• For seven years, blogger Amanda C. Riley told people she had Hodgkin's lymphoma, but she was lying.
• The mom of two swindled over $100,000 from 349 donors.
• A 2023 podcast and a new docuseries explore "Scamanda" and the fallout of Riley's fake cancer scheme.

In 2012, California-based Christian blogger and mother of two Amanda Christine Riley started "Lymphoma Can Suck It," a since-archived blog documenting her journey after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in her late 20s. She used her blog and social media to publicize her journey with the aggressive form of cancer, winning over sympathy from friends, strangers, and even celebrities who gave her money for her medical treatments.

The only problem? Riley didn't have cancer.

Riley, now 39, never had any cancer treatments because she never had the disease. And according to a criminal complaint filed by now-retired Internal Revenue Service (IRS) special agent Arlette Lee in July 2020, she had used the ruse of the illness to bilk people out of over a total of $100,000.

Riley was the subject of Charlie Webster's hit 2023 podcast "Scamanda," which exposed the blogger's web of lies with the help of Riley's victims, journalists, and law enforcement who worked the case. Now, a new four-part ABC news docuseries of the same name premiering on January 30 delves further into how Riley pulled off her scheme and what ultimately gave her away.

According to Lee's complaint, the former teacher and principal convinced friends, coworkers, a megachurch, and complete strangers (including singer LeAnn Rimes) to donate over $100,000 to her and her family to help cover the cost of her non-existent cancer treatments and travel for experiences she said she wanted to have before she died.

Riley shared on her blog multiple times that she was near death. But each time, she would experience a "terminal miracle" that would inexplicably put her cancer into remission, taking her followers on an emotionally manipulative ride. At one point, Riley even claimed that her pregnancy had "reversed the cancer." (It would always eventually return.)

According to the Department of Justice, Riley collected at least 349 donations over the eight years she perpetrated the fraud. They added up to more than $105,000.

So where is Riley today? The end of her story isn't a miracle, but the consequences she faced are now a part of legal history.

Amanda C. Riley faced repercussions for her fraud — and made legal history

The case wouldn't have happened without the work of investigative producer Nancy Moscatiello, who began an initial investigation into Riley after receiving an anonymous tip via email that she should look into the blogger in the summer of 2015.

Riley quickly went on the offensive, and attempted to sue Moscatiello for civil harassment (the judge threw out the suit).

Moscatiello's own sister had died of cancer, and she dug in, calling the hospitals and clinics Riley claimed to have been treated at, and closely examining the photos she posted on her blog. She took her findings to Jose Martinez, a now-retired San Jose-based financial crimes detective. Martinez contacted a facility where Riley claimed to be treated; an employee confirmed to him that Riley was not and had never been a patient there.

Martinez, realizing his scope was limited to San Jose, eventually passed the case on to the IRS, which had federal jurisdiction. IRS special agent Lee took the case over the line, subpoenaing every facility that Riley mentioned in her blog posts to establish that Riley didn't have cancer.

Even as she was being actively investigated — investigators raided her house in 2016 — Riley continued blogging and maintaining her claim she was being treated for cancer. She also took a job as a principal at Pacific Point, a Christian elementary school, and worked there for about three years, resigning just before federal authorities charged her with wire fraud.

Federal charges were eventually brought against Riley in July 2020, related to financial crimes associated with "a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help her pay for cancer treatments she never needed nor received," the DOJ said.

During the trial, it was revealed just how far Riley went to perpetrate the fraud, including shaving her head to appear as though she was receiving chemotherapy, falsifying medical records, forging physicians' documents, and creating a library of photos depicting her fake cancer journey.

Riley pleaded guilty to wire fraud in October 2021, admitting in the written plea agreement that she knew she did not have Hodgkin's lymphoma and had never been diagnosed or treated with any type of cancer, and that she'd knowingly deceived people to convince them to give her money.

She was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $105,513 and sentenced to 60 months in prison in May 2022.

The case made IRS history for being the first financial conviction of someone who faked cancer for fundraising purposes, according to the "Scamanda" podcast.

Riley is incarcerated at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Ft. Worth, Texas, that houses prisoners at all security levels and specializes in prisoners with mental and physical health needs.

