving them? She never micromanaged me. She never asked questions like that. And my husband really let me come in and come into that mom role where, you know, I

started early on like really taking care of them, which was great for my relationship with the kids. He had help, obviously, he was a single dad, he had help. So that transitioned into when I started dating him. But his daughter was eight and she loved me right away. It was like, put me to bed every night. You know, I read the books, I did the whole thing and I built a really close relationship with her.

It took a little longer for Brayden, my stepson, because he was three, you know, it was like, I'm just a woman coming in, he doesn't know who I am, all of a sudden I'm living at the house and he was too young to understand. But yeah, she never micromanaged me and my husband didn't either. And that was like really nice

that I wasn't told what to Do how to do it I was able to just kind of come in and figure things out on my own and kind of at my own time and She was very much in their life. So it wasn't like I was coming in to replace her I was just coming in to be added love and and help take care of them and help raise them and you know, I give her props because being now a mom and having my son, it would be really hard to have a woman come in and raise my kid

and not know what they're doing at that household. And if she's giving him the things that I do here, that would be really hard for me. But I think Christina knew early on that my heart was just pure. I was there to love and I was there just to be a really good step mom. And I think she felt that and knew that and the kids loved me so much that she was grateful for me. See, that's amazing. That's a pretty good scenario for

a lot of working together on top of it and being stepmoms and co-parenting. So that's so good. I've heard a whole story, like now that I'm in this, you know, situation, people come up to me like women and like my exes, x, y, or my sorry, my husband's ex wife hasn't talked to me more than two words in five years, like, what do I do? And, you know, me in the beginning, I texted Christina very early on, and I said, you know, I'm going to be in the kids life a lot. And let me know if there I said, you know, I'm going to be in the kids life a lot and

let me know if there's anything, you know, you want to tell me or need to tell me. So I kind of opened things up early on and I'm a girl's girl when it comes down to it. Like I'm big on respect and friendships and supporting women. So, and I'm not just like a catty nasty girl. So I wanted just to come in and have a really healthy environment. But it's hard for me to give advice because I was never in that situation where she was like, didn't talk to me and was like nasty to me. And you know, we had some downs, yes, for sure. And I just kind of gracefully went through it and killed her with kindness and, you know, and it worked out. That's always the best way. That's always the best way. And I love your idea of like added love.

It's like the more the merrier and everyone working together to just kind of make a happy family and it's all about just like living the best life, right? And just keeping everyone as happy as possible. Did you guys have like, I know with the Bravo fans, we would, oh my God, it would go crazy because it would be like the ex, the new wife and like, was there a lot of drama on social media surrounding it? Like haters on this side. Oh yeah. Did you guys get that? Yeah. Especially because like, you know, we're both blonde brown eyes, like we look similar. So it was like, Oh my God, like, you know, he

married his ex wife and I'm like you guys Listen like and our people bit. Oh, she's trying to look like his ex wife I'm like, I know I didn't even think about Tarek before I met him Like it wasn't like I like sought out for him and I stopped him and found him Like I literally he was not even a thought in my mind Like it's not like I try to look like her and so he would meet me like I if you are just crazy Yes, they love the drama. They want all the drama and It's not like I try to look like her and so he would meet me. People are just crazy. Yes, they love the drama. They want all the drama and the juice.

They want all the drama, yeah. I still hear it and I've been married to him for four years. It's like people still like, they just, oh, he has a type. I'm like, oh really? You know, like it's just, you guys get over it at this point. So we kind of lean into it now.

We make fun of it. But yeah, people love it. They love, she has her fan base, we have our fan base. And I feel like doing the flip off though, people were very like supportive. And the fans were really happy rather than like, hating on me, I'd say they were, it was like a friendly competition more. I think the fans loved it. It was like, so juicy for them to see to see what we did. Yeah, I think it's so juicy. I remember seeing like the promo of the three of you like walking right or something right. Yeah.

Yeah. And I was like, Oh, like this is like, I like this, you know, and I it was a good time. I did like that you both had blonde hair. It kind of just worked. It worked well together. It was a good. Yeah, it does. I mean, it is and it's like that you both had blonde hair. It kind of just worked. It worked well together. It was a good poster. It does. It does. It is. And it's like, it's fun.

