Selling Sunset has grown into a dynamite franchise. Quickly dominating Netflix airwaves and premiering at number one amidst season five’s April 22nd release, the series has gained popularity over the course of three years. According to Parrot Analytics, the show, which follows a firm of luxury real estate agents as they finesse the Hollywood housing market with style and sass, ranks at the 88.2% percentile in the reality genre. 

At the heart of the drama this season was the power couple incessantly force fed to audiences, Chrishell and Jason. Their dilemma boiled down to children—Chrishell’s desire for and Jason’s against—and whether one would concede for the other. The two ultimately end up splitting, and at the reunion, we see how their breakup has impacted them. Jason cries, Chrishell cries, and we hear news that Chrishell has moved on with someone drastically different than previous partners: 27-year-old nonbinary rockstar G Flip. 

Being in a queer relationship comes with a lot of scrutiny at the hands of friends, family, and society as a whole. My girlfriend and I have been followed, catcalled, and sexualized in public settings more often than I can remember. Historically, queer relationships have been seen as promiscuous, temporary, or dirty, an image perpetuated through media, news, and everyday language. Because of this, queer people are typically prone to being unfairly criticized, demeaned, and scrutinized based on negative stereotypes deeply engrained in society. 

News of Chrishell’s relationship broke during the Selling Sunset reunion that aired on May 6th, and immediately, people were on edge. Host Tan France, one of several Queer Eye cast members, moderated the reunion and handled Chrishell coming out aggressively, continuing to question her despite Chrishell’s clear discomfort. After asking Chrishell if there was anything new to tell us, hinting at the rumors in tabloids about her relationship with G Flip, France pushes for answers following Chrishell’s elusiveness on dating. “Who are you enjoying?” he asks. She fiddles with her hair nervously, touches her face, and avoids eye contact before being forthcoming about her relationship with the musician. 

The entire mood shifts following Chrishell’s reveal. The cast looks around at each other as if to confirm this is, in fact, who Chrishell is dating, with Maya’s reaction quickly becoming the most memeable response. Immediately, the cast’s behavior shifts as the camera sweeps over their faces to catch the disbelief. Try as some may to argue these reactions as “genuine astonishment,” the entire thing felt like a “gotcha” moment set up by producers to put Chrishell on the spot. Mary stammers over her words, Maya’s jaw drops, and Davina looks wide-eyed at photos of G Flip and Chrishell. Subconsciously, their responses, through stuttering, blank stares, and overall confusion, sends the message that Chrishell’s news is shocking, and something to be looked at outside of the ordinary. Their behavior becomes distant and cold—they’re avoiding eye contact, looking panicked, and making faces, a clear exhibition of detailed microaggressions queer individuals face every day. 

“A key feature of microaggressions, and particularly microinvalidations, is that they are frequently non-deliberate and unconscious on the part of the actor,” details report Validation of the Sexual Orientation Microaggression Inventory In Two Diverse Samples of LGBTQ Youth. “These subtle forms of discrimination can seriously impact the mental and physical well being of the individuals who experience the discrimination or invalidation resulting in psychopathology, emotional distress, and poor physical health.” 

As if the looks shared between cast members weren’t enough, France quickly follows up with no time for discussion as they move into a clip from G Flip’s new music video “GET ME OUTTA HERE”, featuring Chrishell. There’s heavy making out between G Flip and Chrishell in the video, something her co-workers watch in real time before her, and after, France proceeds to shame, fetishize, and disregard queer relationships through very coded questioning. He engages the other cast members and their history with same sex relationships asking if they’ve ever tried “dabbling,” indicating queerness is something to try on. 

Mary refuses to answer the question, saying her “parents are going to see this,” and France asks the others if they’ve ever been “dirty birds” or “naught” in regards to doing anything with other women. Emma shrugs and says she has and in response, France gets up to high five her, fetishizing queer relationships as some passing party trick for straight women to engage in. In doing so, France highlights historical assumptions that queer relationships are sultry, sexy, and some “dirty little secret.”

Considering the constant harassment people in queer relationships face in real life, it’s devastating to see someone like France—who himself had a difficult time coming out—perpetuate outdated the same stereotypes that have historically impacted queer women for years.

Already, Chrishell has faced a wave of backlash she otherwise wouldn’t have if moving on with a cis-het man. Coming off a season where the ideas of a cis-het suburban lifestyle between Chrishell and Jason are largely pushed, Chrishell has been under a microscope since the wrap-up. Her Instagram comments section have blown up with homophobic comments, with fans saying they’re “highly disappointed in her” for dating G Flip, and others stating they’re “not a fan of her anymore for dating a girl now.” 