In 2024, Riley's attorney filed a motion for compassionate release, asking for a reduced sentence because of new medical issues Riley claimed to have. The judge denied the motion after the government opposed it, "pointing to evidence that Defendant is once again feigning illness."

Her scheduled release date is October 15, 2026, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

"Scamanda" premieres January 30 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, airing weekly. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.

• An American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter, raising questions about air traffic control.
• Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, said military and civilian pilots usually do not speak directly to each other.
• The FAA faces a shortage of controllers, impacting high-traffic areas like Washington DC.

The crash of an American Airlines flight in Washington, DC, has renewed anxiety about air-traffic control staffing and procedures at US airports, especially in crowded airspaces.

As investigators began to piece together how a military helicopter collided with the regional jet, questions swirled about communication between the pilots and Reagan National Airport's control tower.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an ex-Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, told reporters that military aircraft usually do not talk directly to commercial pilots, as ATC is the responsible intermediary.

"Everybody's listening on the same frequency," she said, adding that the American flight that crashed would have been aware of the Black Hawk helicopter in the skies. "You are listening to instructions from ATC. ATC is telling you what to do."

Duckworth said an FAA briefing involving ATC tapes revealed the helicopter pilots were told about the passenger plane, and the crew confirmed "at least twice" that they had the jet in sight before the crash.

She added that the American flight was cleared to land and would have had the "right of way" and that the Black Hawk was told to pass behind. The flight was in visual flight conditions, meaning the helicopter would be visually searching for the plane.

"They would be looking up to try to find this aircraft, pick it out of the sky as it's coming in for a landing," she said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, some military and civil aircraft, if equipped, can talk to each other using specific emergency frequencies. This is usually reserved for distress situations where immediate communication is necessary. It's unclear if the Black Hawk was equipped.

"[The Black Hawk's] flight path should have been hugging the east bank of the Potomac River, so they should not have been within the flight path of that landing aircraft," she said. "Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on?"

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said the DC area is a unique environment for helicopters and that the Black Hawk was transitioning zones at the time of the crash. ATC is one of the "human factors" the agency will examine as part of its investigation, he said.

Air traffic control is a complex system with many moving parts and no room for errors

The national air traffic system in the US is immense in both size and complexity, 14,000 air traffic controllers handle upwards of 45,000 flights a day across 29 million miles of airspace.

It's an intricate network that includes hundreds of regional and area control centers, each responsible for a specific piece of airspace.

A pilot flying from San Francisco to Washington, DC, for example, could interact with more than 20 different controllers during the flight.

The job is infamous for its high stress and heavy workload, which can involve managing upwards of a dozen flights at a time.

These stressors are amplified for airports like Ronald Reagan National. The airport has strict flight paths and altitude restrictions. It handles more than 25 million passengers a year and is located in highly trafficked and highly controlled airspace, as it is near the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.

The airport has seen multiple near misses recently, including a Southwest Airlines flight that was instructed to cross the same runway on which a JetBlue plane was starting its take-off.

A month later, an American Airlines flight was cleared for takeoff at the same time another plane was given the go-ahead to land on an intersecting runway.

Controllers working the airspace in and around Reagan National also have to handle an extraordinary amount of private and military aircraft that operate in the area.

The situation is exacerbated by a shortage of around 3,000 air traffic controllers, which the FAA has worked to address with plans to hire 1,800 controllers in 2024 and 2,000 this year.

• Mark Zuckerberg addressed several recent policy changes in a company all-hands meeting on Thursday.
• Zuckerberg admitted that the company was slow to respond to TikTok's rapid growth.
• The CEO also told employees to "buckle up" for an "intense" year ahead.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the company was slow to respond to TikTok's meteoric rise because executives didn't view it as truly social, offering a rare window into how the tech giant missed one of social media's biggest shifts in recent years.

"When I look back on TikTok, I think part of the reason why we were slow to it is because we didn't think TikTok was social," Zuckerberg said in a recording of an all-hands meeting obtained by Business Insider. "We looked at it and we thought, 'Oh, this is like, a little more like YouTube.'"

