Ant Anstead has patched up his turbulent relationship with ex-wife Christina Haack - but the star is regretting how long it took to repair their connection for the sake of their five-year-old son Hudson. 

The duo, who were married from 2018 to 2021, had a contentious custody battle for years, with Ant even unsuccessfully attempting to gain full custody of their child at one point. 

While the pair are on the other side of that, Ant admitted on the latest episode of The Flip Off it was 'shameful' it took them years to finally be amicable. 

'Hudson is five now,' Ant recalled during his guest appearance on the show. 'And in those five years, it’s been really, really difficult. And that changed three months ago. The relationship that we have now is really, really important. And it’s been a transformation.

'As parents, it took us four and a half years to get to that point, which is really shameful. You and I will be connected forever because we have a kid. So ultimately, I have to stand by the mother of my kid,' he said as he named his ex the winner of the episode. 

Ant and Christina's divorce was finalized in June 2021; in April 2022, Ant filed for full custody of Hudson, accusing his ex of only spending a few days a month with their son, using him for social media clout, and risking his medical safety.

That same day a judge denied his bid, noting Anstead had not given Haack proper notice and had not demonstrated that Hudson was at critical risk in the current shared custody agreement.

Through her legal team, Hall called the claims that she put Hudson at risk and was wholly absent in his life 'false allegations' that 'shocked' her.

They settled their custody battle in December 2022, and agreed to continue having joint legal and physical custody of their son. 

Christina also opened up about their improved relationship on the show.

She described how Ant unexpectedly surprised her with a 'huge' heartfelt hug following her split from Josh Hall. 

'Ant and I split up when Hudson was one and now Hudson is five,' she said on the show. 

'During the time between his first birthday and, I would say, his fifth birthday, we did not communicate a lot,' she recalled.

'After Josh and I split up, I went over to [Ant's] house to pick Hudson up because I was taking him to a birthday party,' she said.

'And when I walked up to the door, he gave me a huge hug,' she continued.

'We hadn't hugged in years.'

She said that was a turning point in their relationship after that heartwarming moment and nice gesture from her ex.

'He just said, "I'm so sorry for everything you're going through and I'm here for you no matter what you need." It was a very nice moment,' she recalled.

Ant served as a guest judge on Christina's show, which sees her facing off against her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and his wife Heather El Moussa as they 'compete to see who can find, buy, renovate and flip a house for the biggest financial gain,' according to HGTV's website.

The Wheeler Dealers star even picked his ex as the victor.

'My parents raised me in a way that says when you know who your family are you stick with your family. Regardless of rules, regardless of performance, when I left the house this morning, Christina had already won,' he explained. 

Anstead then abruptly got up and left the room leading to Tarek yelling 'come on!' toward him. 

Ant found love after his split from Christina and has been dating actress Renee Zellweger since 2021. 

Meanwhile, Christina has also been dating someone new following her divorce filing from Josh - she has been seeing a man named Christopher Larocca for several months.