Christina El Moussa Reveals the Heartbreaking Moment She Told Her Daughter About Split: ‘She Asked If We Could Get Back Together’

Flip or Flop’s Christina El Moussa opens up about her very public divorce and why she’s “genuinely happy” for the first time in years. Subscribe now for the exclusive interview — only in PEOPLE!

After Christina El Moussa quietly separated from her husband Tarek last May, the HGTV star says it wasn’t easy to explain the split to her 6-year-old daughter Taylor.

At first “we just tried to be really vague,” Christina tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “We’re always remodeling our house or the yard, so when I moved out with the kids temporarily, we didn’t really get into it, and she didn’t ask.”

Watch the full episode of PEOPLE’s Cover Story: Christina El Moussa, streaming now on People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the app for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, Xfinity, iOS and Android devices.

Later when the couple decided that reconciliation was not an option, “Taylor asked if we could get back together,” she recalls. “We had to explain that sometimes couples get divorced but that she and Brayden are our No. 1 priority. We’ll always be a family.”

The couple secretly split last May after a terrifying incident at her home in which Tarek fled the house with a gun. Since then the pair has lived apart.

For more from Christina El Moussa on how she’s coping with divorce in the spotlight, co-parenting and continuing to work with her ex, Tarek, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

While their marriage may be over, the El Moussas are determined to stick together for their family and their business.

“Our kids are amazing … our kids are transitioning well,” Christina said Tuesday during an appearance on Good Morning America. “Tarek and I are friends and we have a lot of support from our family. The kids are doing great.”