The ‘Flipping El Moussas’ star said he was once a “raging alcoholic” in an emotional new Instagram post
Tarek El Moussa recalled his struggles with alcohol in an emotional new Instagram post.” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/qA94XPsIyE7EBIlSabrTTA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/eb84e21d51d4788f9cd9a044e842e4bb” class=”caas-img”/>
Tarek El Moussa/Instagram; Frazer Harrison/WireImage
Tarek El Moussa recalled his struggles with alcohol in an emotional new Instagram post.
Tarek El Moussa is opening up about his past struggles with alcoholism.
The HGTV star, 42, took his Instagram followers on a difficult trip down memory lane with a throwback photo of his 20-year-old self — and a heartfelt message about the struggles he was enduring at the time.
Beginning with an anecdote, El Moussa wrote, “I will never forget this day… or this kid. I was 20 years old fishing for King salmon in Alaska. Unfortunately, all I remember was the terrible hangover I had. I had drank over 30 shots of vodka and whatever else I could get my hands on.”
“I can still feel the throbbing in my head and the pulsing vein on my temple,” the Flipping El Moussas star continued. “But…I was pretty used to it since I was drinking my life away anyways.”
Related: Tarek El Moussa Credits His Kids for Being ‘Strength I Needed’ After He Found Himself in the ‘Darkest Place’
When he was 19, El Moussa said that his “life went downhill” overnight.
“I gained 50 pounds, lost my confidence, lost my hope, and became a raging alcoholic. All my drive was gone,” he wrote, adding that it is “crazy to think today I sometimes wake up at 3am to start work, when at 20, I would wake up at 3pm to start my day.”
“We all deserve a second chance,” the real estate investor said, adding that if any of his story “sounds like you, it may be time to Flip Your Life too” — a reference to his upcoming book, FLIP YOUR LIFE: How to Find Opportunity in Distress—in Real Estate, Business, and Life.
Related: Tarek El Moussa Responds to Haters Calling Him a ‘Fool’ and Criticizing His Flips: ‘Comes with the Territory’
In September, the reality star revealed that the personal book — which will hit bookstores on Feb. 6 — will detail how he turned to alcohol when his baseball career was derailed by a shoulder injury, as well as his past steroid addiction.
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On a 2018 episode of the Dr. Drew podcast, El Moussa detailed his struggle with steroids after his thyroid cancer and testicular cancer procedures in 2013.
“It was just my hormones were off. I was tired and I thought it was from the thyroid medication but it wasn’t,” El Moussa said at the time.
Related: Tarek El Moussa Opens Up About Being ‘Sad and Lonely’ Before Meeting Wife Heather: ‘Brought Me Back to Life’
Tarek El Moussa in 2022.” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/PjGDDtat4.qE_yHcaKJ66w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/9cb278cad0df628b5c8a949aebb00061″ class=”caas-img”/>
Jeff Kravitz/Getty
Tarek El Moussa in 2022.
“Here’s the worst thing I ever did, which is a hundred times worse than cancer,” he continued. “I thought it was from my testicular cancer so I went to this botox doctor and hormone clinic that my ex said to go check out. Next thing I know I’m shoving a needle on my a–- and taking steroids, it was testosterone. It was awful.”
Added El Moussa: “I was on way too much testosterone, on top of that taking human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) injections every day because I was told to.”
Related: Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa Celebrate a Blended Family Thanksgiving with All 3 Kids
After officially splitting from ex-wife Christina Hall in May 2016, the HGTV star “got off everything,” and said he was determined to turn his life around.
El Moussa has since married Selling Sunset alum Heather El Moussa, with whom he shares a HGTV series, Flipping El Moussasand blended family of five, which includes son Tristan, 9 months, as well as Taylor, 13, and Brayden, 8, whom El Moussa shares with Hall, 40.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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