Christina Haack (formerly Hall) has left flans flipping out after the Flip or Flop alum introduced a new man in her life on Instagram.
On Saturday, November 2, the HGTV star shared a photo on her page of her with a beaming smile alongside her “great friend,” Jared Merrell, to celebrate his birthday. Christina wore a form-fitting white tank top, and Merrell was in a graphic tee. They had their arms draped around each other and posed closely together.
“Happy Birthday to my brother from another mother @jaredjstar25,” Christina captioned the post. “Thank you for ALWAYS being such a great friend. Love you and your family so much. So happy to be celebrating you all weekend!”
In the comments section, fans took the post as an indication that Christina was announcing she was dating someone new just three months after she split from her third husband, Josh Hall, with whom she’s currently in a messy divorce. Others admitted they mistook their initial reaction, given Christina specified they were friends.
“Thought this was husband number 4 for a second there,” one fan wrote.
“I first thought she was introducing us to a new boyfriend I was like damn girl slow down!!” wrote another.
“Next husband Lmao!” wrote a third.
“Omg! Not another husband.” wrote a fourth follower.
“WHO IS YOUR MAN NOW,” commented a fifth.
“She wanted us to believe at first look that she’s introducing us to her new boyfriend…..she wanted that,” accused a sixth, as others agreed that they pair seemed particularly comfortable together.
“If I were the wife..I wouldn’t be ok with such a close pic. Just saying.. girl code,” wrote a seventh user.
Merrell responded to the post, “Thank you Love you,” with a red heart emoji.
Merrell is the owner of a pre-owned car dealership called JStar Auto Group, located in Anaheim, California, according to his Instagram bio. For his big day, he posted a photo of his birthday cake on his page, which featured a group of photos of himself over the years in some model-style poses.
On Instagram Stories, Christina also re-shared a photo posted by a friend that showed her in a hot tub with three other gal pals, including, seemingly, Jared’s wife, as her handle is @mrsmerrill22.
The group was enjoying what appeared to be on a birthday trip for Jared to Punta Mita, Mexico; another sign the two are just close friends.
Meanwhile, there’s been a big fallout from Christina’s ongoing divorce from Josh. He was in the midst of co-starring with her on The Flip Off. The HGTV show was originally set to feature the former couple teaming up to take on Haack’s first ex-husband Tarek El Moussa, and his current wife, Heather El Moussa, to see who can find, buy, renovate, and flip a house for the biggest financial gain.
However, Christina and Josh filed for divorce in July after almost three years of marriage. Since then, the ex-partners have been embroiled in a messy legal battle over spousal support and other financial matters.
Despite the breakup, The Flip Off is seemingly going forward without Josh’s involvement. According to PEOPLE, Christina, Tarek, and Heather returned to filming in July without Josh. In addition, the three stars have continued to post promos for the show, none of which featured Josh. But it’s unclear who Christina’s replacement teammate will now be for the series, meant to be teams of two.
Josh filed for divorce on July 16. According to the court documents, Josh filed for a dissolution of marriage in Orange County, California, citing irreconcilable differences. He listed their date of separation as July 8. This marked Christina’s third marriage as she also wed to Ant Anstead, with whom she shares son Taylor (she shares sons Brayden and Hudson with Tarek).