Five months after HGTV stars Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa were shocked to learn their home had been burglarized as they vacationed with their family, Heather has shared chilling new details, including how quickly the thieves pulled off the robbery.
On November 4, 2026, Heather appeared on the “Money Rehab” podcast with Nicole Lapin, discussing a wide range of topics including the emotional impact of the June robbery and the items lost that can never be replaced.
Heather Rae El Moussa Says Burglary Was ‘Really Hard’ On Her
When the El Moussas’ home in Newport Beach, California, was burglarized, they were on family vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which they shared in social media videos. Heather told Lapin on her podcast that the biggest lesson from the ordeal was realizing that sharing her whereabouts in real time could be hazardous to their safety.
“We learned from it,” she said. “I did make the mistake of posting in real time that we are gone. So, that was a mistake. And I think, you know, we’re natural targets. We’re on social media. We’re on reality shows. And I do think that it was a targeted thing.”
The robbery happened less than a year after the El Moussas had moved into the home to have more space for their kids. They share three-year-old son Tristan, and Tarek’s two older children with ex-wife Christina Haack, 16-year-old Taylor and son Brayden, 11. In the months since, she said they have been “upping” security around the house, “taking the precautions and being more careful.”
“You realize, like, bad things happen and there’s awful people out there and, you know, it’s really hard. It was really hard on me. … I hate living every day and, like, being upset about something. So I really try to just push through and, you know, be thankful that we weren’t home. Be thankful that there’s certain items that they didn’t get.”
Heather told Lapin that they have the thieves “on camera” but that detectives were still trying tot crack the case. Calling the burglars “professionals,” she said, “They were in and out of our house in three minutes.”
What Did the Thieves Take From the El Moussas Home?
Tarek and Heather issued a statement days after the burglary, writing that having their home “violated” was “deeply unsettling,” but that they felt “profoundly grateful that our family is safe.”
“While material things can be replaced,” they wrote, “our hearts are broken over the irreplaceable family heirlooms and special memories that were taken from us.”
Heather reiterated that to Lapin, explaining, “You know, they took family heirlooms that were really, really important to me and those were priceless. That’s something I’ll never get back, and it’s from my grandma who passed away, and things from my mom, and stuff from my dad, and that was the hardest.”
“The other things, you know, we can rebuy other things,” she continued, “but we still worked really hard to purchase those things. You know, Tarek and I, we both did not come from money. We worked really hard to get to where we are. And a lot of the things were presents from him for anniversaries and birthdays and Mother’s Day, and like, special moments.”
“I really value the things that I have,” Heather said. “I don’t take things for granted. And you know, unfortunately, it was all taken.”
Heather said that insurance covered some but not all of their losses. Though they had home and jewelry insurance, she said many of her items weren’t specifically listed with values, such as Dior earrings and pieces from Gucci that she’d “collected over the years.”
“They just took everything,” she said. “Left Tarek’s stuff, but took all my stuff.”
Heather was part of Netflix’s “Selling Sunset” cast until 2023, and announced in the spring that she’ll be returning to the show, in addition to co-starring with Tarek in season two of HGTV’s “The Flip Off” in early 2027.
Thieves Took Just 3 Minutes to Ransack Tarek & Heather El Moussa’s Home: Chilling New Details