Currently, her comments are shut off.

With how Selling Sunset co-stars responded to Chrishell’s news of being in a queer relationship, it’s no surprise viewers followed suit. Excusing their behavior at the reunion as anything other than homophobic sends a message that nervous side-eyes, awkward glances, and other microaggressions, such as referring to kissing same-sex partners as “dirty,” is okay. As queerphobic remarks pour in on Twitter and YouTube, public opinion reinforces, quite bluntly, an age-old misconception that queer relationships are impulsive, unrealistic, or worse, “just a phase.”

Image: Courtesy of Netflix

On April 22, we returned to the offices of The Oppenheim Group when Netflix dropped season five of Selling Sunset. In the show’s tenure, the drama has always felt manufactured, but between the 20-million dollar real estate and the Hunger Games-esque wardrobes, manufactured is the show’s very essence. And while this season brought the property porn and over-the-top outfits we’ve come to expect, it failed to deliver compelling story arcs. Because even though the cast of realtors continues to grow, the entire show is carried on the teetering shoulders of one Christine Quinn. 

Since season one, Christine went full method as the baddie. Unlike the rest of the cast, she had no qualms about her role as villain—and between her antics and outfits, she often put Cruella de Vil to shame. But the fundamental flaw of Selling Sunset is the majority of the cast is blind to their own bland personalities. 

This season, Chrishell literally started secretly dating the boss and seemingly hard launched her relationship on-camera. But the milquetoast repartee of the cast made this top-tier reality TV setup fall flat. How easy would it be for Mary to have misgivings about her ex-boyfriend dating her best friend? Or for the office to question if it’s ethical for one of their own to date the boss? The drama-making opportunities were ripe for the taking! But the women of the cast apparently made a pledge of sisterhood, supporting everything the others did—everyone except Christine. But undying sisterhood does not make good television. Even Troop Beverly Hills and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants had some in-fighting. Mary-Kate and Ashley didn’t travel the world without some inter-twin conflict. 

Season five of Selling Sunset could be summed up as The People vs. Christine Quinn. In seasons past, Christine’s role as the singular villain worked because she always had people in her corner. As a storied member of The Oppenheim Group, her history with Mary gave us something to watch as Mary waffled allegiances, but now they’ve fully severed ties. Last season, Christine fell out with her longtime allies Heather and Maya. And now, even her sidekick Davina switched teams in an effort to get a storyline that wasn’t about failing to sell a $75 million dollar house. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out for her. 

The cast never missed an opportunity to discuss Christine. She was quite literally their only topic of conversation. And while producers attempted to get ahead of the one dimensionality of the drama by adding Chelsea Lazkani to the mix, bulking up team Christine, the rest of the cast missed their cue to spice things up. 

Even when the producers created opportunities for the women to repair their relationships with Christine—setting up one-on-ones with Amanza, Heather, and even Mary—none of the women took the bait and instead chose to continue feuding with her. It seems the women want Christine out of their office and off the show, but they don’t realize this will be their downfall. 

Before the season premiered, Christine tweeted: “30 minutes till the launch of #SellingSunset enjoy the new season and all of its 5,000 fake storylines!” The figure in her tweet likely in reference to the $5,000 Emma claimed Christine was offering to pay her clients to switch agents. Whether that storyline is fake or not, Emma missed the point. Christine didn’t need more drama centered around her, the rest of the cast needed to create conflict of their own.

This is the first time Selling Sunset filmed a reunion, dropping May 7 on Netflix. Reunions cap off a reality TV season, closing the door on feuds and resetting allegiances to shake things up for the coming year. Queer Eye’s Tan France will host. As a gray-haired gay man he is Netflix’s answer to Andy Cohen, but can he take the mantle to drive the drama and resolutions necessary for a successful reunion? To top it off, Christine did not attend the reunion because she said she tested positive for Covid—nor did she attend virtually because she wasn’t feeling up to it. Chrishell and Mary implied Christine lied to skip the reunion and photos show Christine on-set filming a commercial three days after the reunion taped, so that may be true. But either way, what Mary and Chrishell don’t see is it’s truly their loss. A reunion without the villain will likely give us nothing. 

Last week, Christine announced she left The Oppenheim Group to launch her own venture with her husband: RealOpen, a platform to buy and sell real estate using crypto. (Villians love crypto.) It’s unclear if her new job will impact her return to season six of Selling Sunset, but the rest of the cast better hope it doesn’t—because without Christine there is no show. The reality is, the women need to step up their game and learn to make their own drama rather than living off the work of Christine Quinn, or the future does not bode well for their reality TV careers. 

