The next chapter of her life! Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young) has often opened up about becoming a stepparent and a mother.

The Selling Sunset star, who started dating Tarek El Moussa in 2019, gushed about the bond she formed with her now-husband’s children. The HGTV star, for his part, shares Taylor and son Brayden with ex-wife Christina Hall (née Haack).

In July 2022, Heather and Tarek announced that they were expanding their family. “Surprise!!! Baby El Moussa coming early 2023!! 🤍,” she captioned a maternity shoot photo at the time.

Ahead of their child’s birth, the real estate experts addressed their coparenting approach with Hall.

“Communication is important and honestly, we were talking about this earlier, it’s so nice to have a good relationship with the other parent because everyone’s happier, the kids are happier, it’s just been incredible,” Heather exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2022. “We have them 50/50. So, at our house, I’m mom to them and then they have their mom, and me and her communicate well, and we talk almost every single day about the kids and it’s just important. We’re raising good humans.”

Tarek added: “The key is just putting the kids first. Our feelings or emotions don’t matter, but the truth is, we’ve all been getting along fantastic. It’s funny, now we team up against the kids because they don’t know we talk, so it’s like, ‘Hey, I was talking to your mom, I heard what you did.'”

The pair, who tied the knot in October 2021, welcomed their first child together in January 2023. Heather discussed her first days as a mom after introducing her son, Tristan.

“I had this whole new appreciation for moms,” the real estate agent explained to Us in February 2023. “I love being a stepmom to Tay and Bray, but having my own and carrying him and then going through the labor and going through all the experiences, it’s obviously something I’ve never experienced. … All the firsts — it’s a little nerve-wracking.”

After initially struggling with breast-feeding, Heather praised her little one for adapting to a routine.

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“Even with all this going on, I genuinely love breastfeeding,” she wrote via Instagram that same month. “I love the skin to skin connection and think it’s such a beautiful bonding experience. It might be hard and challenging at the moment but it is such a special experience that I get to share with our baby boy and we’re working together to make it easier like we’re a little team.”

Scroll down for Heather’s candid quotes about becoming a mother:

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