Heather Rae El Moussa Reveals How Becoming a Mother ‘Changed Everything’ About Her: ‘It’s Been So Fulfilling to Me’ (Exclusive)

Heather Rae El Moussa loves “everything” about being a mom and stepmom.

The HGTV star, 37, opened up to PopCulture.com ahead of Mother’s Day about how welcoming 2-year-old son Tristan with husband Tarek El Moussa “changed everything” about her.

“I was someone that never thought I was going to have kids,” Heather explained while promoting her partnership with Orgain Clean Nutrition Products. “Then I met Tarek, and he had two beautiful kids. I never thought I would date someone that had kids. So that was new for me.”

Becoming a stepmom to Tarek’s 14-year-old daughter Taylor and 9-year-old son Brayden, whom the Flipping 101 star shares with ex-wife Christina Haack, opened her up to the “joy” of having children.

“They just brought so much joy to my life that I never knew I could have, and then that made me really want to have my own baby with Tarek,” Heather gushed.

Since welcoming son Tristan in January 2023, Heather said motherhood has been “better than I could have ever imagined.”

“Obviously, I love being a stepmom, but then you have your own, and you carry them, and it’s just the most beautiful thing,” the Selling Sunset alum explained. “And [Tristan] is my little Earth angel. So it’s the best thing ever.”

“Being a mom has changed everything about me,” Heather went on. “It’s made me selfless. It’s made me more patient. It’s made me really enjoy life more in a way. As adults, it’s all about stress and work, and kids are so innocent. They are just so happy and [their] giggles and the things that they find joy in, I find joy in. …It’s been so fulfilling to me.”

Keeping her family healthy and happy throughout the week requires proper nutrition, which is why the Flip Off star keeps Orgain’s Vegan Organic Nutrition Shakes and Kids Protein Shakes stocked in her house and on the go.

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“It’s key to us keeping the energy that we have to keep going,” Heather said of a nutritious diet. “I am plant-based, and people ask me, ‘How do you get your protein? How do you keep your protein up?’ And for me, Orgain has been a huge part of my life for the last few years, going back to even before I was pregnant and getting their nutritional shakes. They have a lot of nutrients and minerals, and the vegan protein shakes have 16 grams of protein. So I can have a few a day.”

The shelf-stable kids’ shakes are perfect for the Flipping El Moussas star to throw in her purse before running out the door or to pack in the kids’ lunches, and she even uses the Orgain plant-based protein powders to pump up her oatmeal or waffle batter.

“I noticed that if I don’t have protein in the morning, I start like reaching for a carb or I’m not as fulfilled. I’m more hungry throughout the day,” she told PopCulture. “So making sure that I get my protein first thing in the morning is really important. …This has been a really easy way and a delicious way to add that protein that we need into our life.”