Image: Courtesy of Netflix

Watching too much TV has really been the only thing getting us through 2020, and one of the few bright spots of this year was that Netflix decided to gift us with not one, but TWO new seasons of Selling Sunset. With addictive drama, over-the-top personalities, and stunning real estate in every episode, it’s the perfect show to watch in one sitting on the day it comes out, and I’m so glad I got to do that twice this year. It’s the little things.

Particularly when season three dropped in August, Selling Sunset became a major topic of conversation, and people spent weeks trying to figure out exactly which parts of the show are real and fake. Given the fact that basically everyone I know is obsessed with this show, it’s no surprise that Netflix is bringing it back, and last week, TMZ reported that the streamer officially renewed the show for two more seasons. Obviously, the producers are going to be hard at work coming up with more totally real storylines for us to obsess over, but in the meantime, we already have some clues about what the future seasons of Selling Sunset will look like.

The Timeline

First, the sad news: we’re going to have to wait a while. It feels like it’s been forever since the most recent season came out (even though it was only a few months ago), but Netflix just officially green-lit season four, which means they haven’t started filming yet. According to TMZ, the new season is set to start production in spring of 2021, which means we probably won’t see any new episodes until the later part of next year. Getting two seasons this year was great, but that doesn’t seem likely in 2021. Given the fact that COVID has screwed over the entire entertainment industry (and like, society as a whole), I guess this was to be expected, but it still stings.

Heather & Tarek

On the third season, we heard all about Heather Rae Young’s new relationship with fellow real estate TV star Tarek El Moussa, but we never actually saw him on the show. Since filming wrapped, they got engaged, and it sounds like we’ll finally get a Tarek appearance when the show returns. According to an “insider” source that spoke to Fox News, Tarek—who has a deal with HGTV—was unable to appear on season three “due to contractual conflicts,” but since then, “permission was secured for Tarek to appear in a future episode.” Thank God. I don’t even care that much about Tarek, but it would feel pretty lame if we had to watch another season of Heather coming up with excuses for Tarek not coming to any filmed events.

Heather’s New Career Development

In addition to Heather’s new engagement, she’s also got some major stuff going on in the career department. She’s still with Jason at the Oppenheim Group, but he recently shared that Heather is working with the team to open a new office in Newport Beach. Considering that Heather lives in Orange County now, it makes sense for her to work there as well, and this new business venture will also make a convenient storyline for the next couple seasons. But Heather isn’t fully leaving the WeHo office, so she can still argue with Christine like we need her to. Jason told Fox News that Heather “will be based out of the LA office as always,” and that she’s “not going anywhere.”

Brett’s Departure

Back in the summer when season three came out, news was also breaking that Brett Oppenheim had broken off from the Oppenheim Group to start his own company. The creatively named Oppenheim Real Estate is Brett’s solo foray into the real estate game, but Jason said in a September interview that he and Brett are “still working together.” This all feels like a scheme that was cooked up to make good TV, and honestly, it’ll probably work. In an interview earlier this year, Christine Quinn hinted that some of the show’s stars may defect to Brett’s side, saying that “the girls are fed up with the favoritism of Mary,” and that season four could turn out to be a “battle of the brokerages.” I don’t care how scripted this sounds, I’m ready for all of it.

Davina’s Departure

By far, the biggest lightning rod for controversy on Selling Sunset is Davina Potratz, who low-key makes Cruella DeVille look like a good person. This fall, Davina left the Oppenheim Group to work for rival real estate company Douglas Elliman, suggesting that her reign of terror on Selling Sunset might be at an end. But according to TMZ’s sources, Davina will hang on for another day, and they’re finding a way to work her into the upcoming season. Personally, if I had gotten trolled on social media the way Davina did, I would never show my face in public again, but I won’t pretend I’m not excited she’s coming back. As long as we don’t have to hear about that f*cking $75 million house again, I’m here for all the drama!

According to the reports, all the other cast members will be returning for the next two seasons, which means we’ll get to see more of my queen Chrishell finding her post-divorce footing, more of Christine’s wild outfits, and more of Mary’s hot man (praise be). Netflix, please make this happen as fast as possible, because I really need 2021 to be a good year.

Don’t miss out on any pop culture or entertainment news. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here. 

Images: Lindy Lin / Netflix; 

When I first got the email about returning to my office in July, I was overwhelmed with emotion, both negative and positive.

