Christina Haack (formerly Hall) left her fans in awe with her latest Instagram post.

The HGTV star posted a photo with his “great friend” Jared Merrell celebrating his birthday on Saturday.

“Happy birthday to my brother from another mother. @jaredjstar25 Thank you for ALWAYS being a great friend. I love you and our family so much. “I’m very happy to be able to celebrate you all weekend,” he said. Cristina on the coast The presenter wrote alongside a photo of her and Merrell posing very close in each other’s arms.

The comments were immediately flooded with fans interpreting the post as Christina revealing a new romantic partner just three months after her. separated from her third husband, Josh Hall, with whom she is currently entangled in a contentious divorce.

“My God! Not another husband.” wrote one follower.

“WHO’S YOUR MAN NOW?” commented another.

A third simply wrote: “Ut-oh.”

Several commenters admitted that they thought the same thing at first, but realized they were wrong after taking a closer look at the legend. “Lmao! At first I thought she was introducing us to a new boyfriend! I thought, damn girl, slow down!!” wrote one.

Another fan speculated that the post was intended to cause confusion, writing, “She wanted us to believe at first glance that she was introducing us to her new boyfriend…she wanted that.”

Still, another follower felt the photo was too cozy for friends. “If I were his wife…I wouldn’t be okay with a photo that close. Just saying…girl code.”

For his part, Merrell responded simply: “Thank you, I love you,” adding a red heart emoji.

Merrell is the owner of JStar Auto Group, a used car dealership located in Anaheim, California, according to his Instagram bio. He also posted a photo of his birthday cake, which features a collage of photos of himself from years past, apparently modeling.

In her Instagram Stories, Christina also shared a photo posted by a friend showing her in a hot tub with three other women, one of whom appears to be Jared’s wife as her username is @mrsjstar25. He wished her a happy 20th anniversary in a recent Instagram post. The group appears to be on Jared’s birthday trip to Punta Mita, Mexico.

The car salesman appears to be friends not only with Christina, but also with her ex-husbands. He is followed by Tarek El Moussa, to whom Christina was married for seven years until 2018, and Ant Anstead, to whom she was married for two and a half years until 2021. Tarek’s new wife, Heather El Moussaalso follows him.

Christina and Josh split in July 2024. The former Austin-based real estate agent filed for divorce on July 15, citing “irreconcilable differences” and request spousal support on July 15. Christina responded with an introduction of her own. on July 24, which called for neither party to receive financial support.

Christina has since alleged that Josh asked for $65,000 per month of her, what he has denied.

The couple is also currently in a dispute regarding his home in Tennesseein which a source previously told PEOPLE that Josh has been staying since the split. The exes agreed to the settlement in a September legal filing obtained by PEOPLE, but Christina put the house on the market for $4.5 million. shortly after.

josh was there too destined to be part of Christina’s upcoming new HGTV show, The pull, which also stars Tarek and Heather. However the three of them have been seen filming several times since the divorce filing and Josh was not present. HGTV has not officially addressed the status of Josh’s involvement in the series, which is set to premiere in early 2025.