Heather Rae El Moussa will always defend her kids.
The HGTV star, 37, spoke with PEOPLE about her partnership with Orgain earlier this month and opened up about the countless comments she receives about not including her stepdaughter Taylor, 14, in some of her family’s photos.
Heather, who shares son Tristan, 2, with husband Tarek El Moussa, 43, and is stepmom to Tarek’s two kids Taylor and Brayden, 9, explained that in her mind, she’s just trying to honor boundaries that her stepdaughter has set.
“She’s a human. Children are humans. They can have boundaries. They should have boundaries,” said Heather. “And I think very early on, even with Tristan, it was like I introduced everybody to Tristan before I even let them hold him.”
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“He is a person, and it’s important that we remember that children have their own voice and they can set their own boundaries, as they should,” she continued. “And Taylor’s a very strong woman and she doesn’t want to be in photos and videos right now at this time in her life.”
“And who are we to push her and make her do that? So it’s respecting her,” added the proud mom.
Earlier this spring, Heather shared a few photos from her family’s desert vacation in an Instagram, which featured shots of Heather’s blended family, including her husband Tarek and his ex-wife Christina Haack, 41.
Although Taylor was not pictured in any of the photos, Heather made sure to share that she was on the vacation with them — and that she was just respecting her stepdaughter’s wishes.
In the caption of her post, Heather made sure to emphasize that everyone was present for the Easter celebration. “Easter in the desert with the whole crew — yes, the whole crew!!” Heather captioned the post. “Feeling extra grateful for our big, blended, and chaotic family. From egg hunts to pool days, it was a full weekend that we know the kids will remember.”
She concluded her caption by confirming, “and yes Tay is here too….she doesn’t want to be pictured.”
This wasn’t the first time Heather has addressed comments from fans about Taylor – back in February 2024, the Selling Sunset alum shared pictures of all her loved ones in honor of Valentine’s Day, but didn’t include Taylor.
After receiving backlash, Heather shared a statement on her Instagram Stories about why she’d excluded her stepdaughter from the public post.
“We close our ears to the pettiness. We strive for positivity only. My girl knows she’s my #1 gal,” she wrote over a photo of her hugging Taylor.
In addition to the photo, the real estate agent recorded a clip of her and Tarek watching Taylor’s volleyball game, and captioned it: “Go Tay!!! My forever galentine.”
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