Let’s backtrack a bit. I am a twentysomething living in NYC. I’ve stayed here throughout the entire pandemic thus far. I stay inside, I wash my hands, I wear my mask, I respect other people’s space, and I do my part to keep myself and those around me safe. In other words, I’m not an a**hole.

So, that being said, when I found out I was headed back to the office on the first day of phase 3 (July 6, to be exact), I was kind of shook. COVID had (has) made me quite an anxious person over time, and this felt like my worst fear coming to life. Public transportation? Sitting in an office with 50 other people I could not control? WEARING JEANS AGAIN? A lot of scary stuff here.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Bunch of morons // credit/permission: @lexniko

A post shared by When’s Happy Hour? (@whenshappyhr) on Sep 20, 2020 at 10:29am PDT

On the contrary, sitting in my apartment day in and day out had also been quite an unhealthy habit. I made every excuse not to go outside, washing my hair became a task, and I had literally become one with the couch. Going to work meant I’d have an excuse to focus a bit more again on self-care and to get up and do something.

Here I am almost two months later, and I am here to spill what it’s actually like to be back in an office in the midst of a pandemic.

I take one subway and one bus to get to work. The first day I went all out and prepared for battle in the form of a mask, gloves, paper towels to hold the handles on public transportation (yes, even while wearing gloves), and a big bottle of hand sanitizer in my bag. The subway was fairly quiet, with some essential workers, and some others in suits who looked as nervous as I did. The bus was even quieter. Quieter as in, I was the only human on the bus and therefore it was a straight shot to work, with no stops in between. As time has gone on, the subway has gotten a bit more crowded, but the bus remains empty. Public transportation overall hasn’t been scary, but when someone gets on the subway without a mask (which is obviously against the rules but nothing I can do much about), my stomach still drops.

When you arrive at my office, the first thing you must do is have your temperature taken. Of course, if you have a fever, you will be sent home immediately. Upon entering the building there is a mask, glove, and hand sanitizer station. They are also set up throughout the office building. Most people wear cloth masks, but should you have a paper mask on and want a fresh one, it is available. The little things, ya know?

The elevators are limited to four people per ride (which I think is pretty standard across NYC now), but typically I opt to ride solo even though that means waiting longer for an elevator. We have an open floor plan in our office, with rows of tables as desks. As you can imagine, we are limited to one person per row, so there is forced social distancing in place. In some ways, it’s so distant that it’s lonely. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the luxury of being able to turn and chat with someone next to me.

During the workday, in fact, there is little to no human communication at all. Despite being in office, meetings are held via Zoom to avoid any large groups. If you’re reading this and thinking “sO wHy ArE yOu BaCk In An OfFiCe”, the answer is… unclear.

In terms of further safety precautions, while a mask is not required when sitting at our desks, it’s encouraged. You can bet my paranoid lil self has one on all day. All community snacks have been taken away (sad), so has the coffee machine (sadder!!!). Safety > coffee, obviously, but I know you all feel me on the heartbreak there.

We also can’t leave for lunch. Once you’re in the building, you are in for the day until you go home. This one hurts the most simply because I take my lunch hour seriously, but again, I get it. I did reach out to the few friends I have who are also back in the office, and they have similar limitations. On the bright side, I’ve saved money by packing my lunch daily, something I didn’t know I was even capable of! (Only half-kidding).

The best (and most important) safety precaution/perk of the office is weekly COVID testing. Once a week we are required to take both a COVID and antibody test. A team sets up right in the common area, and we have to walk a maximum of one flight of stairs to get there. As someone who lives with a roommate, this is a huge relief for not only myself but for him as well. Given the fact that he is working from home and did not sign up to be put at risk, the fact that I can come home and show him a negative result each week puts us both at ease. And even better, the antibody test has only a 15-minute turnaround time, the COVID test only a 24-hour turnaround time, so we don’t have to wait long for our results.

Being back in an office has forced me to make small but important changes. I set my alarm for 8am now (instead of 8:59am). I wake up and actually have to CHOOSE an outfit (remember that???). I style my hair. I wear makeup. I use time management skills to give myself a work-life balance. All of the things that gently slipped from my mind during my four-month quarantine period. It’s had a huge impact on my mental health, and a good one at that.

While the world is still gloomy AF, and the news cycle hasn’t gotten any better, at least leaving the house daily has provided a healthy (and easy) change I didn’t know I needed. Despite the fact that I have essentially left one room where I work alone to head to another room where I work alone, there has been something very refreshing about the act of getting outside and doing something daily.

