Heather Rae El Moussa is addressing the criticism toward her recent Valentine’s Day post.
If you missed it, the Selling Sunset alum was called out this week after mentioning everyone in her family but her stepdaughter in her Valentine’s message on Instagram.
Heather is married to Tarek El Moussa, and last February, they welcomed their first child together — a baby boy named Tristan.
Heather is also stepmom to Tarek’s two kids from his previous marriage with Christina Hall: a daughter named Taylor, who is 13, and a son named Brayden, 8.
This week, Heather shared a gushing tribute to her family on Instagram in honor of Valentine’s Day — but while she repeatedly mentioned Brayden, Tristan, and obviously Tarek, she didn’t mention Taylor once.
“Happy Valentine’s day to my boys T, T & B ❤️👼🏻 I have never felt so much love in my life. All 3 keep me on my toes but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Heather wrote alongside a carousel of different photos with Tarek, Tristan, and Brayden.
“I am so thankful to have you as my husband, my best friend and my partner @therealtarekelmoussa . You are my person, and the best daddy I could’ve ever asked for. I love you very much honey,” she added before shouting out her son and stepson one more time: “I love you Tristan and Bray❤️.”
As soon as Heather’s post was shared, several Instagram users questioned why she hadn’t mentioned Taylor at all, especially given that she’d repeatedly expressed her love for her stepson.
“you can wish a girl happy Valentines too. Sad to just say the male kids,” one comment read. “Why wasnt Tay mentioned? Just the boys?” someone wrote.
While some users jumped to Heather’s defense, suggesting that Taylor may have been with her mom on Valentine’s Day instead, others argued that the teenager still should’ve been mentioned somewhere in the post.
“Completely out of touch. It doesn’t matter where Tay was, the fact she didn’t mention her on a day we celebrate our loved ones, shows her character. So inconsiderate,” one person wrote. “I cannot believe you chose to alienate Taylor on Valentine's Day. That is SAD,” another user said.
While tons of users continued to question why Taylor was missing from the post, some people even went on to speculate that there was drama within their household. One person guessed, “She definitely left Taylor out intentionally. If there is drama in the household you could have kept that private instead of intentionally leaving her out, out of spite. Grow up!”
“And what about Taylor. What a way to make her feel less than the boys. It’s 2024… that’s terrible!!!!!” one more comment read.
Well, amid all the backlash, Heather has now responded.
First, Heather took to her Instagram story to share a video of herself and Tarek at Taylor’s volleyball game. Over the footage, she wrote, “Go Tay!!! My forever Galentine.”
She then shared a picture of herself and Taylor embracing and described the 13-year-old as her “#1 gal.”
