24 shocking Selling Sunset facts you probably didn't know
30 November 2021, 15:39
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If you could appear as a cast member on any Netflix reality show, what would it be and why would it be Selling Sunset?
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The glitzy reality series first aired on the streaming service back in 2019, and blew up massively in popularity in 2020. Since then, the glamorous agents that make up the Oppenheim Group have become stars in their own right, and people just cannot get enough of the ridiculously expensive houses, and all the drama that happens both on and off screen.
From the all the behind-the-scenes filming secrets and tidbits, to the truth behind some of the more iconic moments on the show, here's a whole host of juicy Selling Sunset facts that any super fan should know.
READ MORE: Selling Sunset season 5: Release date, cast, spoilers and news about the Netflix show
1) There’s actually way more agents that work at the Oppenheim group.
The agents we see on Selling Sunset aren't the only agents that work at the O Group. There's around 15 people in total who work at the brokerage – and there's even a few guys that work there too! Speaking to StyleCaster, Christine Quinn revealed that there were two additional female agents in the pilot episode, but they ultimately "decided not to do [the show]."
2) The show is not scripted but the agents are sometimes nudged to talk about something specific.
Producers will give the group a topic to talk about and the cast go from there, saying whatever they want to say in the moment. Chrishell told TMZ that "certain things that are a little amped up for the show", like the guy flirting with Maya during a showing.
Producer Adam DiVello also confirmed to Variety that while some things are re-filmed if there's a technical glitch or shot specifically as part of a "walk-up or a walk-away", everything else is captured as it happens.
3) Not everyone works at the office full time.
Mary is reportedly the one who is in the office the most alongside Jason, but the majority of the agents sometimes work from home or are out with clients.
4) The office is actually located on Sunset Boulevard and sometimes fans can meet the agents.
Both Heather and Chrishell have shared videos of themselves greeting fans outside the Oppenheim Group office.
5) The pilot episode of Selling Sunset was filmed a year before the show got picked up by Netflix.
Christine revealed to Entertainment Tonight that the first episode of the show was filmed long before they continued shooting for the rest of the season. Initially, it was filmed for all networks because they didn’t know where it was going to go. Eventually, Netflix bought the show and the rest is history.
READ MORE: Selling Sunset is getting a spin-off called Selling The OC
6) Chrishell was hired by The Oppenheim Group specifically for the show.
Chrishell was working elsewhere as a real estate agent before she was hired by the O Group just ahead of filming on the show. DiVello previously told Variety: "We met with Jason and Brett, and the only person that wasn’t there was Chrishell. It was Jason, Brett, Heather, Mary, Christine. Davina came in after the fact, after we had started shooting ... Chrishell was really the new addition that was brought on to the agency once we decided to make the show."
7) Jason was a successful lawyer before he quit to join the real estate business.
Before starting the Oppenheim Group, Jason got his law degree and an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. He then worked as a lawyer on some high profile corporate cases, including a prominent victory at the United States Supreme Court.
8) Real estate is a long-running Oppenheim family tradition.
Yep, the real estate business is in the Oppenheim family's blood as Jason and Brett's great-great-grandfather started one of Los Angeles's first real estate companies way back in 1889.
9) The idea for the reality show was inspired by one of the Oppenheim Group's billboards.
Christine revealed that producer Adam DiVello, who is also the man behind Laguna Beach and The Hills, was driving when he saw a billboard advertising the brokerage and thought it would make an incredible TV show. He later approached Jason and told him he wanted to create a show based on their work and lives.
10) Jason said he wouldn't have said yes to doing the show if he knew it was going to be more about personal drama and less about houses.
Jason told Hello! magazine: "Had I known the show would be this focused on our personal lives, I probably wouldn't have signed up for it. I wanted it to be all about the nuances of real estate, but I now realise the show I envisaged wouldn't be that popular. I've come to accept the idea that I'm on more of a reality show than a real-estate show."
And thank God, because where would we be without self-proclaimed villain Christine Quinn!?
READ MORE: Selling Sunset net worths: Here's how much the Netflix cast are worth
Chrishell Stause gives BTS look into filming of Selling Sunset
11) Instead of earning a salary, the agents make their money from commission.
Every time an agent sells a house in the show, we see how much commission they earn from the sale. The commission total is usually 5% of the sale, but they don't get to keep all of it. That 5% is then split between the person who represents the seller and the person who brings the buyer. Then, that 2.5% is split between the agent and the brokerage.
It's never revealed just how much commission the agents on the show earn in total, but Mary previously told Version that she earned enough one year to splash out on a new Maserati.
12) Christine's wedding took hours and hours to film.
Speaking to PageSix, wedding planner Lisa Lafferty revealed that Christine was around two hours late to the actual ceremony because of all the moments that needed to be filmed for the show.