The admission came in response to an employee's question about whether Meta's current focus on artificial intelligence might cause the company to miss the next major social media trend, as it did with TikTok.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Zuckerberg explained at the meeting that Meta's traditional view of social interaction — centered around friends posting content and commenting — caused the company to initially misread TikTok's appeal. The company failed to recognize how users were sharing TikTok content through private messages, which has become a crucial form of social interaction across Meta's platforms.

"Because we were too dismissive up front, it wasn't just about people commenting in the feed. It was about people seeing stuff in their feed and then sharing it into message threads," Zuckerberg said, referring to the company's instant messaging platforms WhatsApp, Messenger, and direct messaging in Instagram, where "the majority of social interaction is happening."

Zuckerberg also addressed TikTok's uncertain future in the US. President Trump signed an executive order on January 20 that gave TikTok 75 more days to operate in the US, as owner ByteDance will either have to divest from TikTok or it will be banned in the US.

"We don't have control of what's going to happen to Tiktok," Zuckerberg said. "We have a lot of competitors, but they're an important one. So, who's gonna own Tiktok at the end of the year? What's gonna happen? I mean, that's a pretty big deal, something that's a card that we get to turn over."

Looking ahead, Zuckerberg emphasized that the company needs to avoid taking "too narrow of a view" of social interaction as it navigates the emergence of AI. He outlined a vision for AI-powered features in Facebook and Instagram feeds, including interactive AI agents that users can converse with and more immersive content experiences.

"I think the next trend here is there're going to be things that either AI can produce, that we can just put in there... I think this year we're gonna have stuff where it's like, okay, you have an AI agent, and you can just start talking to it," Zuckerberg said.

The Meta chief also pushed back against concerns that the company's AI investments might detract from its core social media business, noting that as a large company, Meta needs to be able to "walk and chew gum at the same time."

"If we can't build Facebook and [the] next platform at the same time, then, like, eventually game over," he said.

Do you work at Meta? Contact this reporter from a nonwork email and device at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach him securely via Signal at +1408-905-9124. Your identity will be protected.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's latest model in an all-hands.
• The Meta chief praised its "novel infrastructure optimization advances" in a recording seen by BI.
• Zuckerberg also said it would "benefit" Meta as it can implement some of DeepSeek's methods.

Though DeepSeek may have caused panic among tech investors this week, Meta executives told staff on Thursday that the Chinese startup's breakthrough could ultimately benefit Meta's AI ambitions in the long run.

In a Q&A during a Thursday company all-hands, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked for his thoughts on DeepSeek and how Meta should respond or pivot its infrastructure spend to set itself up for success, according to a recording reviewed by Business Insider.

Zuckerberg responded that he doesn't think it changes the company's infrastructure spend.

"DeepSeek had a few pretty novel infrastructure optimization advances, which, fortunately, they published them, so we can not only observe what they did, but we can read about it and implement it, so that'll benefit us," Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg also said that it's "always interesting when there's someone who does something better than you" and that it motivates him to "make sure we're on it."

Last week, Zuckerberg announced in social media posts on Meta platforms that the company will spend $60 billion to $65 billion in additional capital investment for the year and said 2025 will be a "defining year for AI."

Nvidia, which builds AI chips, plunged in value this week amid a $1 trillion tech sell-off in the markets over fears that DeepSeek had leapfrogged US AI labs, as the Chinese startup said its R1 model rivaled OpenAI's o1 across several benchmarks and that it was built for a fraction of the cost and compute power.

DeepSeek's claims have caused investors to question Big Tech firms' spending on AI infrastructure, and shares plummetted. By Wednesday, tech stocks had partially recovered.

Meta CFO Susan Li told staff on Thursday that Meta was "seen as more insulated" from DeepSeek's market impact than other companies because it didn't rely on selling its own open-source AI model, Llama, to generate revenue.

"Does it mean that over the longer run, Meta will have to spend less on infrastructure investment or get more for their existing their existing investment?" Li said. "That's definitely sort of what I've heard so far in a few calls since the earnings call yesterday with our analysts and our investors in terms of parsing where reactions are."

Meta declined to comment.

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President Trump on Thursday reiterated that tariffs are coming against Canada and Mexico on Saturday, though he said the scope of those levies is still up in the air.

Why it matters: Canada and Mexico are the top U.S. trading partners, and his ongoing tariff threats have sparked fears of an economically damaging trade war.

