Christina Hall's Toad Venom Controversy Fully Explained

Christina Hall and her ex, Tarek El Moussa, have been through a lot over the years. And since they are reality TV stars, much of it has played out in the press. Fans first met the pair in 2013 (via IMDb) on the set of their HGTV series, "Flip or Flop." The show followed the couple spearheading home renovations and showing their business smarts while flipping homes in California. But, the duo called it quits on their marriage in 2016 and released a statement to the public to clear the air. "We chose to get counseling to sort out our relationship," they said via Us Weekly. "Together, we have decided to separate while we reevaluate the future of our marriage." Eventually, Christina and El Moussa returned to work together, but the tension between them remained.

In 2021, TMZ reported that the former couple got into a pretty big argument as they filmed an episode of their HGTV show. El Moussa reportedly didn't like how his ex-wife communicated with him, and he flipped out on her, even calling Christina a "washed-up loser." And El Moussa didn't stop there. A source close to the situation added that the reality star yelled, "Look at me, look at me, look at me. It's called winning" while telling her, "The world knows you're crazy!"

With all the drama between the pair, Christina took things into her own hands, deciding to deal with her stress in an unconventional way that made plenty of headlines.

The "Christina on the Coast" star offered her fans an unusual glimpse into her personal life. One of her more candid Instagram posts came in July 2020 when she opened up about her romance with her now-husband, Josh Hall. "I met Josh when I wasn't in a state of fear or fight-or-flight," she explained to fans before sharing a tidbit about a psychedelic experience. "I had taken time off social, hired a spiritual coach, and smoked a Bufo toad (which basically reset my brain and kicked out years of anxiety in 15 mins)."

The rest of the post described how she and Josh immediately connected as she introduced fans to what she called "another relationship" at the age of 38. But, the one thing that captured fans' attention the most was the fact that Christina smoked toad venom. "Never heard of smoking a Bufo toad in. therapy!? Must be a Ca. Thing?" one person asked. "Spiritual coaches? Smoking TOADS? Sweet lady, the ONLY spiritual coach you need is THE spiritual coach," another follower suggested.

According to Psycom, buffalo toad venom is illegal in the United States, but it's found in parts of California and Arizona. The website states that the venom is as much as "four to six times" as strong as other similar drugs like dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, as some people call it. Who knew? 

Even though Christina Hall and Tarek El Moussa had their ups and downs before and after marriage, and there was the whole big thing with toad venom, that doesn't mean that everything has been bad. On a few different occasions, Christina and El Moussa said that their co-parenting relationship is going well. According to People, Christina also shared a post on her Instagram story after she and El Moussa's son, Brayden, underwent emergency surgery. "Stressful 24 hours but a good reminder how important team work/ co-parenting is," she began the post before noting that "sometimes a scary situation can be a good wake-up call." How nice is that?

The couple also agreed to stop filming their HGTV series, "Flip or Flop," via TMZ. According to the outlet, Christina and El Moussa's contracts for the series were up, and they decided not to renew them and come back for another season of the show as they felt it best to end while things were good. "After an incredible 10 year run, Flip or Flop is coming to an end. This show would not have been possible without all of you following along, so THANK YOU!" El Moussa wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. 

Of course, now fans can still catch Christina and El Moussa on their own TLC shows but there is one thing that fans will likely not see — psychedelic toad venom.