We know what people love, and it's fun to give them what they want. And we're having a great time. We had a lot of fun filming the show. It was fun the whole time. There was never a time where I was like, ugh, I loved it. We had a great time. I got to know Christina better, Tark and her relationship became better and

we're all in a really good place. Good. That's awesome. Let me talk to you a little bit about real estate though, because you are a savvy real estate professional and that's all everybody wants to talk about always is real estate, especially right now, because it's so crazy. Can you talk to me about the current market? And like, is it a buyer's, seller's market right now? What's happening to us? Well, so I'm in real estate still, but I'm flipping houses a lot too. So I did transition into more flipping now,

but I still know the market, because obviously flipping houses, you have to know the market. You know, things are selling. I think it's just taking longer like things are sitting a little bit longer. But no buyers are buying like not a lot of people are moving because they're locked into their low interest rate. So when they do decide to move, people are very specific with what they want.

They want like the done house, they want like the beautiful really good detailed house. And I live in Newport Beach. The real estate here is crazy. It's expensive. It's, it's so expensive. People are not dropping their prices. Things are sitting a little bit longer, but they are selling which is crazy. LA I'd say you know, went through a rough patch, especially after the fires now. I think that LA will come back strong. It's LA, but people are buying. It's just taking a little bit longer because interest rates are so high and people are locked into their low rates. They don't want to lose that. Right. That's what I was going to ask you about the interest rates. And I feel like we're dealing with the same over here on the

East Coast. Obviously, it's all, it's pretty much the same. People don't want to sell because they don't want to buy. They know that they're going to have to buy super hot. They can't afford it. Yeah, they can't afford it. It's hard to live these days. We say all the time, it's just rent is ridiculous. Gas is just, the cost of living is so high. It's really sad. And out here in California, they're really focusing on trying to, you know, create affordable living and being able to create like ADUs and better rental properties for people.

So Tark and I are doing a few of those and trying to like create affordable living for people. Like the zoning laws are changing, which is good because now you can, you know, build more units on a lot where before it was like a single house. So that's creating, um, creating living space for people. But, you know, I've learned a lot more in flipping houses on like the business side and I'm really enjoying it. And my husband is one of the best in the world. So I have like the best teacher throughout all these years and I'm just like a sponge,

like taking everything in and boots on the ground, learning, flipping. And it's a really rewarding job that I get to do. A thousand percent. And you do have an amazing teacher. So you're getting all the good, all the good info. Finding the one can feel impossible. And in today's world, it's even harder. False profiles, inaccurate pictures, ghosting on dates, is this sounding familiar? But if you're ready to make your move to a new place, it doesn't have to feel like dating.

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So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode at progressive.com. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. What is the first thing when you're going to flip a house? What is the first thing that usually needs to be fixed? Do you go right for the kitchen? Is that usually? When we flip houses, we flip the whole house. So we do everything. So we remodel everything. And the most important, I can tell people who want to flip, is you have to buy at the right price. You cannot buy too high because then you

won't make your money back. So buying at a low cost, the lowest cost you can, is the most important. And keeping your budget down throughout the flip. And really managing your flip, like knowing what you're doing before you get yourself into something, because when you start opening up walls

and ripping things out, so many more issues that are not just cosmetic come up that could cost 15, 20,000. New roof could be 30,000, new electrical. So there's so many things that you go into it. Like people are like, I'm gonna flip the house, but you have to be ready for cost to come in that you weren't expecting. It's not just about like some paint and tile. Those are the extras.

You hope you have money left over for that. But you know, so when we go into our project, we don't just start in one location, but we really the first thing is the layout, trying to figure out what's the most important layout and adding a bedroom, adding a bathroom, is there space for that? So that's the first thing we do, is go in and figure out the layout.

Got it. You know what I've always wondered? Here's my question. When you guys do this on HGTV and when you're flipping houses, how do they get them done in that amount of time? So is there a time where they kind of like go down for a minute so you guys can actually work on the house? Like how does that happen?

