Tarek El Moussa shares photo of moment he proposed to Heather Rae Young
She said yes!
Not long after announcing his engagement, Tarek El Moussa just shared a photo of the romantic way he proposed to his girlfriend of one year, Heather Rae Young.
“This is the exact moment I got down on one knee and asked @heatherraeyoung to be my wife!” El Moussa, 38, wrote on Instagram. “You just never know where life is going to take you. If you told me 13 months ago I would be engaged today I would have called you crazy … The second I saw @heatherraeyoung I knew my life would never be the same.”
The “Flip or Flop” co-host proposed at a beach club on Catalina Island near Los Angeles. He wore a tuxedo and knelt down in the sand, which was strewn with rose petals and candles, as he popped the question.
Young, 32, a luxury real estate agent and star of the Netflix reality show “Selling Sunset,” shared the same photo of the romantic moment and called it the best day of her life.
“He kept everything a secret from me. I knew he had little surprises throughout the weekend, but I thought he was just being extra romantic for our one year. Little did I know he had been planning to propose,” she wrote on Instagram. “I couldn’t see anything as I was walked down to the beach. There were cabanas lined up covering everything. I was rushed around the corner to what I thought would be a dinner on the sand.
“But when I walked around the corner Tarek was standing there looking so handsome in his tux. I was confused for the first 15 seconds as I walked down the gorgeous candle & flower aisle wondering what the heck is going on. Then I thought OMG is he proposing??? No way!!!! But in my head I talked Myself out of it thinking well I bet it’s earrings!!! I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
The pair got engaged not long after celebrating one year together. On their first anniversary earlier this month, both El Moussa and Young gushed about their love for each other.
“The second our eyes connected and we smiled at each other I knew my life would never be the same,” El Moussa wrote in an Instagram post at the time. He also noted that Young “loves and adores” his kids, Taylor, 9, and Brayden, 4.
The father-of-two has opened up in the past about the importance of finding a partner who bonds with his kids, whom he co-parents with his ex-wife, fellow "Flip or Flop" co-host Christina Anstead.
He told TODAY Parents in December that he introduced Young to his children gradually, beginning by talking about her and showing them her picture.
“After going out with Heather Rae a few times, I started bringing her into my conversations with Taylor and would mention her little by little, sharing with her that I had met someone,” he said. “I shared that just like Daddy, she is also on TV and in real estate. After getting the initial conversation started, I would also show the kids photos and videos of me and Heather Rae laughing, being silly and hanging out, and that made them laugh and be able to put a face to her name. I tried to make it fun which made for an easy in-person introduction later on.”
He added that Young was the first woman he introduced his kids to after his divorce.
“I wasn’t someone who was just dating a bunch of different women,” he told TODAY Parents. “I was waiting for the right one, who I thought would be right not only for me, but for my kids to meet. With Heather, I knew right away, and that was it.”
Congratulations to the happy couple!