Catch up quick: In a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed his previously stated plan to impose tariffs on Feb. 1.

• "Mexico and Canada have never been good to us on trade. They've treated us very unfairly on trade," Trump said, adding: "We don't need what they have."
• The U.S., Mexico and Canada have been joint parties to free trade agreements for decades, first NAFTA and then the USMCA.

Yes, but: The president left the door open to the possibility the tariffs would not be blanket levies on all imports; specifically, he said Canadian oil imports might be exempt.

• "We may or may not, we're going to make that determination tonight," he told reporters.

By the numbers: Trump has previously spoken of a 25% tariff on both countries.

• S&P Global Ratings, in a research report Thursday, said those levies would most affect the Mexican auto industry and the Canadian paper and rubber industries, among others.
• Both nations are expected to retaliate in some way if Trump goes ahead with his plan.
• The U.S. dollar rose to its strongest levels against the Canadian dollar in five years after his statement.

The intrigue: Trump had previously spoken of a 10% tariff on China as of Feb. 1, as well, but he wasn't as firm Thursday on proceeding with that levy.

• Instead he said he was "thinking about doing something" because of the alleged volumes of fentanyl coming to the U.S. from China.
• "China is going to end up paying a tariff also for that and we're in the process of doing that … we'll make that determination what it's going to be."

• Microsoft has started performance-based job cuts, according to termination letters seen by BI.
• The letters state benefits stop immediately. Ex-employees also say they won't receive severance.
• As BI reported earlier this month, Microsoft is taking a stronger stance on performance management.

Microsoft has started performance-based job cuts, according to termination letters viewed by Business Insider.

Employees losing their jobs will see healthcare benefits end immediately, the letters state. In three specific cases, employees were told by Microsoft they're not getting severance, according to people familiar with the situation. These people asked not to be identified discussing sensitive topics.

"The reason(s) for the termination of your employment include your job performance has not met minimum performance standards and expectations for your position," the letters viewed by BI state. "You are relieved of all job duties effective immediately and your access to Microsoft systems, accounts, and buildings will be removed effective today. You are not to perform any further work on behalf of Microsoft."

The letters do not mention severance, but note that medical, prescription, and dental benefits end on the last day of employment. The letters also say that Microsoft will consider past performance and termination if the person applies for other jobs at the company in the future.

As BI reported earlier this month, Microsoft is taking a stronger stance on performance management like its competitors and managers at the company have spent the past few months evaluating employees all the way up to level 80, one of its highest levels. A company spokesperson declined to comment on Thursday.

A Microsoft spokesperson previously confirmed the job cuts, stating that when people leave for performance reasons, Microsoft often backfills the roles, so there may be little change to the company's overall headcount. At the end of June, Microsoft had roughly 228,000 full-time employees.

"At Microsoft we focus on high performance talent," the spokesperson said. "We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action."

Microsoft also this month started cutting jobs across organizations including Security, Experiences and Devices, sales, and gaming, according to two people familiar with the matter. At the time, a spokesperson said those layoffs were separate from the performance-based cuts.

Read an excerpt from Microsoft's performance-based termination letters:

"The reason(s) for the termination of your employment include your job performance has not met minimum performance standards and expectations for your position. You are relieved of all job duties effective immediately and your access to Microsoft systems, accounts, and buildings will be removed effective today. You are not to perform any further work on behalf of Microsoft.

Note: If you apply for employment at Microsoft in the future, your past performance and basis of termination will be considered.

You must immediately return your Microsoft cardkey, corporate American Express card, phone card, and any other Microsoft property, including but not limited to hardware, software, email files, source code, customer contact information, financial data, status reports, or any other proprietary or confidential data or trade secret information that you have in your possession to me.

You are bound by the terms of your Microsoft Employee Agreement to return such materials and to protect Microsoft confidential information after termination of your employment. If any such materials are stored on any personal device (including, without limitation, computers, mobile phones, tablets, storage devices) you are required to permanently delete them."

Are you a Microsoft employee, or do you have insight to share? Contact the reporter Ashley Stewart via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]). Use a nonwork device.

• Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa tied the knot in October 2021.
• They welcomed their first child together in January 2023.
• The El Moussas are starring in "The Flip Off" alongside Tarek's ex, Christina Haack.