So season two of the Flipping on the Moose House, we flipped 14 houses and we have, because we have a big team, you know, we have a business. So we have people that are working behind the scenes too and in the office. And so it's not just Tarek and I doing it. But we did flip all those houses pretty much at the same time. So it's like you have different construction crews that are working and one of them is getting dry while the other one's getting this and then one of them sells. And sometimes permits take longer than expected in certain cities. So there's a house that we just finished and it's going to be airing I think in May. So our season pretty much ended, but this house took forever. So it was like the smallest flip we did, the most inexpensive house we've

ever flipped. Well, me, I've ever flipped and it took the longest because of permits. And you change always permits. It's always the one thing and it can affect everything. Yeah, it can. It's crazy because like you're like, Oh, I'm just moving this a little bit and pushing out that wall. It could be six months and like, it's just wild. And then that's carrying costs too. But yeah, so we have different construction crews. So we're doing things all at the same time. And we film a lot of what we do, but there's times that Tark and I aren't there and the crew is filming the workers doing their thing. But no, I mean, there's not a lot of dark time.

I mean, there's sometimes the house to have to catch up, but we're usually constantly filming and it takes like over a year, year and a half sometimes to film these shows. I assume that. I mean, Joe and I are in real estate as well and Joe flips houses and we also own a bunch of apartment buildings throughout New Jersey that we rentals. It's amazing. Yes. And I always think to myself, sometimes he can get held up just with like the electric permit or whatever it is or waiting for them to put in whatever they need to put into these buildings for during COVID, forget it was like one year he got put on. I'm like, how does this work with a TV production when I know they need to like go quickly?

Yeah. We are filming so many, so many. So it was like, if that house was taking longer, we are filming another house and then we are doing the design, and then we were doing the walkthrough, you know? So there was always something to be filming for one of the episodes. Got it. So you kind of like juggle with which house you can work with that day. Yeah.

I mean, that makes sense. And you have to have a lot going on in order to continue doing it. So the show that's on now is the one with the three of you. Yes, the flip off. Yeah. That one aired. It's done airing now, but it did extremely well. It feel like we have people that I never thought would watch the show.

People are like, we love the show. People are talking about it. It did really well. So it was very positive. Yeah, very happy. Do you guys think you're going to do it again? Or what do you think? I mean, definitely. We had such a great first season. I really feel like people would love to see a second season. I mean, from what I've heard, people would love it. And I would

definitely do it. I can't speak for my husband, but I love it. Was it rough on him? Did you enjoy it more than he did? Was it a little bit rougher for him, do you think? I enjoy being on TV, I'd say, more than my husband. He is very business focused and he loves, he's an entrepreneur and he's always working on his businesses. He needs to be at his business for it to run very smooth and TV takes him away from that. So me like

I love TV. I love I love it. I have so much fun being on TV. And I learned so much about myself being on TV, like watching myself back and I'm like, Oh, I could have done better there. I could have done you know, because also to I'm teaching the audience how to flip houses. So when I'm watching myself back, I'm like, oh, I could have explained that better, you know, or I could have taught them better in that moment. So I'm constantly like learning about myself and how I can be better. But my husband, yeah, he would like probably

just love being off TV, but he's so good on TV. That's Joe, he's always just like, he wants to work and he's so great on TV too, he's funny, but he's always just like, he's on the phone half the time and the producers are like, put your phone down. We need to. Yeah, he like rips his mic off and like runs out the door. He's like, I have to go meet an inspector. I gotta go.

Like it's like all day long. It's crazy. Yeah, we're filming. It's it's craziness. Let's talk about your business real quick that you just launched your own beauty line Heather Ray essentials. It was back in February. Yeah, Valentine's Day. Amazing. Talk to me about it. I know there's like a lippy gloss that seems to be like in such high demand.

Yeah. So Heather essentials is my beauty line that basically it's like my essentials, Heather's essentials. And it's something that I started three and a half, four years ago. And I just started from scratch. Originally, I had a partner and they were like, well, why don't we just white label something? And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, I am not that type of person.

I can't put my name on something if I haven't been involved from like day one. And so that's kind of like where it all started. And it was like, figuring out even the name, like figuring out what we're going to call it and fast forward to launching launching was really nerve wracking for me. You know, I have you know, a presence and I have a following but launching a product is very scary because yeah, you don't know how people are going to, you don't know if they're gonna buy it, you know, you don't know like, and there's so many different beauty brands out there.

