Christina Haack has a reputation for moving on quickly post-divorce, but even for her, something felt off when her third ex-husband, Josh Hall, proposed to her. The former couple first met in February 2021, and they were engaged by August of that year. During a recent interview with People, Christina revealed that Josh actually proposed to her prior to their engagement, but she said no the first time. He reportedly didn’t take the rejection well at all. In retrospect, Christina definitely sees it as a “red flag.”
At this point, you’ve probably heard something about their dramatic split and contentious divorce. Both Christina and Josh have criticized each other publicly, though Josh has described himself as a “private person” who didn’t want their divorce to be so public.
According to Christina, he threw the engagement ring in a pool.
Christina and Josh got engaged just six months after they started dating, which seems pretty quick. But apparently, Josh tried to propose earlier than that and Christina didn’t feel ready. “The first time he proposed I said no, and he threw the ring in the pool,” the 42-year-old HGTV star told People. “That was probably red flag number one.”
She told the publication that she’s never shared this story before, but “it’s true.”
Unsurprisingly, Josh denied Christina’s account of what happened.
Given that the exes haven’t exactly been cordial with each other, it’s probably not all that shocking that a representative for Josh told the publication that “Josh has no clue what Christina is talking about.” Oof. The rep did not elaborate, but Christina did share more details about what allegedly went down the first time Josh proposed to her.
According to her, their relationship was a bit complicated in the early stages as well. “We weren’t getting along super great even then, off and on,” she admitted. “When things were good, they were good, but it just felt like I wasn’t quite ready and so I just said, ‘This is not the right time.'”
Christina claimed that she doesn’t remember all of the details, but she does remember Josh’s alleged reaction. “I don’t remember exactly what I said, but he had the patio decorated and he threw [the ring] in the pool,” she alleged.
They ended up separating in July 2024 after less than three years of marriage.
Based on how Christina describes their relationship, it makes sense that things didn’t work out for them. But throughout their messy split, Josh has disagreed with some of the ways in which Christina has characterized the whole thing. After HGTV shared a concerning clip in which Josh told Christina to “shut up already,” Josh described it as “manufactured drama.”
He recently spoke to the Daily Mail to share his side of the story. During the interview, he said he has “no ill feelings toward” Christina, but feels that she “was set out to try and destroy me.” He also accused his ex of “behaving like a p—– off teenager on social media.”
“Divorce isn’t something for public consumption. I understand that we’re public figures — I married one — but I thought it was unnecessary… Obviously don’t drag a divorce out there. It’s immature,” he said.
Christina suggested that their relationship never felt right.
During her recent interview with People, Christina suggested that the red flags were there from the beginning. “The quick courting and all those things, that’s sort of what I was used to and it didn’t even feel right then,” she told the publication. The relationship did make her realize how important it is to “protect myself, my children, my finances.”