Since I started going back into the office, I’ve been valuing my weekends and nights in a new way. Aside from sleeping, I’ve also used my downtime to capitalize on more *important* hobbies (like binging Selling Sunset, obviously).

So, in all seriousness, being back in the office isn’t so bad. It feels good to get back into a routine, and even if I am still questioning “the point” of putting myself at risk to travel to work and be in an office with others, I do believe there was some method to the madness.

Images: Marina Andrejchenko / Shutterstock; whenshappyhr / Instagram; Giphy (2)

If you’re looking for a new show to fill the gaping hole left in your heart after finishing Selling Sunset, Netflix might already have a solution. Million Dollar Beach House is their newest “unscripted” show, revolving around the luxury real estate market in the Hamptons. Much like the Oppenheim Group in Selling Sunset, Netflix replicates the same format to follow The Nest Seekers, a real estate brokerage firm, in Million Dollar Beach House. But with the ladies of Selling Sunset captivating audiences, can the mostly-male cast of Million Dollar Beach House replicate the same success? TBH, don’t get too excited.

Meet The Cast 

There are five main characters in the show: Michael, Peggy, Noel, J.B., and Jimmy (the boss). Michael, J.B., and Jimmy are three white guys with big bro energy who have been working in the Hamptons market for a little while. Noel is new to Nest Seekers, but he is a seasoned real estate agent who has worked in the Hamptons market for three years. He is also the only Black cast member. Peggy, the only female cast member, has worked for seven years in the Manhattan real estate market, but is a newbie to the Hamptons scene.

Right off the bat, we can sense that some of the characters are skeptical towards Noel, which is odd, since Peggy is also the new kid on the block—yet she does not appear to face the same treatment. Wonder why…

While Selling Sunset had a robust cast of characters running the gamut from angelic to satanic, the predominantly male cast of Million Dollar Beach House fails to captivate. Peggy and Noel are really the only two people bringing the heat in terms of drama, and everyone else is just kind of there. Michael’s wife having a baby does not a reality show make, no matter how many times he talks about it. J.B.’s main conflict is that he’s 29 and isn’t married or engaged, which he mentions one time in an aside to Michael. Any Jimmy, the boss, rarely appears in scenes—aside from that one time he pissed off a Boomer by taking an important call in the middle of a meeting, I can’t remember anything he did.

The Drama (Or Lack Thereof)

Selling Sunset was packed with drama—in every episode, five different scandals unfolded. Million Dollar Beach House, on the other hand, feeds off of just one incident between just two cast members. In their defense, there are only six episodes that run 30 minutes each. But as the viewer, I couldn’t help but crave some more theatrics. I mean, isn’t that why we’re here in the first place?

The Show Villain The Actual Villain pic.twitter.com/JuVbrSMGKT

— Misha (@Mishavaid) August 28, 2020

It all starts when Noel lists one of his properties for a whopping $35,000,000, a number that everyone at the brokerage thinks is too high. Since real estate is a team sport, and Peggy has some clients interested in the property, she questions Noel’s thinking behind the high price. But Noel is dismissive of Peggy’s concerns and offends her by questioning if her client can even afford such an expensive property. 

The real drama goes down when Peggy takes an important client to Noel and he completely blows the showing, insulting Peggy’s client in the process and almost costing her the client. The showing ends up causing an all-out feud between the two. But this happens in the first episode, and is then dragged out as the one source of conflict for the remaining five.

In addition to the drama falling flat, so does the character development, which feels one-dimensional, as if the show’s creators do not think the viewers are capable of forming their own opinions. For example, they initially want us to hate Noel and side with Peggy. But as the show progresses, they start portraying Peggy as the emotional woman who can’t maintain a professional demeanor (which comes with its own set of sexist issues). TBH, despite Netflix trying to feed me conclusions, I didn’t feel strongly about any of the characters because it felt so choreographed. Selling Sunset has also been accused of manufacturing storylines, but the characters from that show are convincingly charismatic, so it works. I don’t think anyone could create Christine’s character in a writer’s room even if they tried. 

Let’s Talk About Noel

I wanted to like Million Dollar Beach House but the last thing I need to watch in 2020 is mediocre white washed up high school football stars selling other mediocre white men million dollar Hamptons houses while being misogynistic and racist.

