Starting from scratch! Tarek El Moussa is used to having to gut single-family homes, but in 2016, it was his marriage to wife Christina that just wasn’t up to code — and after seven years of marriage, the Flip or Flop stars, who share children Taylor, 8, and Brayden, 3, announced they were filing for divorce.

“It was an awful process,” Tarek told Life & Style magazine at the LA Mission Gala in Beverly Hills on Oct. 25. “[But it also] caused me to be a much better dad. My goal in life is to be the best dad possible because everything I do is going to affect them, and I want them to be awesome.” As for the secret to co-parenting with Christina, 35? “You could hate each other, but you never involve the kids, and you never ever use the kids to hurt the other person,” insists Tarek, 37. “I want my kids to know that me and Mom are OK, we can do things together. I want to do Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving together because it’s still my family.”

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While Christina celebrates her one-year anniversary with her boyfriend, British TV host Ant Anstead, Tarek has yet to find love again. “I can’t even imagine being in a relationship right now,” the HGTV hunk says. “Divorce was tough, and I’m still recovering, you know?”

Despite their messy split, Tarek and Christina seem to be getting along much better these days. Back in June, Christina opened up about what Tarek thinks of Ant. “Ant comes to the kids’ soccer games, and [Tarek has] met Ant multiple times and he likes him. He thinks he’s a good guy,” she told Access Live. Besides successfully co-parenting, the real estate agents are also able to make it work on a professional level on their HGTV show, proving moving on is possible!

For more on this story, pick up the latest issue of Life & Style Weekly, on newsstands now!