Her new normal! Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young) loves being a mother to her son Tristan – but a stepmother to her husband Tarek El Moussa two children while raising a baby is not easy.
“I spend a lot of time with the baby,” Heather, 35, said AND! News in the interview published on February 27. “Tarek has really stepped up in the role of Daddy and puts them to sleep every night, takes them on a little trip and that’s because it’s hard for me to leave now. Brayden always says that he misses me. But I know time will pass . The baby phase is always the hardest.”
At Sell Sunset stars and Flip or Flop alum, 41, who married in October 2021, welcomed their first child earlier this month. While the little one’s birth marks Heather’s first time as a biological parent, she’s the proud stepmother to Tarek’s two sons, Taylor, 12, and Brayden, 7, who the California native shares with her ex. Christina Hall (nee Haack).
Tarek wasn’t the only one helping the new mom out. Heather has been counting on her and her HGTV star parents for support since Tristan arrived.
“We had a lot of help from family,” she noted E! on Monday. “Our mother is amazing. I have never respected my mother and father-in-law as much as I do now. It was just so much fun for them.
While the couple is happy to develop a brood, it does not mean that they are ready to have more children. “Right now, not for me,” Heather said when asked if she plans to add to the family, noting that she’ll see how things go with baby No. 1.
“I’m on maternity leave, but soon-ish I’ll be back and focus on work,” she shared. “I have to see how I can balance everything. Having Taylor and Brayden, a wife, a dog, a career and a new baby. I’ll see how we can balance it before we decide.
Earlier this month, Heather reflected on her first day as a special mother Us Weekly.
“I’ve learned about the body and the baby and what your body does to help your baby survive,” she explained. “Like, he’ll find my breasts and he’ll crawl into my stomach for milk. And I leak when he’s on me because my body knows he’s on me. So, it’s just all these things that my body can do that I’ve never experienced. I have an appreciation for everything about this woman’s body.
She added that her relationship with her stepson has grown stronger since her romance with Tarek began, welcoming her own baby was an experience like no other. “Having her own and carrying her and then going through labor … it’s just amazing what a woman’s body can do,” she explained.