Ant Anstead's controversial judging decision came between his ex Christina Haack and her ex Tarek El Moussa in a tense moment which lead to the losing party - and even himself - storming off on the latest episode of The Flip Off.

Anstead, 45, served as a guest judge on episode 4 of the HGTV series, which stars his ex-wife Christina, 41, her first ex-husband Tarek, 43, and his wife Heather El Moussa, 37, as eyebrows were raised when he saw the two exes getting flirty.

The competition was fierce as the sides tied 4-4 in the eight categories for judging but it was Anstead's tie breaker which proved to be disputed.

Anstead said: 'I came into this endeavor thinking this was about assessing and judging based on the performance, the design, the execution, the house. But actually it dawned on me that it was so much more than that.'

He talked about the five-year-old son Hudson that he and Christina share before explaining: 'Hudson is five now. And in those five years, it’s been really, really difficult. And that changed three months ago. 

'The relationship that we have now is really, really important. And it’s been a transformation.'

Earlier in the episode it was revealed that Anstead and Christina had an emotional reunion after splitting from her third husband Josh Hall, 44. 

It seemed like that reconciliation meant so much to Anstead that it skewed his judging as he said: 'As parents, it took us four and a half years to get to that point, which is really shameful. You and I will be connected forever because we have a kid. So ultimately, I have to stand by the mother of my kid.' 

Anstead then finally gave his final decision knowing that the losing team was not going to take it so well.

He explained: 'It’s not gonna be something that you want to hear because unfortunately, it puts Christina and me on the same team forever.

'Because of that, this judge is swayed, she’s on my team and you guys lose.'

Tarek and Heather were predictably very upset by the decision as they said it should either  be considered a draw or there should be another tie breaker. 

Anstead replied: 'My parents raised me in a way that says when you know who your family are you stick with your family. Regardless of rules, regardless of performance, when I left the house this morning, Christina had already won'

Anstead then abruptly gets up and leaves the room leading to Tarek yelling 'come on!' toward him. 

Things get interesting as Christina and Tarek's 14-year-old daughter Taylor walks in as she finds how that her mom won.

Christina gets up to take her kids to dinner as she taunts Tarek and Heather by holding up two of her fingers to signify that they are now tied 2-2 in the competition.

Then Tarek and Heather actually also storm out of Christina's home as they reconvene on the driveway.

However, it is later revealed that Christina and Anstead did not actually leave as they ended up having a secret rendezvous in the kitchen before moving into the backyard as the ex-husband helps the HGTV star strategize.

He tells her: 'Their house is better than yours. It’s in a better location. They’ve done better mods.

'But what this has done is it’s given you a fighting chance. You’ve basically got two more challenges to pull it out of the bag. You need to up your game a big.' 

It was an interesting judging decision as playful banter between Christina and Tarek caught the attention of Ant earlier in the episode.

Christina and Tarek's interactions prompted Anstead to say that the former exes can't stop 'flirting with each other.'

Anstead — who is currently dating Renee Zellweger — joined Christina, Tarek, and Heather at Christina's Newport Beach home in a clip shared by People.

Christina — who recently debuted her new boyfriend, the CEO and president of Network Connex, Christopher Larocca — was seen asking Tarek, 'So were you bothering him or what?' in reference to Anstead.

Tarek then quips, 'Your presence just being around him is bothering him,' to which Christina says, 'No, he's fine.'

Heather then asks, 'I have a question. How is this situation?' as she motions between Anstead and Christina. 

Anstead and Haack recently reconciled after years of strained relations following their divorce. 

However, Anstead avoids Heather's question, instead telling Christina and Tarek, 'Once you guys stop flirting with each other, let's get into it. Cause we're here to do a job.' 

Tarek replies that he is just an 'innocent victim', joking, 'I just sit here and she abuses me.'

Anstead agrees, joking, 'We are both innocent victims.' 

Tarek then jokes about forming a boy band with everyone, seemingly including Christina's most recent ex-husband, Josh Hall, from whom she split in July 2024.

As they all laughed, Anstead doubled down on his 'stop flirting' joke, prompting Heather to warn him, 'Ant, now you’re really going to be in trouble if you keep using that word.' 

Anstead and Christina, who were married from December 2018 to September 2020, settled a heated custody battle over their 5-year-old son, Hudson in 2022.

Christina also shares daughter Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9, with Tarek, to whom she was married from 2009 to 2018. Meanwhile Tarek and Heather, whom he married in 2021, share son Tristan, 2. 

It comes after Haack opened up about a shocking 'emotional embrace' she had with Anstead last year.

The reality TV personality recalled how she unexpectedly reunited with her second husband and how they embraced after four years apart.

Last year, she said Anstead unexpectedly surprised her with a 'huge,' heartfelt hug after he learned about her split from her third husband Josh in July 2024.

In Wednesday's episode of the HGTV star's show The Flip Off, she opened up about the interaction.

'Ant and I split up when Hudson was one and now Hudson is five,' she said in a clip.

'During the time between his first birthday and, I would say, his fifth birthday, we did not communicate a lot,' she recalled.

'After Josh and I split up, I went over to [Ant's] house to pick Hudson up because I was taking him to a birthday party,' she said.

'And when I walked up to the door, he gave me a huge hug,' she continued.

'We hadn't hugged in years.'

She said that was a turning point in their relationship after that heartwarming moment and nice gesture from her ex.

'He just said, "I'm so sorry for everything you're going through and I'm here for you no matter what you need." It was a very nice moment,' she recalled.

'We had a long talk after and we decided to put all the BS aside and be good co-parents, like Tarek and I, for Hudson.'

Later in the same scene, Haack calls her ex to ask him if he would make an appearance on her show was a guest judge.

The new series follows Haack and her design team as they compete in a house flipping competition against the El Moussas, her first husband Tarek and his now-wife Heather.

Tarek and Heather previously opened up about how they were shocked that Haack had recruited her second husband Anstead for the show.

They told People in February that they were caught off guard because they did not know Haack and Anstead were even on speaking terms after their messy divorce and custody battle.

New episodes of The Flip Off air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.