— Mare Ham (@hamsammitchhes) August 30, 2020

So let’s get to the big issue. Apart from Noel, the cast of Million Dollar Beach House is entirely white. This makes for an uncomfortable viewing experience, because the microaggressions towards Noel are evident. (The whole incident where no one could pronounce his name also felt weirdly edited.) There is also an awkward scene where Noel’s twin brother Joel (yes, their names rhyme) is asked to speak Korean because he lives in Korea. When he does fluently communicate, the other members accuse him of saying something rude. I’ll give Netflix the benefit of the doubt that they’re not trying to be purposefully racist, but when the only BIPOC is villainized throughout the show, it’s hard not to feel like it’s racist. Viewers were quick to point out the show’s issues with race on Twitter. 

not sure why netflix decided to air this million dollar beach house show. the racist undertones were ridiculous but peggy is over the top terrible. top 5 on the list of terrible humans

— baba nla (@tomivva) September 1, 2020

I remember feeling like the cast of Selling Sunset was too white and this was Netflix’s chance to give the viewers more diverse characters, but this was just not it. 

Skip Or Stream?

Honestly, you’re better off just rewatching Selling Sunset instead of investing your time into Million Dollar Beach House. MDBH does give you its promised dose of real estate porn, and at least its pacing is more realistic to that of actual real estate deals than its LA counterpart. But that also means the show moves at a glacial pace—all of a sudden it’s episode five and still, nobody has sold anything. I’ll take the Oppenheim Group unrealistically selling mansions in 10 minutes flat, thanks.

As a whole, Million Dollar Beach House could have gotten away with being a boring, low-budget knock-off of Selling Sunset, but the racism and gender stereotyping are reason enough for this show to be removed from your watchlist.

Don’t miss out on any pop culture or entertainment news. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here. 

Images: Chloe Gifkin / Netflix; mishavaid, hamsammichhes, tomivva / Twitter

Since Selling Sunset first premiered on Netflix last year, fans have constantly questioned how real the “reality” show actually is. The show was created by the father of fake reality TV (The Hills’ Adam DiVello), and its storylines and production values all feel a little too perfect to be rooted in reality. The women on the show are in flawless glam at all times, they constantly hash out their personal issues at work functions, and their relationship timelines all fit neatly into eight-episode seasons.

Since the third season dropped earlier this month, Selling Sunset has really blown up, and people are more determined than ever to dig in to the truth of what we see on the show. One of the key storylines that is frequently questioned is Mary and Romain’s marriage. On season one, we saw them disagreeing about fundamental relationship issues such as having kids and buying a house, and then they magically got engaged the next episode. Their wedding was shown in season two, but there was speculation that they never actually got married. Turns out the truth is the exact opposite. This week, TMZ got its hands on a copy of Mary and Romain’s marriage license, proving that they are, in fact, married. But the license was issued in March 2018, more than a year before the first season of Selling Sunset was even released.

This really throws a wrench into Mary’s entire storyline for the first two seasons. She was already legally married to Romain before they even began filming season one, which means that all those scenes of them discussing their future together are basically 100% fake. It wouldn’t be that weird to plan a big TV wedding once you were already legally married, but pretending to be unsure about your future together, and then staging a fake engagement, is taking it to another level. We already knew her diamond was fake, but everything else? I have to admit, this news came as a bit of a shock to me.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’m so lucky to call this man my husband, he is my rock and best friend. #sellingsunset #netflix #season2 #powercouple #newlyweds #watchnow #justreleased #realitytv 📸: @aria_ak

A post shared by Mary Fitzgerald (@themaryfitzgerald) on May 26, 2020 at 4:31pm PDT

Another interesting revelation from the marriage license is that Mary and Romain got married just four months after Mary’s divorce was finalized. The timeline here is obviously very murky, and I have a million questions for everyone involved. Mary hasn’t addressed the timeline on social media (who knows what kind of NDA she signed), but I really feel like the people deserve answers here. That being said, I will absolutely still watch this show until the end of time, because it is just that entertaining.

On top of the personal drama being a bit staged (to put it politely), the show’s portrayal of the Oppenheim Group agents as LA’s top team also seems questionable. Recently, the real estate agents from Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles appeared on Watch What Happens Live!, and Tracy Tutor threw some shade at the cast of Netflix’s show. She said that Selling Sunset “is not about selling real estate…it’s about dating bachelors in the Hollywood Hills.” She threw out an invitation to the women on Selling Sunset, saying “if you want to sell real estate, maybe kind of come on over to our show and figure out how that works.” Ouch. The other MDL agents added that they hadn’t come across the women from Selling Sunset in their real estate work.

Last week, reality TV connoisseur Chrissy Teigen finally binged Selling Sunset, and she also commented on the actual careers of the agents at the Oppenheim Group. She said that despite frequently looking at LA real estate, she has “never seen any of these people,” and added that neither had her agents.

