With two HGTV shows, Christina Hall finds success in going solo
By Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press on August 2, 2023.
HGTV star Christina Hall promises not to judge your home if you invite her over. “There’s literally zero judgment,” the TV personality said during a recent interview. “Unless you live in a hoarder house or it’s real gross or dirty, I’m not going to care. I’ve lived in different types of houses and places and situations.” As the star of two shows on the network, “Christina on the Coast” and “Christina in the Country,” Hall has a talent for looking at a floorplan and picturing what could be changed to make a space more functional. She enjoys renovating homes more than choosing decor or staging for prospective buyers. “I like doing the big projects,” Hall explained. “I like taking down the walls and I like figuring out floor plans and how to make something more functional. I love choosing kitchen material, but I don’t love choosing furniture.” Hall began her professional career in real estate, where she met her now ex-husband Tarek El Moussa. After spending a few years flipping houses, they got their own HGTV series “Flip or Flop,” showing the process of buying, improving and selling a home for profit. The two divorced in 2018 but continued to work together until 2022 when “Flip or Flop” aired its final episode after 10 seasons. Hall first’s solo TV venture was “Christina on the Coast,” now airing its fourth season. On the show, Hall balances solo projects with her home life in Newport Beach, California. She’s a mother of three and is remarried to Josh Hall, a realtor and former police officer. Her husband is featured on the shows and Hall says, “I think his answer would be it took a minute” to get comfortable on camera. “I feel like it might be weird to be thrown in with me because it comes naturally and I’ve been doing it for a long time.” He looks back at old episodes and is like, “˜Oh, gosh’ and cringing.” The Halls also have a vacation home in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. The TV personality says there’s “a misconception” that she spends more time there than she actually does. When she takes her kids to Tennessee, it’s a getaway. “When we go there, we mostly cook at home, have quiet time and we’ll be on our property,” said Hall. It also serves as the backdrop for “Christina in the Country.” While filming in Tennessee, “We’re packing it in,” explained Hall. “We go next week and we’re filming six straight days, we’re filming very long days, doing six houses. Then there’s something called B stories and it’s a background story of the show. Those are long days and I’m not going to lie, when I get back home I’m wiped out. My schedule in California is a bit easier.” Both “Christina” shows have been renewed for new seasons. Hall has also considered expanding her work to encompass a “Christina Coast to Coast- type show” because, “we can go anywhere” but hesitates from thinking too much about it because she’s busy as is. “Logistically, why it works in Tennessee is because we have a home there. We have clothes there. I don’t pack. We just go,” she said. Hall says a challenge of her job is “everyone wants the same look, especially in California.” “Houses have certain architecture,” she explains. “Unless you’re re-doing the architecture, you can’t have a midcentury modern house and then inside make it a farmhouse.” She’s also noticed a difference in aesthetics working on her two shows. “‘Country’ is more feminine overall, more wallpapers, textures, a bit more glam. For ‘Coast,’ I see more industrial and more modern,” she adds that men seem more interested in the design in her California show while the women take the lead on home decisions in Tennessee. For downtime, the self-professed “extroverted introvert” enjoys reading mystery thrillers and watches TV shows like “Beef” and “Righteous Gemstones” with Josh. She also likes to watch lighter fare including “Ginny & Georgia” and “Firefly Lane” on her own. She says she does get recognized a lot and for the most part “people are respectful” but public encounters can be awkward. “Airports are where you catch people taking videos of you and they’re not very sly about it. Or they Google you right in front of you. Your face is on their phone, and they say, “˜Is this you?'” Hall also says people have sat down at her booth in restaurants and started a conversation. “That’s a little weird,” she said. Her kids are accustomed to camera crews and not shy. She says her son Braeden recently asked to watch all his scenes in “Christina in the Country.” “He was laughing at himself because he’s such a ham.” He asked why he isn’t on the show more and she says she tries not to overdo it. “I try to keep him to short days and doing fun things. The last thing I want is for them to say, “˜I don’t want to do this.'” 20-19
