HGTV star Heather Rae El Moussa shuts down claims her Christmas dress was 'not appropriate' for a mom
Heather Rae El Moussa won't be mom-shamed.
The HGTV star, 37, is married to Tarek El Moussa, and the couple share a son, 1-year-old Tristan. She's also stepmother to the two children he shares with ex-wife Christina Hall – Taylor, 14, and Brayden, 9.
On Christmas Eve, El Moussa shared a series of photos of herself with Tarek, Tristan and Brayden, as well as a number of other people at what appeared to be a holiday party. In the photos, she was wearing a revealing red dress made primarily of fishnet and lace.
She received several positive comments about her appearance, with many people telling her that the dress was beautiful.
"When I grow up I want to look like Heather! She’s so pretty!" one person wrote.
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Another comment read, "I’m so glad you’re wearing that dress. This is what taking care of your body and working hard looks like."
Others were more critical. Some commenters slammed her for wearing the racy dress now that she's a mother.
"Dress looks like more for the bedroom!" one person commented, along with a crying emoji.
"The dress? Really and as a mother of a little boy!" another person wrote.
Another comment read, "The dress is not appropriate. Your [sic] a mother now," and to that, El Moussa fired off a response.
"So because I'm a mother I can't wear a pretty dress that makes me feel beautiful?" she wrote, per People. "What does that have to do with anything? I'm still a human and my name is heather I'm not just a mother. Choose joy."
She also took a screenshot of the exchange and posted it to her Instagram story, adding the text, "Comments like this make me laugh. I don't even get offended anymore by the rudeness of others. I choose to spread joy not hate."
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In addition to the comments about her dress, someone made a comment about her resemblance to Hall, writing, "She looks just like Christine he has a type."
She jokingly responded, "her name is Christina. Ya most do have a type…", adding a laughing emoji.
In September, she spoke to Fox News Digital about her and Tarek's relationship with Hall following the former couple's 2016 split. They teamed up with Hall to film the upcoming HGTV show "The Flip Off," premiering in January.
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"I feel like we've all come a long way," she said. "We've been together 5½ years, married almost three. And everyone's in a really good place right now. And we're just having a really good time filming the show and competing against each other."
Heather admitted the show has "been stressful at times" but noted filming has been fun. "We have a lot of laughs, and we're going to kick her butt."
WATCH: HEATHER EL MOUSSA PUT WORK INTO CULTIVATING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HUSBAND'S EX-WIFE, CHRISTINA HALL
The "Selling Sunset" star and Tarek mainly film together, but they sometimes film with Christina, which has been "very competitive," according to the "Flipping 101" star.
"I think people are very excited about 'The Flip Off' because, obviously, you have exes working together again after they were on 'Flip or Flop' for so long," Heather noted. "It's been like a fun, friendly competition."
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.