I will say, I look at LA real estate a lot and have never seen any of these people lol either have our agents, who I have obsessively asked.

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) August 19, 2020

Unsurprisingly, the Selling Sunset cast feels some type of way about these comments, and many of them have spoken out in response. Davina Potratz and Maya Vander both spoke to People, with Davina saying that anyone who does their research will recognize that she is “quite serious about real estate.” Maya  acknowledged that things on the show can seem fake or overly simplified, but said this is because they’re trying to show complicated transactions in short scenes.

Jason Oppenheim responded to Chrissy’s tweet, giving out a nice backhanded compliment about her new home and her agent. In another tweet, he said that his team “works tirelessly,” and invited her to stop by the office any time.

Chrissy, thanks for watching our show! Regarding your agent’s knowledge of members of my team, I respectfully don’t know him either although that doesn’t mean he isn’t successful and didn’t just sell you a stunning home in Weho (seriously, I love your new house).

— Jason Oppenheim (@OppenheimJason) August 19, 2020

In a statement to People, Jason further combated the idea that the professional side of the show isn’t real: “Any insinuation that the agents on our show are not experienced, successful, or licensed, evidences a complete disregard for the facts.” He added that “Even a superficial investigation would identify previous team photos, hundreds of millions in transacted sales, and more than 50 years of combined licensed real estate experience from these agents.” Damn, okay, we get it.

I understand why Jason Oppenheim is defensive about this, but I think he’s kind of missing the point. For the most part, speculation has revolved around the specific transactions shown in the episodes, not the idea that the Oppenheim Group is a generally successful brokerage. When Christine hops off a private jet after months of traveling the world and just decides to sell a house, it’s understandable that things don’t seem 100% real.

And just as some icing on the cake of questioning what’s real about Selling Sunset, we have this TikTok that recently went viral. On the show, Christine has a listing, and she says that the owner is in Europe, so she can’t get a hold of him. Turns out, the woman who made the TikTok IS THE OWNER. She clarified in comments that she did list the house at one point, but Christine wasn’t the agent, and she’s never met her. And no, she wasn’t in Europe. LOL.

@petite_sayoI had no idea this show became so popular and thought I’d share BTS ##fyp ##realityshow ##realestate ##luxuryhomes ##losangeles ##sellingsunset ##netflix♬ Happy Laughing – Sound Effect

So, let’s be real, Selling Sunset isn’t. And that’s okay! It’s still a great show, but you should definitely take it with a massive grain of salt. Just sit back and enjoy the ridiculousness, and don’t worry too much about what’s real and what’s not.

Don’t miss out on any pop culture or entertainment news. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here. 

Images: Lindy Lin / Netflix; themaryfitzgerald / Instagram; chrissyteigen, oppenheimjason / Twitter; petite_sayo / TikTok

If you haven’t started (and finished) watching Selling Sunset by now, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. It’s one of the most important cultural artifacts of our generation (I’m exaggerating, but only slightly). I’ve already broken down the reasons why everyone is obsessed with it, and season four really can’t come soon enough.

Because I can’t stop thinking about this dumb f*cking show, I decided to rank the cast members from good to evil. That probably sounds dramatic, but if you’ve seen the show, you try telling me that Davina isn’t evil. That may seem like a strong word, but just remember, this is reality TV. Being evil isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this context, and being good can be boring as f*ck. Also, this article is full of spoilers for all three seasons, so if you’re not caught up, this is your warning.

Chrishell

Chrishell is an angel, and I won’t accept any opinions to the contrary. At the beginning of season one, she was brand new at the Oppenheim Group, and despite her being warm and friendly, Christine did her best to make her life a living hell. It was sort of a Scheana vs. Stassi situation, except Chrishell is nowhere near as annoying as Scheana. Chrishell has always sort of been the protagonist of Selling Sunset, but this became extra clear in season three, when her divorce became a central storyline. We may never know if there was more to the story, but I don’t know how you could watch her conversation with Mary and not be heartbroken for her? Chrishell’s worst moment on the show was probably in season one, when she revealed to the group that Maya was pregnant, literal hours after Maya asked her to keep it a secret. But Maya didn’t seem that mad, so neither am I.

Maya

Maya, with her thick Israeli accent, two beautiful babies, and phantom husband who lives in Miami, is kind of an outlier within the group, and she mostly floats above all the drama. While Chrishell’s curiosity can get her into trouble, Maya always finds a way to participate in gossip while steering clear of any issues. Maya is mainly just spectator for other people’s drama, and her commentary is always appreciated. Her only major issue has been her insistence that Mary benefits from favoritism at the office, but like, is she wrong?