Heather Rae El Moussa and Tarek El Moussa have been inseparable since they met on a boat in July 2019.

Nearly six years later, Tarek, 43, and Heather, 37, are married, have welcomed their first child, and now star in two HGTV series together.

Here's a timeline of their relationship, from their whirlwind meeting to new real-estate projects.

January 2018: Tarek El Moussa was single for the first time in nearly a decade.

Tarek El Moussa married Christina Haack in 2009. They starred in HGTV's "Flip or Flop" and have two children, Taylor, 14, and Brayden, 9.

The couple separated in 2016, seven months after police were called to their house because of "a call of a possibly suicidal male with a gun," TMZ reported at the time. Tarek was seen running from his home with a firearm, which he dropped after police told him from a helicopter to release it, TMZ reported.

"Like many couples, we have had challenges in our marriage," Tarek and Haack said in a statement to People on the matter. "We had an unfortunate misunderstanding about six months ago, and the police were called to our house in an abundance of caution. There was no violence, and no charges were filed."

Tarek addressed the incident in his 2024 book "Flip Your Life," saying he decided to go on a walk after a fight with Haack and was carrying the gun to protect himself from wildlife.

In a February 2024 conversation with Business Insider, he also described his divorce from Haack as "the most difficult period" of his life, particularly because of the media attention their separation received.

"I don't know what it was about me and Christina, but we got so much press for years, and it just wouldn't slow down," he said. "It wouldn't go away."

Tarek and Haack's divorce was finalized in January 2018, and he went on to star in "Flipping 101" solo. "Flip or Flop" ended in 2022.

July 4, 2019: Tarek and Heather met on a boat.

As the couple shared on the "Not Skinny Not Fat" podcast, Tarek and Heather first connected when he slid into Heather's Instagram DMs a few months before she started filming Netflix's "Selling Sunset." He asked her out, but she said no because she had a boyfriend at the time.

On July 4, 2019, Tarek and Heather, who was then single, were cruising on separate boats off the coast of Newport Beach, California, for the holiday, according to People.

When their boats were docked near each other, Heather came onto Tarek's boat to speak to a mutual friend. Sparks flew, and Tarek asked Heather on a date again. This time, she said yes.

July 28, 2019: The pair were first spotted in public together.

TMZ captured photos of Heather and Tarek kissing in Redondo Beach, California. 

August 8, 2019: Heather and Tarek confirmed their relationship on Instagram.

The pair announced their relationship with matching Instagram photos. 

"It's official," Tarek captioned his post. "After more than 3 years on my own I'm so PROUD to say that this beautiful, sweet and talented young lady is my girlfriend."

"I'll be honest and say I never thought I would meet someone special in my life after the last three years," he went on to write. "Then...out of the blue @heatherraeyoung walked into my life."

Heather said she was "so proud to call" Tarek her boyfriend in her post.

"This incredible man @therealtarekelmoussa came into my life at the perfect time and I haven't stopped smiling since," she wrote. "I am so proud to call him my boyfriend, I just look at him in awe at what an amazing, talented and kind human he is."

August 8, 2019: Tarek revealed he had introduced Heather to his children.

On the same day that they announced their relationship, Tarek and Heather did an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

In the interview, Tarek shared that he introduced Heather to his family, including his two children, the night before.

"I introduced her to my kids last night for the first time," he said in the interview. "My mom, my dad, my mom's husband, my sister. So, we're doing it! Very excited."

Tarek also said in the interview that Heather was everything he didn't know he had been missing.

"I just went through some pretty traumatic things in my life and honestly I was very happy being comfortable on my own and I didn't realize what I was missing until I found what I was missing," he told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "I was sad for a very long time; I was alone for a very long time, and I feel like she's really brought me back to life, which is very, very fun to say."

August 21, 2019: Heather met Tarek's TV crew in honor of this birthday.

The crew members Tarek works with on HGTV surprised him with a birthday cake and rendition of "Happy Birthday" to celebrate his 38th birthday, as he documented in an Instagram post.

Heather was with him during the surprise, and Tarek introduced her to the crew as his "birthday present" after saying it was the "best birthday ever."