And just because I have a following doesn't mean people are going to buy it. And I was scared I was really like nervous. And I'm someone that, you know, I don't like to fail. And when you're an entrepreneur, you fail a lot. And you have to just pivot and figure it out. And my husband was really supportive with that. He's like, listen, if it doesn't do well, we pivot. And we figure it out.

And we pivot and we do different marketing or whatever. And I was like, you know what? You're right. Let's just do it. And I want to launch on Valentine's Day, I want to make it around like, you know, kisses and I launched one of my lip glosses called Angel Kisses. And I wanted to be like very flirty and, and girly and Valentine's Day and kisses and

I involved my son, I did like a little cute photo shoot with him and made it just very girly. And we sold out of Angel Kisses in two days. So that was like a huge win for me and such an amazing moment. Congratulations. Thank you. And then since then I launched two more colors, lippy gloss colors, Honey Bunny and Rose and Ash.

Angel Kisses should be back hopefully within the next few weeks. I ordered more and then I have another launch coming in April, not lip glosses. It's something else for the body. And I can't tell you yet because it's a secret, but I'll send you it as soon as I can. Yes, please do. It's just been such a fulfilling journey. And I've learned so much. This is my first business that I've launched

and I'm really, really enjoying it. And it's been really fun. It's been a lot of work. I've learned a lot. I'm like, I'm launching as I'm learning, you know, and the photo, I have a photo shoot for the next products and it's going really well. I'm really, really thankful for everyone that's bought. I'm really thankful for all the positive feedback and yeah. Awesome. Well, listen, coming from someone who I launch products a lot, I just launched the whole sprinkle company. Actually, today I just launched my sprinkle coffee cake as well. Congratulations. Thank you. I'm actually going to send you one as well. But knowing that you sold out of it and launching that on Valentine's Day,

that's pretty amazing. So you need to just build off of that and keep going. And I like the way you said, listen, entrepreneurs fail all the time. So, and it's true, it might just be like the smallest pivot is, and I've had lots of things that I've tried like up and down and I have my store and I've had lots of things that I've tried, like up and down, and I have my store and I have Envy, but I feel like there's something so empowering about a woman

in business and launching a product that is personal to you and that you truly love. Same thing with me with my cookies. I did not want a white label. I was not just putting my name on somebody else's cookie. It had to be mine. It had to be what I wanted. Authentic. It's authentic. I think that says a lot. I think that screams when it's like that. Consumers can tell when you're just throwing your name on something. Oh, yeah. It's hard for me to do. You seem like the same like even brand deal think it brought to me You know, it's hard sometimes to turn things down because obviously, you know the money and and I'm like, oh gosh

But what I really use that I'm also vegan. I'm you know, I eat plant-based so it's like My beliefs are my beliefs and It's hard for me to pivot away from that. Obviously, you have to give yourself grace throughout projects and things that you do. But there's a lot of things that I changed throughout the three and a half years before I launched and I did not want a synthetic scent. I wanted it to be a natural. So I had to find this natural vanilla flavor and it took me so long. It took me sometimes, one of the colors that I'm launching for summer, it took me, I mean, it took me so long. It took me sometimes, like one of the colors

that I'm launching for summer, took me a year to perfect that one because I wanted it to perform. I wanted the color to be right. I wanted the applicator to be perfect. I wanted the bottle to be perfect. Like everything had to be perfect or else I wasn't gonna do it.

And that's when like my perfectionism or whatever it's called, like it works because you know, and then you create a beautiful product and that people love and that's the most important thing. I cannot wait to get mine. It's on its way. So I'm going to have it very soon. I'm very excited. Thank you for sending that. Yeah, you're welcome. Listen, it was so nice to talk to you today. Guys, make sure you catch Heather Ray on the flip-off and all episodes are out now. I think the finale is something that you should not miss.

Make sure you check out her very own beauty line, HeatherRayEssentials, at HeatherRayEssentials.com. I will definitely be checking out My Lip Gloss. Heather, thank you so much for coming on today. You're a sweetheart. Thank you, Melissa. I just want to say, of course, and good luck to you with the baby, with life, with everything. You have a lot going on and I wish you tons of success. Thank you.

Stay in touch with me on social so we can chit chat. I will. I'm definitely going to do that. Thank you. So good to talk to you. Thank you. Bye. Bye, guys. Podcasting isn't just about talking, it's about growing, engaging, and monetizing.

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