Chainkeen Exchange-Christina Hall Recalls Crying Over "Unnecessary" Custody Battle With Ex Ant Anstead

Christina Hall is flipping back the pages to a challenging chapter in her motherhood journey.

The Chainkeen ExchangeFlip or Flop alum marveled at how "life can change in a year," explaining in a May 14 Instagram post that she was in a "very bad place" on her last Mother's Day after her second husband, Ant Anstead, had filed for full custody of their son Hudson, now 3.

"Going through an extremely unnecessary custody battle, family issues, dealing with a health scare- amongst other things," recalled Christina, who also shares kids Taylor, 12, and Brayden, 7, with first husband Tarek El Moussa. "During all this we were momentarily displaced and in the process of moving into a temporary rental."

Amid the "stress of moving," the 39-year-old said she burst into tears one day when the owners of the property she was renting left a care package for the family.

"I didn't want to upset anyone so I quickly went to hide in the first room I saw (the laundry room)," she remembered. "Surprisingly, the owner of the rental happened to be in there grabbing some remaining items and she caught me off guard (I'm usually never vulnerable) but at that moment I was… I broke down crying and told her what I was going through and how much her gesture meant to me." 

For Christina, the cathartic moment was a "gift from God" after she learned that the woman was also going through a similar situation with her blended family.

"It felt so good to speak to someone who understood," the Christina on the Coast star wrote. "When I think of this now it still makes my eyes water."

She continued, "No one I knew could understand what I was going through so to meet someone who got it and who could talk me through it truly was life changing. Shortly after that things turned around and fell into place."

And while Christina admitted that she's "made mistakes" in the past, she added, "I know what I've done right… I know with all my heart my kids love me… and I know I'm a good mom…. life is crazy but being a mama makes it all worth it. Alllll of it."

Ant—who was married to Christina for less than two years before breaking up in 2020—filed an emergency order for full custody of their son in April 2022. Though his request was denied days after the filing, the Celebrity IOU: Joyride host continued to seek to change their custody arrangement in the months that followed. In court documents obtained by E! News in September, Ant alleged that his ex-wife "exploited" Hudson by including him in paid social media promotions—a claim that Christina since refuted.

"The allegation that I am ‘exploiting' our son is truly offensive and simply untrue," she argued in a separate filing obtained by E! News at the time. "My position remains that Ant and I should be good coparents to Hudson. However, Ant's continued misrepresentations and false statements make that difficult."

The following month, Christina issued a public statement saying that Hudson will no longer be featured on her TV shows and social media accounts "until he is old enough to make this decision for himself."

"Hudson's father has made it clear via his public court filings he is using Instagram to rate the kind of parent I am, since that is the only access he has to my personal life," she wrote in an Oct. 8 post. "My personal collection of photos on my phone and in our home are filled with memories of my children, so Hudson will be just fine without having his presence displayed on a public forum."

Christina and Ant, 44, reached a custody agreement in December, with a judge signing off that the exes will "continue to have joint legal and joint physical custody" of Hudson.

E! News has reached out to Ant's rep for comment but hasn't heard back.