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Tarek El Moussa Was in Rehab Before Filing for Divorce From Christina El Moussa (EXCLUSIVE)

Flip or Flop star Tarek El Moussa attended an outpatient rehab for drinking and anger issues last summer, In Touch is reporting exclusively.

Shortly after a May argument that led Chris­tina El Moussa to call 911 after Tarek ran from their home with one of his five guns, Tarek began rehab at an outpatient facility near his Orange County, CA., home, a source reveals, adding that Tarek hoped treatment would help him repair his marriage.

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“He drank and was verbally abusive to Christina, so he needed to take care of his issues,” the source says. “Christina said he needed to get his temper under control.”

What’s more, Tarek and Christina argued about a $40,000 bill for expenses related to “a rehab facility” that he’d received last summer, according to an insider who eye-witnessed the fight.

After he got help, adds the insider, Tarek repeatedly told people on set that “I don’t drink anymore,” “I’m happy Tarek now” and “I’m a new man.”

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The source close to the situation says, “The rehab definitely brought him back to life,” but for Christina, it was too little, too late. “Christina said he did it to try to win her back, to show her that he was changing,” says the source, “but at that point, she was already done with him.” (Both Tarek and Chris­tina did not respond to a request for comment on this.)

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Both Tarek and Christina have not been telling the true story of the days after their marriage came apart. Instead, says the source, they're trying to control their images and minimize the animosity between them so they can maintain the audience for their lucrative hit HGTV series.

“They’re trying to squeeze every last drop out of the franchise,” says a Flip or Flop insider. Adds a network source, “They are absolutely faking it — they’ve been lying to the public since their split.”

Tarek has even been blocking followers who are critical of him and scrubs unfavorable comments from his social media feeds to make it look like all his feedback is positive.

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