September 5, 2019: Tarek shared that he introduced Heather to his ex-wife.

The "Flipping 101" star revealed that Heather and Haack had already met during an appearance on "GMA3."

As he told hosts Michael Strahan, Keke Palmer, and Sara Haines, Haack and Heather met when he and Heather went to pick up his kids. He only gave both women five minutes' notice that they would be meeting.

"I was like, 'Oh, I'm coming over to see the kids. By the way, my girlfriend is coming. See you in five!'" Tarek said of what he told Haack.

"I looked at Heather, and I was like, 'Are you ready?' And she was like, 'Ready for what?' I was like, 'Well, we're going to go see the kids, and my ex-wife is there,'" he said.

Tarek added that he and Haack had not formally discussed his new relationship before the two women met, but they "got along great."

"They both eat that healthy, hippie food," he joked. "They do that weird hiking stuff."

November and December 2019: They spent their first holiday season together.

Heather and Tarek went to Amsterdam and Paris for their first Thanksgiving together, as they documented on Instagram.

A month later, they spent Christmas Day with Tarek's children. 

"My heart is so full of love," Heather wrote in an Instagram post about the day. "@therealtarekelmoussa and the kids have changed my life more than I can even describe. This is our first Christmas together and it's one I'll never forget."

"I just adore Tarek's family so much," she added.

January 29, 2020: The couple announced they were living together.

Tarek announced on Instagram that he and Heather had been living together "for a while" at the end of January 2020. He said they split their time between a home in West Hollywood and another in Orange County.

"The best part is I now have someone to go to bed with and wake up to every day," he wrote. "The better part is that person is @heatherraeyoung."

Tarek later revealed in another Instagram post that he and Heather moved in together "less than a week after our first date."

July 22, 2020: Heather and Tarek celebrated their first anniversary.

Both Tarek and Heather took to Instagram to celebrate one year together.

"From the first day I met you, to our first date and our second date when we decided to commit 100% before we barely even knew each other. But we knew what we had was special. We had that butterflies in your tummy, can't eat, can't stop smiling soul mate love," Heather captioned her post. "You are my very best friend in the whole world. The man I look up to, admire, adore, best daddy, best heart, kind & most important loyal and honest."

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," she added. 

Tarek echoed Heather's post, saying he would be "lost" without her.

"The second our eyes connected and we smiled at each other I knew my life would never be the same," he wrote. "She is incredible in every way possible and most importantly she loves and adores Tay and Bray."

"I just love you to the moon and back. You are my everything and you complete me. I'd be lost without you," Tarek said of Heather.

July 26, 2020: Tarek proposed to Heather.

The couple announced their engagement with matching Instagram posts.

Tarek popped the question on the beach, which Heather said was a complete surprise in a follow-up post.

Tarek told People he knew he wanted to make Heather his wife after seeing how she was with his children.

"We were sitting on the boat one day, and I looked over, and she had Taylor in one arm and Brayden in the other arm, and they're all three cuddling," he said. "That was the moment I knew I had to make her my wife and bring her into the family." 

People also reported that Tarek proposed with an eight-carat diamond. The emerald-cut ring sits on a gold band.

September 2020: The engaged couple bought their first home together.

The pair bought a home in Newport Beach, California, where they first met, as People reported.

"Tarek originally bought it as a flip but then they decided to make it their new home," a representative for the couple told People at the time.

February 2021: Heather got a tattoo in Tarek's honor.

As US Weekly reported, Heather revealed on Instagram that she got a tattoo on her hip that read, "Yes sir, Mr. El Moussa" as a Valentine's Day present for her fiancé. 

She later deleted the post after fans reacted with mixed reviews, according to People.

July 2021: Tarek reportedly compared his ex to Heather on the set of "Flip or Flop."

People reported that Tarek yelled at Christina Haack on the "Flip or Flop" set and compared her to Heather.

"Look at me, look at me, look at me. It's called winning," Tarek said to Haack, according to People. The publication also reported that he called his ex-wife a "washed-up loser" during the incident.

August 14, 2020: Heather and Tarek got a puppy together.

The couple added their puppy Bugz to their family as a surprise for Taylor and Brayden, as Tarek wrote on his Instagram.

