Making decisions. Flip or Flop star Christina Anstead and husband Ant Anstead shocked fans when they announced their split on Friday, September 18, but it seems the couple took time to consider the strength of their relationship before deciding to call it quits. “When Ant went back to see his family in the U.K. last month, and Christina stayed at home, they had time to reflect,” an insider tells Life & Style exclusively.

Though the Wheeler Dealers host, 41, yearns for his home country at times, it wasn’t the catalyst for the split. “Ant misses the U.K. — and [daughter] Amelie and [son] Archie — and was sad to leave but apparently that isn’t the reason they broke up,” the source noted. “As far as I know, Ant is not moving back to the U.K.”

Christina Anstead and Ant Anstead
Courtesy of Christina Anstead/Instagram

The car enthusiast has built a foundation in the United States and intends on sticking around. “His life is in California now and he has Hudson to think about, who he’s obsessed with,” the insider added of the 1-year-old son he shares with the HGTV star, 37. “Although he does feel homesick at times. He misses his family and old friends.”

“The cracks in Christina and Ant’s marriage began to surface recently but friends didn’t expect them to split. They’re really shocked that it has come to this,” the source said.

Christina announced the “difficult decision to separate” on Instagram on Friday. “We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority,” she captioned a photo of the exes walking on the beach. “We appreciate your support and ask for privacy for us and our family as we navigate the future.”

The split seemingly surprised everyone in the former couple’s circle — but ultimately, their differences may have lead to the demise of their marriage, nearly two years after tying the knot in December 2018.

“No one saw this coming. I’m hearing that Christina and Ant just grew apart,” a second insider exclusively explained to Life & Style. “They’re very different people from totally different backgrounds, and that definitely played a factor. Friends say Ant was the first one who started having feelings about splitting.”

The reality stars welcomed their first child together in September 2019. Christina is also mother to daughter Taylor, 9, and son Brayden, 5, from her previous marriage to cohost Tarek El Moussa.