“We ran a little bit behind all around just because they’re filming, and you have to make room for them,” Lisa said. “They need to get certain shots, and you know, we did our best. Her turning up late delayed things for about two hours … don’t think there was anything that was massively traumatic that we couldn’t recuperate but I would say timing was definitely an issue.”
13) Christine was also not happy about how her wedding was shown on screen.
While it looked absolutely gorgeous, Christine revealed that she was kind of upset with how her big day came across on the show.
Christine told People that she's unable to rewatch it back because all of the drama detracts from her special moment: “I was a little disappointed. It just didn’t really showcase the way that it was. The wedding was the best day of my life and it was hard for me to watch it on the television show because that’s not really the way that I remember it.”
She continued: “I understand they wanted to get certain storylines in there, but this was actually my day... I’m not going to lie, I was crying when I watched it. I was like ‘This is not my wedding, this is not my wedding.’"
14) Christine spends around $1000 a day on hair and makeup glam.
"I do all of my own makeup unless it’s an interview look, and I pride myself on that,” Christine told Page Six. But Netflix reportedly doesn't cover the cost for the cast's glam either. It's all paid for out of their own pockets.
Christine gives herself around 4 hours to get ready, telling People that she takes her fashion looks on the show very seriously: "It's a production. I'm not just throwing on a T-shirt: I'm planning everything. I'm like, 'Okay, what's the scene, what's the background? What are we doing? Am I going to be walking? Am I going to be sitting? Is this outfit going to be wasted? Is it being showcased?' I take all of that into account."
15) Before joining the Oppenheim Group, Christine was an actress and a model.
Yep, Chrishell and newcomer Vanessa aren't the only agents at Oppenheim who have appeared in films and TV shows before. You can spot Christine in Hot Tub Time Machine 2, NCIS: Los Angeles, Ballers and Drop Dead Diva, to name a few.
READ MORE: Is Christine Quinn leaving Selling Sunset? Here’s what she’s said about season 5
16) Everyone really did find out about Chrishell's divorce as it happened.
Chrishell's shock divorce from This Is Us star Justin Hartley was a major storyline in Selling Sunset season 3. In the show, Chrishell confides that she found out her divorce had been filed 45 minutes before the news broke in the media, via a text from Justin. And the rest of her colleagues genuinely found out after reading it on social media.
17) Chrishell was engaged to Glee’s Matthew Morrison.
Remember in Selling Sunset season 1 when Chrishell was talking about how she's thankful she never ended up with the person she was with when she was 25? That guy was Matthew Morrison.
18) Christine and Mary used to live together.
Before the drama that happens in the show, Christine and Mary were genuinely great friends, and even lived together for a while. Speaking about their fall out with Daily Star, Mary said: "You can’t be friends with everybody. And although Christine and I have been close in the past, things have changed. It wasn’t healthy."
Mary continued: "I am able to stand up for myself now and I chose to get out of a toxic situation. I’ve chosen not to have that friendship in my life."
19) Mary and Romain's wedding was real, and was not fake.
While fans were under the impression that Mary and Romain had shared their big day on the show for the first time, it was later revealed that they had a "civil union" back in 2018, before the show even started filming.
Jason Oppenheim confirmed to PopBuzz that the nuptials were real: “Mary and Romain never had a second wedding. Their wedding was on the show. They did a technical courthouse wedding, but the actual wedding with their family and friends was on the show. I don’t think that’s that uncommon.”
20) Mary hired security guards to escort people out of her wedding if they started any drama.
Drama? At Mary's wedding? Not on her watch! Speaking to ScreenRant, Mary said that she "wasn’t going to give the girls any satisfaction" and let them know beforehand that, if anyone started anything, “they would be quietly escorted” off the property.
READ MORE: Selling Sunset's Mary Fitzgerald breaks silence on fallout with Christine Quinn
21) Heather's husband Tarek El Moussa is also a reality TV real estate agent.
Tarek is best known for co-hosting HGTV's Flip or Flop with his ex-wife Christina Haack.
22) Heather has also opened up about how she was once in Playboy.
Heather has referenced her Playboy history on the show a few times. She was named Playboy Playmate Miss February 2010, and she also credits the magazine for helping her get to where she is today.
In an interview with Playboy, she said: “If I hadn’t posed for Playboy, I wouldn’t have met the people who led me to where I am now. Playboy got me used to being in front of crowds and being good on camera. Meeting fans as a Playmate prepped me for the fans I have now, from the show.”
23) Davina appeared on another real estate show before Selling Sunset.
Davina previously appeared on Bravo's Million Dollar Listing.
24) Maya's kids don't appear on the show in season 3 and 4 for a specific production reason.
Maya's children, Aidan and Elle, don't actually appear in season 3 and 4 of the show in person because it costs a lot of money to film with young children. Maya told Women's Health: "Apparently, it's expensive to film a baby in production. They have to hire nurses. The baby can only be on up to 30 minutes. It's a whole thing."
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