"It's one of those moments where you know your kids will look back on it and remember it forever," he wrote.

October 23, 2021: Heather and Tarek got married.

The couple got married near Santa Barbara, California, with Heather wearing a Galia Lahav gown. They filmed the wedding for an HGTV special, "Tarek & Heather: The Big I Do."

"I'm a WIFE!!! Yesterday feels like a dream… so perfect, filled with so much love and magic," Heather captioned an Instagram post about the event. "Truly everything I've ever wanted and more. I love you so much @therealtarekelmoussa and now I get to say we're officially MARRIED!!"

Heather also shared on Instagram that she and Tarek said vows to his children during the wedding.

"When your daddy and I decided to be fully committed, I was 100% committing myself to you too," Heather said she told the kids in her vows. "I am beyond honored to be your 'bonus' mommy. Thank you for allowing me to love your daddy with all my heart. I love you both more than you will ever know."

January 2022: Heather started freezing her eggs as she and Tarek family planned.

Heather told Today that she didn't think she wanted to have children until she met Tarek.

Heather went on to tell Today that she found out she had a low egg count in her 20s, so she decided to freeze her eggs and create embryos through IVF after they got married to transfer in the summer of 2022. Heather documented the process on social media.

"I'm glad I decided to share my story on Instagram because struggling with infertility can feel very isolating," she told Today. "I also want to encourage women to think about their fertility in their 20s."

April 2022: The El Moussas got matching tattoos.

On April 12, Heather posted a black-and-white photo on Instagram of fresh tattoos on her and Tarek's arms.

Both were inked with "10.23.2021," their wedding date, on their forearms. Heather's wrist had a smaller "TEM" tattoo, while Tarek's had "HEM" in the same place to represent each other's initials. 

May 11, 2022: The El Moussas turned over a new leaf with Haack after a medical emergency.

In March 2022, "Flip or Flop" ended amid reports that filming had become "too intimate" for Tarek and Haack to film.

Then, Heather seemed to confirm that Tarek had compared her and Haack during the "Selling Sunset" reunion, which aired on May 6, 2022.

Just three days later, the Daily Mail published photos of Heather and Haack at Brayden's soccer game, in which the pair appeared to be arguing. In separate photos, a coach seemed to be separating Tarek from Josh Hall.

Heather and Haack released a joint statement on May 11, saying they had resolved "a personal matter." On May 13, they posed for a photo together and said they were focused on co-parenting after Brayden underwent an emergency appendectomy, which Haack said was a "wake-up call."

June 22, 2022: HGTV announced a new series about the couple.

HGTV announced the series "The Flipping El Moussas" in a press release provided to Business Insider.

The press release said the show would document Tarek and Heather combining their home flipping and renovation skills, as well as their IVF journey, a move, and a renovation. 

"We are so excited to bring viewers into our world to see the ins and outs of our day-to-day lives," the El Moussas said in a statement included in the same press release.

"As busy parents and successful real estate experts, fans can watch us as we go from making breakfast for the kids in the morning, to making business deals by the afternoon," the statement said. "The cameras are capturing our journey like never before and we can't wait to share it all."

"Bringing our expertise together from each of our worlds has been so much fun," Tarek and Heather wrote in an Instagram post about the series. "We are working on all new flipping projects - from multimillion-dollar homes in Los Angeles to a tiny cabin in Big Bear, California, and everything in between that we cannot wait to share with you."

"We'll also be giving a little peek into our everyday lives with the kids, our loved ones and our journey to grow our family," the post went on to say.

July 13, 2022: Heather and Tarek announced they were expecting their first child together.

The El Moussas announced on Instagram that they were expecting a baby in early 2023.

They opened up about the pregnancy to People, saying it was a "huge shock" because they were scheduling an appointment to implant an embryo via IVF when Heather found out she was pregnant naturally. 

"We just weren't expecting this," Heather told People. "We had just gone through IVF. We had embryos on ice. We had a plan."

"I think when you least expect it, and there's no stress in your life, the world just brought us what was meant to be," she added. "I'm so excited that it happened like this."

July 24, 2022: The El Moussas announced they were having a boy.

Tarek and Heather shared that their third child would be a son with an Instagram reel in which they popped blue confetti poppers alongside Brayden and Taylor. 

