Ant Anstead has had a rocky few years. While there's been plenty of joy in his life — like his incredible career and his son Hudson — he's also been facing a public divorce. And even worse, it seems as if he may have been a little blindsided by the news himself.
Ant was linked with Christina Haack, formerly known as Christina Anstead and before that as Christina El Moussa. The Wheeler Dealers host first started dating Christina in 2018, and it seemed as if he was approved by Christina's famous ex and Flip or Flop cohost, Tarek El Moussa. It's always good to have approval all around.
"Tarek likes him," Christina once told Us Weekly, per Yahoo. "What's not to like? Everybody likes him. He's a great guy." They got married just shy of a year after dating and quickly announced a pregnancy, which turned out to be Hudson Anstead. But just a year later, they separated.
The split was especially hard for Ant, but now he's finally trying to move on. And based on his Instagram, it seems like a lot of his fans are trying hard to hook him up with their mothers.
That may seem a bit awkward, but Ant has no trouble responding to those strange requests. "Bruh my mom is single and ready to mingle," one fan said to a picture of Ant and Hudson at the beach. "…so many Mum jokes here… I struggling to contain myself…," Ant jokingly replied back.
But no matter how many moms are pitched his way, Ant seems to have a really firm idea of whom he wants to spend time with. He's currently spending his time in Laguna Beach, California, and reportedly looking to make new friends. He's spent the last few months working on himself and is now ready to open up.
"I spent six months really healing and recovering and working on myself," he told People magazine. "I feel like I've really made Laguna my home, and I've got this overwhelming urge now to sort of make friends." And he's serious about it. So serious that it was reportedly even mentioned on his vision board.
"In January I wrote — I like to write a New Year's resolution, so I've got my vision board — 'make friends with people of substance,'" he wrote. That in itself is quite telling. Ant is over being acquainted with superficial people and seemingly just wants to spend his life with others who have a story to tell.
He even knows exactly what kind of people he wants to befriend. "Real people, people that are just down to earth," he says. "People that … just their heart is in the right place." He's starting the hunt by seeking out local parenting groups.
To make good on his resolution, he's already joined the Laguna Beach Parents Club. And he seems happy to be a member, going so far as to share a picture on Instagram. The caption he used was, "Making new dad friends." In the picture, everyone is distanced and outside yet happy to be there.
That, in itself, says everything about Ant Anstead. Obviously, he didn't care that he was a celebrity. He didn't show up with an entourage. Instead, he just came by himself on a quest to meet normal dads who are going through the same experiences that he is. In a way, it's a breath of fresh air.
He's even advertised for dad friends on social media, which is something most celebrities wouldn't think of doing. "I put something on my story the other day to say, 'Hey look, Hudson and I, we have this little double act. We'd love to meet some more parents with equally aged kids," he told People.
Hudson isn't Ant's only child. He also has a son named Archie, 14, and a daughter named Amelie, 17, from a prior relationship. They're currently living in the UK with their mom, but Ant still stays close to them. Ant decided to stay in California to co-parent with Christina.
It seems as if Ant's life has finally rebounded from the media frenzy surrounding the divorce. Since Ant appeared on Christina's spinoff show, people were shocked that the two were quick to call it quits. In their statements on the matter, Ant made it seem like it was Christina's call. Whether or not that's true is tough to tell, as there are always multiple sides to every story.
"Anyone who really knows me knows that I don’t like to share private matters publicly. I have remained silent while holding on to hope. I never gave up on us. I pray Christina’s decision brings her happiness," he wrote on Instagram as a caption of one of their final social media photos together.
Many speculate that the relationship simply moved too fast for Christina. She was married to Tarek for seven years before the two split, and she was still working with him and co-parenting after their divorce. Having married Ant less than a year after meeting him may have been more of a rebound. He insists that he never cheated, as that was a big theory that fans had speculated about.
But it seems like Ant is solely focused on the future now. He's working on finding a forever home in Laguna Beach. "A home creates an anchor for the rest of your life. So while all these great things are going on, I've got the TV projects and a new book coming out, and Hudson and I are rolling around, having a great time, I still feel displaced," he said, in regard to his house hunt. "So I feel like if I can find a home, I can really start to rebuild from there."
It's good to know that Ant has a positive head on his shoulders and is doing everything he can to start fresh. He's a charismatic individual, so finding a good group of friends shouldn't be hard. Hudson is lucky to have him as a dad, and surely he'll also grow up to love Laguna Beach.
