Heather Rae El Moussa Details Stepmom Struggles Amid Raising Newborn Son

Her new normal! Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young) loves being mom to son Tristan — but being a stepmom to husband Tarek El Moussa’s two children while raising a newborn isn’t easy. 

“A lot of my time has been with the baby,” Heather, 35, told E! News in an interview published on Monday, February 27. “Tarek has really stepped up in the daddy role and puts them to bed every night, takes them on little trips and things because it’s hard for me to leave right now. Brayden definitely said he’s missing me. But I know that time will pass. The newborn phase is always the hardest.”

The Selling Sunset star and the Flip or Flop alum, 41, who tied the knot in October 2021, welcomed their first child together earlier this month. While the birth of their little one marks Heather’s first time being a biological parent, she is a proud stepmom to Tarek’s two sons, Taylor, 12, and Brayden, 7, who the California native shares with ex Christina Hall (née Haack).

Tarek isn’t the only one helping the new mom out. Heather has relied on both her and the HGTV star’s parents for support since Tristan’s arrival. 

“We have a lot of help from family,” she noted to E! on Monday. “Our moms have been incredible. I have never appreciated my mom and mother-in-law as much as I do now. It’s just very comforting to have them around.”

While the couple is excited about expanding their brood, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to have another child any time soon. “Right now, it’s a no for me,” Heather said when asked if she planned on adding to the family, noting that she’ll see how things go with baby No. 1. 

“I’m on maternity leave, but soon-ish I will be going back and focusing on work,” she shared. “I have to see how I can balance everything. Having Taylor and Brayden, a husband, a dog, career and new baby. I’m going to see how we can balance it before we decide.”

Earlier this month, Heather reflected on her first days as a mom exclusively to Us Weekly. 

“I’ve been learning about the body and about babies and what our body does to help your baby survive,” she explained. “Like, he’ll find my breast and he’ll crawl at my stomach to find it to go feed. And I leak when he’s on me because my body knows he’s on me. So, it’s just all these things that your body can do that I never got to experience before. I have this whole appreciation of the female body.”

She added that while the bond with her stepkids has become strong since her romance with Tarek began, welcoming a baby of her own was an experience like no other. “Having my own and carrying him and then going through the labor  … it’s just such a beautiful thing that the female body can do,” she explained.