Heather posted on her story that she was "shaking" and her heart was racing ahead of the reveal.

January 31, 2023: Heather and Tarek welcomed their first son together.

Heather and Tarek announced on Instagram that their son, Tristan El Moussa, was born on January 31, 2023.

Speaking to Business Insider just over a month after Tristan's birth, Heather said her close bond with Taylor and Brayden made her want to have a child.

"They're very special kids, and I'm so in love with them, and that's what made me want to have a baby, as well as my love for Tarek," Heather said. "This is the kind of relationship you dream of and hope for. I found the love of my life, and I wanted to create a beautiful baby with him."

March 2, 2023: "The Flipping El Moussas" premiered on HGTV.

The series spotlighted the couple flipping homes, and it gave peeks at their home life together as well.

Ahead of the premiere, the couple told BI that working together only made them closer.

"We love being together," Heather told BI. "Tarek and I really trust each other, and we value each other and respect each other."

The show was confirmed for a second season in July 2023, and it premiered in December 2024.

May 15, 2024: The El Moussas announced they were teaming up with Haack on a new series.

HGTV announced it would reunite Haack and Tarek on-screen alongside their new spouses in a house-flipping competition series called "The Flip Off."

In the show, the El Moussas were set to compete against Haack and Hall to see who could make the most money off of a flip. However, Haack and Hall split in July 2024 after filming had begun, so Haack ended up competing in the series solo.

Tarek and Heather expressed their support for Haack amid her divorce to paparazzi on July 23, 2024, as E! News reported.

"We support her," Heather said.

"Whatever she needs, we're here to help," Tarek echoed.

January 29, 2025: "The Flip Off" premiered on HGTV.

The series premiere featured some dramatic moments, including an emotional conversation between Tarek and Haack about her divorce.

Although they're competing against each other on the show, Haack and the El Moussas seem to be on good terms, with Haack and Heather hugging each other on the show.

The El Moussas and Haack even told BI before the premiere that they were open to flipping a house as a team.

• Anthony Mackie faced backlash for comments he made about Captain America.
• Mackie suggested Captain America should not solely represent America, sparking controversy.
• He's not the first actor who played the role to downplay the "America" aspect of the character.

Anthony Mackie's Captain America will be on the big screen for the first time in Marvel's new movie "Captain America: Brave New World" after taking the iconic shield in the Disney+ series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" in 2021.

But Mackie's moment in the spotlight has already been marred by controversy ahead of the movie's February 14 opening when comments he made about his character landed him in hot water.

"To me, Captain America represents a lot of different things and I don't think the term 'America' should be one of those representations," Mackie told a live audience in Rome on Monday on the film's press tour.

"It's about a man who keeps his word," he continued. "Who has honor, dignity, and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable."

Mackie also called the opportunity to play the character "a dream coming true."

While the comments could be interpreted as Mackie's attempt to cater to an international audience, the footage went viral and some Americans weren't happy.

The backlash was immediate, but Mackie isn't the first to downplay the 'America' aspect of the character

The response to Mackie's comments was swift.

Users on X had responses that ranged from, "Well, his name is Captain America. He represents American values. Get used to it," to "Strange take."

Others deemed the movie anti-American and called for a boycott of "Brave New World."

Mackie is not the first Captain America to downplay the "America" in the character's name.

Chris Evans, who bowed out of playing the role for nearly a decade following 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," told CBM in 2011 that he was trying not to "get too lost in the American side" of the character.

"This isn't a flag-waving movie. It is red, white, and blue, but it just so happens that the character was created in America during wartime, when there was a common enemy, even though it is Captain America," he said.

"I've said before in interviews that it feels more like he should just be called Captain Good. You know, he was created at a time when there was this undeniable evil, and this guy was kind of created to fight that evil. I think that everyone could agree that Nazis were bad, and he, Cap, just so happens to wear the red, white, and blue."

Evans didn't receive any backlash from these comments.

Mackie has since clarified his remarks

In a statement on his Instagram Stories, Mackie responded to the backlash Tuesday.

"Let me be clear about this, I'm a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime," he wrote. "I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to."

Reps for Mackie did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

"Captain America: Brave New World" also stars Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, and Giancarlo Esposito.