Amanza

Amanza was a total breath of fresh air when she joined the cast in season two, and her interior design background differentiates her from the rest of the Oppenheim Group agents. Amanza has worked hard to get her foot in the real estate door so she can better provide for her two kids. Seeing her journey as a single mom on the show has been emotional, to say the least, and it doesn’t seem like there’s an evil bone in her body. In two seasons, Amanza’s biggest flaw has been that she’s constantly late, but like, same.

Mary

At the beginning of the show, Mary was best friends with Christine, but she was really too normal for that friendship to hold up under the pressures of being on reality TV. The main thing about Mary is that she just needs to chill the f*ck out sometimes. She can be a bit obnoxious when dealing with her issues with Christine or her husband Romain, but overall, she means well. In the last two seasons, her friendships with Amanza and Chrishell have been amazing to see, and she’s supported both of them through some tough times. She accompanied Amanza to the courthouse while she was dealing with custody issues, and she was there for Chrishell when the shocking divorce news broke.

Romain

In season one, 25-year-old Romain proposed to 38-year-old Mary, just days after they had a conversation about the future that I just assumed would result in a breakup. Somehow, these two got married and are still together, but Romain still seems pretty immature. Mary is pushing 40, and every time she brings up having kids, or buying a house, or literally anything about the future, Romain just gives her a big shrug. Excuse me sir, you are married! You have to talk about these things! It also really rubbed me the wrong way when, during the wedding planning process, Romain decided he didn’t care about any of the decisions, because that’s “girl stuff.” Gender is a social construct, Romain!

Heather

Heather has had an interesting trajectory during her time on the show. In season one, she was dating a hockey player who was playing for a team in Slovakia, and honestly, I kind of pitied her. She was a mess, but ultimately pretty likable. By season two, she had ditched her long-distance BF, and was now dating fellow real estate TV personality Tarek El Moussa. Their relationship progressed quickly (culminating in a recent engagement), and it definitely changed the way Heather interacted with the other women on the show. In season two, she flipped out on Amanza for offering some advice about dating someone with kids, which was very uncool. She’s definitely faded into the background as she’s spent less time actually working, and it seems like she feels too good to be there anymore. Also, it is impossible for me to trust someone who orders water for lunch.

Jason & Brett

Jason and Brett are the identical twin brothers who run the Oppenheim Group (though Brett has since left and started his own competing brokerage). These 40-something men are the definition of skeezy, and pretty much every episode has at least one moment that is textbook workplace sexual harassment. Everyone on the show seems cool with the lightly misogynistic vibe, but it’s still problematic for me. The brothers are both perpetually single, but they differ in one important area: while Brett just wants to sleep with Heather, Jason actually used to date Mary (and is now her boss). Both toxic, but in different ways!

Christine

Christine Quinn seems like a nightmare to be friends with, but she’s the exact kind of nightmare that a show like this needs. Nothing is ever off-limits with Christine, and she acts like she has a physical compulsion to call people on their bullsh*t—or what she perceives to be bullsh*t—no matter how inappropriate the occasion. A brokers’ open? Better start some drama? Mary’s bachelorette party? More drama! Mary’s literal wedding? You guessed it—Christine is starting drama. Probably her single most evil move was in season two, when she went behind Mary’s back to tell Davina that she was uninvited from Mary’s wedding. Mary specifically asked all the women to keep it quiet until she had a chance to deliver the news, and after the fact, Christine wouldn’t even admit she had done anything wrong. People give Christine a free pass because she says funny things and wears exciting outfits, but like, yikes.

Davina

Davina has always been messy, but she’s only gotten worse in the more recent seasons. Whereas Christine is a fun reality TV villain, Davina honestly might be a sociopath. Back in season two, she got herself uninvited from Mary’s wedding for talking shit about her relationship, and the way she reacted made her look like a f*cking clown. And after spending all of season three looking desperate trying to sell that ridiculously overpriced $75 million house, she also managed to ruin Christine’s wedding. In the season three finale, we all watched, jaws on the floor, as Davina publicly declared at Christine’s reception that she didn’t believe Chrishell was telling the whole truth about her divorce. Not only was this extremely hurtful to Chrishell, who left the event in tears, but she also gave the editors a chance to make her BFF Christine’s wedding essentially a pretty backdrop for Chrishell’s story. Congratulations, Davina, you look evil!

Images: Lindy Lin / Netflix; Netflix; Giphy (8)