Flip or Flop host Tarek El Moussa suffered another setback this week.
The HGTV personality revealed via Instagram on Thursday that he suffered back injury so severe that he is virtually unable to walk.
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“Awful news…life has been going so well and I’ve been so happy and healthy! Unfortunately….I injured my back again….it’s very scary,” El Moussa said. “Last time I lost 50 pounds and was taking large amounts of pain meds to try and help the pain. Truthfully those meds really affected my mental and physical state and changed who I was. Last time I hurt my back it took me a year and a half to recover. As of today I can barely walk…I honestly can’t even believe this is happening, I feel like it’s a bad dream that I will wake up from.
El Moussa admitted the injury has taken a toll on his mental health. His update came with a photo of him sitting next to an MRI machine.
“I will be truthful and say I’m very down because of this,” he said. “It is going to take a lot of positivity and strength to go through this a second time. I will stay positive and I will fight to get healthy again. I appreciate all the support.”
On April 20, El Moussa appeared on the Dr. Oz Show and reflected on the May 2016 incident where his then-wife Christina El Moussa feared he was suicidal. Yet he called the whole thing one big misunderstanding.
“I had bought two mountain bikes. I sent my neighbor a text. I said, ‘Can I borrow your bikes, because I want to go scout trails.’ He wasn’t home. I have a CCW, California Concealed Carry, which means I can legally carry a firearm. I live in the canyons where there’s wildlife and bobcats and mountain lions and I literally went on a hike,” he explained.
“The next thing I know there’s a sheriff’s helicopter circling and I’m like, ‘Geez, what are these guys doing?’ and I’m like, ‘They must be looking for somebody bad.’ Then I realize, ‘Well, wait a minute he was looking for me,’ and next thing I know I see 11 sheriffs around me and off-road vehicles and guns on me,” he adds. “I’m like, ‘Wait, am I the guy? I think I’m the guy. What did I do?’ That’s what happened that day.”
“I thought you were suicidal or something else was going on,” Dr. Oz responded.
“No, I literally I have the text to prove it,” Tarek replied. “That’s why I showed the police. They’re, like, ‘I’m sorry, man.’ I literally was trying to scout trails. I had just bought a mountain bike so I went on a hike. Sure, I was having a rough day, and I was trying to blow off steam, and that’s what I did. So it was a surreal experience. It was like my life was in slow motion, my life paused for a moment, and it was like I was living a movie.”
