Ant Anstead Breaks Silence amid Split from Christina with 'Old Skool' Photo Wearing Wedding Ring
Christina Anstead Felt ‘Very Lonely and Frustrated’ in Marriage With Ant
Christina & Ant Anstead split after less than 2 years of marriage
Ant Anstead has broken his social media silence following his shocking split from his HGTV star wife, Christina.
On Thursday, the British TV host, 41, shared his first Instagram post since news broke that he and his wife of less than two years would be separating — an announcement the Christina on the Coast star, 37, posted on her account on September 18.
The U.K. native took to the platform to share a black-and-white photo of himself poking his head out of the window of a vintage car, looking off into the distance. “British cars, American TV, On set (old skool),” the Wheeler Dealers star captioned the photo.
The father of three is wearing his wedding ring in the snap, though the inclusion of the parenthetical “old skool” seems to imply the photo is a throwback, likely taken before the split.
British cars American TV On set (old skool)
A post shared by ant anstead (@ant_anstead) on Sep 24, 2020 at 1:00pm PDT
RELATED: Christina Anstead Deletes All Wedding Photos from Instagram Days After Announcing Split
Ant has yet to publicly acknowledge the separation news.
Christina has posted just once to her Instagram feed since her announcement, sharing a series of photos from her daughter Taylor’s 10th birthday party on Tuesday. She is not wearing her wedding ring in a photo of her and Taylor together.
Caitlin Alohilani Photography / www.caitlinalohilani.com Christina Anstead and daughter Taylor
Ant and Christina share son Hudson London, 1. He has two children from his previous marriage: a daughter, Amelie, 16, and son, Archie, 14. Christina shares Taylor and son Brayden, 5, with her ex and Flip or Flop co-host Tarek El Moussa.
RELATED: Tarek El Moussa Shares Update on New Home amid Ex Christina Anstead's Split News
News of Christina and Ant's separation came a month after Ant announced in early August that he was putting his mental health first and taking a break from social media. Alongside a video of Christina from their honeymoon, he wrote, "The world is crazy right now. And for all the good things social media has it also carries a toxic element!"
However, shortly after announcing his social media break, Ant shared a series of photos of him and his two eldest kids together in the U.K. They had previously been kept apart by Covid-19–related travel restrictions.
The blended family on Christina and Ant's wedding day in December 2018.
On Thursday, PEOPLE reported that Christina had removed any photos of her and Ant’s December 2018 wedding from her Instagram profile.
The HGTV host decided to keep several other photos of Ant on her feed — including the photo of them together in the hospital announcing their son Hudson London’s birth and a few shots of them traveling to the U.K. and around California while they were still dating.
RELATED VIDEO: Tarek El Moussa Shares Update on New Home amid Ex Christina Anstead's Split News
Tarek El Moussa Shares Update on New Home amid Ex Christina Anstead's Split News
El Moussa and Heather Rae Young, who got engaged in July, are in the process of renovating the first home they purchased together in Newport Beach
The last photo of Ant on Christina's feed (other than the separation announcement) was posted on July 28.
Ant last referenced Christina on Instagram in a September 6 post celebrating Hudson's first birthday, two weeks before their separation.
A post shared by ant anstead (@ant_anstead) on Sep 6, 2020 at 6:04am PDT
In it, he wrote, "You are our miracle baby, the perfect blend of your beautiful mummy and this Brit dad! We love you so much! Today we celebrate you!" He added a smiling emoji with hearts beside "mummy," referring to the HGTV star.
Christina Anstead Instagram
Earlier this week, a source shared with PEOPLE that Christina and Ant had been struggling with their relationship for a year — since the birth of Hudson. “After the baby, they started having conflicts,” the source said.
Despite her full house, the source said, the designer was left feeling “lonely and unhappy” with her home life. “Christina found it difficult to balance everything” and “their marriage was struggling.”
And though things may be tough right now, the source said, Christina is remaining optimistic about her future: “She never expected to get a divorce. But she is doing okay and focusing on the kids.”
