In his forthcoming memoir, 'Flip Your Life,' HGTV star Tarek El Moussa reflects on a life-changing experience from his teenage years that involved a gang fight and ultimately led to his arrest. Opening up about the incident, El Moussa reveals that he was charged with attempted murder when he was just 17 years old due to hitting someone with a bat.
Describing the altercation in an excerpt published by People, El Moussa recalls, 'During the free-for-all, an older guy—maybe 19 or 20—stepped toward me and swung his bat. I tried to jump out of the way, but the bat connected, hard—hard enough to break my ribs.' In a reaction to being hit, El Moussa dropped his arm and knocked the bat out of the other person's hands. Seizing the opportunity to defend himself, he grabbed the bat and hit the person in the head, causing them to fall unconscious.
As the situation escalated with more individuals armed with crowbars running towards him, El Moussa states that the timely arrival of the police 'saved his life.' He admits, 'I can't say for sure what happened next, but I must have blacked out. When I came to, I was sitting in the back of a police car, in handcuffs, charged with assault and battery, aggravated assault, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon.'
El Moussa acknowledges that if he hadn't been arrested, he believes he would have been killed. After spending a short period in juvenile detention, the charges against him were eventually dropped when prosecutors determined that he had acted in self-defense. He served approximately a week on house arrest before regaining his freedom.
The 'Flip or Flop' alum chose to share these personal details in his book as he believes they are an integral part of his life story. He reveals that although this incident had extreme consequences for him, it wasn't the only violent encounter he had experienced. El Moussa confesses, 'I've been in shootings, I've been in knife fights, I've been hit in the face with a bat. You name it, I've had it.'
By sharing his past struggles, El Moussa hopes to send a powerful message to readers that anyone, regardless of their current circumstances, has the potential to change their life. 'You can literally be a gang banger right now, robbing people, and you can flip your life,' he emphasizes. 'Anybody can change. They just have to want to.'
In addition to his gang fight revelation, the father of three also opens up about another intense incident involving firearms that led to his 2018 divorce from his ex-wife, Christina Hall. El Moussa writes in his memoir that following an argument, he took a .38-caliber pistol to Chino Hills State Park for protection. His ex-wife subsequently called 911, and when the police arrived via helicopter, one of the officers pointed a rifle at him. El Moussa shares that this incident marked the final time that he and Hall were together as a family.
'Flip Your Life: How to Find Opportunity in Distress — in Real Estate, Business, and Life' is set to be released on February 6th, giving readers a deeper insight into El Moussa's personal journey of transformation and resilience.
