Tarek El Moussa has doubled down on gifting his 16-year-old daughter a $150,000 BMW.
The “Flip or Flop” alum, 45, appeared on the “Money Rehab” podcast Wednesday to explain why he, ex-wife Christina Haack, 43, and current wife Heather El Moussa, 39, teamed up to buy Taylor the luxury SUV ahead of her birthday. He pointed to her 4.2 GPA and her MVP award on her freshman soccer team as proof she had worked for it.
“She’s an absolutely fantastic kid and didn’t just get it. She actually earned it and, if you ask me, she deserved it because she worked really, really hard and didn’t even ask for that car,” he said.
Tarek noted that Taylor would have settled for far less. “She would have been happy with a used Honda,” he said. He chose the BMW X5 anyway, calling it “built like a tank” and stressing that safety drove the decision. “She’s in a safe car, and she loves it,” he added.
The television personality rejected any suggestion that his daughter is entitled. “She was not a spoiled brat,” he insisted, pointing to long-term financial planning he had already put in place. He said he has been investing her money in stocks and real estate since she was young.
“She was flying in private jets when she was like, 1 years old, OK, so this kid, she’s grown up around things,” Tarek said. “So when I grew up, I didn’t have anything, right? So I’m obsessed with things because I never had things.”
He drew a sharp contrast between his own childhood and hers. “She’s always had things,” he continued. “So, she looks at things different than I look at things.”
The car surprise itself played out in August on Instagram, where Tarek posted video of the moment. Taylor stood before the silver SUV alongside both her mother Christina and stepmother Heather, wiping away tears as she exclaimed, “Oh my God!”
Tarek’s caption poked fun at the unusual family collaboration. “What’s more of a surprise… The car for Taylor or the fact that the three of us actually pulled this off?” he wrote, adding, “The car is so well deserved, we love you so much Tay.”
Host Christina Lapin pressed Tarek on his gift-giving history, and he recalled buying Heather a white Ferrari on their second date after she mentioned it was her dream car. “Third date she moved in,” he bragged on the podcast.
Heather has faced her own scrutiny about the family’s wealth. In July, she fired back at a social media follower who asked how it felt to never worry about money. “We didn’t come from money,” she said. “Tarek and I, both separately and together, have worked very hard to get where we are today.”
Tarek and Christina were married for seven years before splitting in 2016. They continued co-hosting “Flip or Flop” through 2022, wrapping after 10 seasons. They share son Brayden, 11, in addition to Taylor. Tarek married Heather in October 2021, and they welcomed son Tristan, 3, in 2023.
The BMW defense comes amid ongoing public interest in the blended family’s dynamics. Tarek’s insistence that Taylor earned the vehicle through academic and athletic achievement framed the gift as merit-based rather than extravagant. His emphasis on her unfamiliarity with financial struggle—coupled with his own childhood deprivation—offered a window into how he rationalizes largesse he never experienced growing up.
Tarek is expected to continue his “Money Rehab” podcast appearances as he promotes his real estate ventures.