Heather Rae El Moussa’s birthday dinner was extra special this year.
“Feeling so loved this birthday✨,” El Moussa, 38, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, September 16, alongside a photo of her entire blended family. “Spent the whole day surrounded by the people I love most💕 My heart couldn’t be more full.”
She added, “P.S. Tristan’s reaction to the ‘new addition’ at dinner was priceless😂👀👀,” seemingly referring to the teenage boy standing next to her stepdaughter, Taylor, 14, in the picture.
In addition to Taylor — who is rarely shown on Heather’s social media accounts — Heather’s celebration crew included husband Tarek El Moussa, their son, Tristan, 2, Tarek’s ex-wife, Christina Haack, and her boyfriend, Christopher Larocca.
Tarek, 44, and Christina’s son, Brayden, 10, was also on hand to toast his stepmom’s birthday, as was Haack’s youngest child, son Hudson, 6, whom she shares with ex-husband Ant Anstead.
Heather’s cheeky caption also pointed out that there was a new member to the party squad, an unnamed boy.
Larocca poked fun at Tristan’s reaction to the young man, who appears to be Taylor’s date, in the comments section. “Happy birthday! I love the picture Tristan‘s like who dat?!” he wrote.
Haack, 42, jokingly added, “Best reaction ever🧐🕵️♂️.”
While it’s not unusual for Heather and Tarek to spend time with Haack — the trio star on HGTV’s The Flip Off — and her boyfriend, Taylor has become more private as she’s grown up.
In fact, Heather previously revealed in September 2024 that she consciously decided to stop posting photos of her stepdaughter on social media.
Heather Rae El Moussa (née Young) is not here for the haters — especially when it comes to her son and stepkids. “We close your ears to the pettiness,” Heather, 36, captioned an Instagram Story post on Thursday, February 15. “We strive for positivity only. My girl knows she’s my #1 gal.” In the photo, […]
“We have to respect her wishes,” Heather exclusively told Us Weekly of keeping Taylor off her Instagram page. “I get shunned because it’s like, ‘You never put Taylor on anything. You only post the boys.’ Well, she’s a teenager. She has her own voice and she’s at school all the time and the boys are easy. They don’t mind being in photos.”
Heather explained, “I get all this hate because I don’t post [Taylor]. I’m like, ‘Well, I’m respecting my stepdaughter’s wishes.’”
Tarek had his wife’s back, telling Us that when it comes to posting photos of his daughter online, “She won’t let us.”
“That’s the answer,” he added.
Since then, Heather has shared a photo or two of Taylor, but only on special occasions, such as her birthday or school graduations.
Because Taylor appearing in photos from Heather’s birthday dinner is rare, it was fun for fans to see how the family reacted to Taylor’s guest for the evening.
“We have a new member of the family tonight,” Haack teased via an Instagram Story video on Wednesday, which featured her and Heather together.
Heather asked, “Should we show them?” before she turned the camera onto the table to reveal Taylor and her mystery pal. “Gang’s all here!” she teased.
“Such a good birthday,” Heather added via her Instagram Story with a red heart emoji.