Yahoo News 'Selling the OC' Season 1's Biggest Bombshells Include Major Rivalries and Infidelity Close Calls
Netflix expands its universe of drama-prone real estate agents with the new docu-soap Selling The OC, which follows a new, larger cast as they trade high-priced listings while managing an assortment of interpersonal intrigue.
The Selling Sunset spinoff sees Brett and Jason Oppenheim expanding their Oppenheim Group real estate firm into Newport Beach, California. The twins entrust 11 new agents to help launch their empire in the affluent area and the end results are a mix of incredible houses and spicy office politics.
The new cast membersare all determined to be the brokerage's top-performing agent and have no problem taking each other down to make it so. All eight episodes of the reality series landed on the streamer Wednesday and PEOPLE os brealomg down the first season's biggest rivalries and bombshells.
Be warned, spoilers for the entire season lie ahead.
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A Brokerage Divided
It's clear from the very start that there is a division amongst the agents, with Alexandra Jarvis and Alexandra Rose immediately being presented as a duo who do their best work together, but have trouble winning over the rest of their co-workers.
Jarvis is quick to point out that "Rose and I are the top-producing female agents in the office," making it evident they believe there is a reason for the others to be unnerved by their presence. "We run circles around them. We're really unstoppable," she adds, while some of the other agents begin questioning how the pair, specifically Rose, nab their larger listings.
"I can't believe the girls have the audacity to spread rumors about how I get my listings," Rose responds to allegations that she takes up personal relationships with potential clients to secure their business, citing jealousy as the reason for the gossip. "That's so pathetic," she says
Tensions between the pair and the other agents continues throughout the season, with co-stars Sean Palmieri saying they bring a "weird, awkward energy" and Polly Brindle referring to Jarvis as "the worst person in the f***ing world."
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Things come to a head at Gio Helou's casino night, where the pair engage in a chat that turns heated when Jarvis calls Brindle "honey," which sets off the British agent. "Don't 'honey' me! Don't f***ing 'honey' me," she shouts about their "snarky little comments."
The rest of the group comes to Brindle's defense, with Brandi Marshall saying Jarvis and Rose "put off hateful energy."
Rose tells them to brush off the word choice, citing "far worse things in the world."
Alexandra Hall then tells the pair "they are rubbing their stink on everything in the office" and refers to them as "bullies."
The season ends with an agency yacht party that leads to another confrontation between the women, rehashing the casino night drama without much closure.
"I want nothing to do with them," concludes Brindle.
The guys also get involved, with Tyler Stanaland letting Jarvis and Rose know he thinks they "are coming to the table with an agenda to start s***" after his name is brought into the conversation. "You can only burn so many bridges until there's nothing left to cross," he says before the pair storm out of the event.
The season ends with the news the duo have sold a massive $20 million listing, stirring up an assortment of dirty looks from the rest of the agents.
A Damaging Close-Call Kiss
A major rift occurs in the cast due to an off-camera close call between Stanaland, who has been married to actress Brittany Snow since 2020, and one of his single co-workers, Kayla Cardona, who allegedly tried to kiss him when the they all went to after-work drinks.
Some of the cast discuss the event the following day, where Stanaland reveals that an allegedly intoxicated Kayla "genuinely tried to kiss me" while they were out, telling them that "no one has to know." The shocking development offends a number of the agents.
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Brindle admits to being triggered by Cardona's actions because she was previously cheated on by a spouse, saying it's "not only disrespectful to Tyler and Tyler's marriage, but also disrespectful to me... It's honestly despicable behavior."
A tense conversation then takes place at the office between Cardona and Brindle, where the former admits her actions and condemns the latter for discussing the incident.
Meanwhile, Hall and Marshall are eavesdropping and expressing concerns that Cardona will try to spin the events in her favor. "There's no redemption here, sweetheart," Hall says. "I already know she's gonna pull some victim s***."
Cardona then explains to the entire group, "I will apologize to Tyler, but moving forward, I would appreciate if you girls stopped talking about it."
Hall retaliates, believing the agent isn't thinking about anyone but herself and saying, "You've put me and Polly, and other people in this office, in very uncomfortable situations."
Brindle explains that apologies are owed to the entire group, which causes Cardona to break down in tears, admitting she is both "embarrassed" and "horrified" by her behavior.
But Hall isn't convinced, adding, "It doesn't seem like you're sorry for what you did, it seems like you're sorry because people found out."
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Cardona storms out and eventually sits down with Stanaland for a one-on-one lunch to apologize for her actions. She assures him that she was drunk and that he "will never be put in that type of situation again."
Stanaland accepts her response and explains that "boundaries" need to be put in place for their relationship going forward, admitting that this wasn't the first time this has happened. "My wife and I are strong, we communicate, there is no issue between us," he adds. Stanaland tells the rest of the cast he "wants it to be done" and "move forward" as they respect his wishes, deciding they're all okay with Cardona as long as he is.
Since wrapping filming, Stanaland has admitted to downplaying the incident for Cardona's sake and his own. "On the show, out of respect for her, I am just kind of trying to minimize it and brush past it so that there isn't drama. We can all focus on what we should be doing," the former professional surfer said of his colleague during Wednesday's episode of the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast. "But that was something where I had to kind of set some hard lines and some boundaries and reconsider the social environment a bit. Nothing happened. It was just … something that, you know, you don't do to somebody who is married."
Snubbing Miscommunication
Nothing gets reality stars more riled up than a social misstep, and the cast of Selling The OC are no exception. An awkward encounter takes places during the new office launch party that sees Hall standing silently alongside Helou's wife, Tiffany. But what appears to viewers as a brief, bizarre moment turns into a huge blow-up between Hall and Helou that runs across multiple episodes.
During an open house later hosted by Helou, he lets Hall know his wife personally felt "snubbed" and "ignored" by her at the party. While Hall has no memory of the moment, Helou makes it known his wife is "not one to exaggerate."
Helou reveals he was told this information in confidence and that Hall should not bring it up to his wife, which she calls "very weird."
Despite her belief that no snub occurred, Helou adds, "What I know is I trust my wife, and she's not a melodramatic person."
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Afterward, Hall tells the other agents how "offended" she is by the entire ordeal, saying Helou "needs to respect me and know that I won't tolerate that, so he should tread very lightly." Conversations around the "demeaning" encounter continue during a brokerage beach outing in the following episode, where Hall says she wants "to literally bury Gio in the sand right now" before once again facing off over the incident.
"Doesn't sound like she can handle the office, then maybe don't bring her around anymore," Hall tells Helou about feeling blindsided by his confrontation at a professional event. "She should know me better than to have snubbed her at a f***ing party."
Helou admits that his wife didn't want to bring the issue up, but he felt compelled to do so since it involves one of his coworkers. "If you offend her, you offend me. That's how it works when you're married," he explains.
"You're dramatic, she's not," Hall retorts before Helou admits to feeling "steamrolled" by his fellow agent.
"It's been a pleasure, good luck," he ends the conversation before Hall walks away in a huff. "She's like an atomic bomb. She can blow everything out of proportion," Helou says in a confessional about the entire interaction.
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The two keep their distance for the remainder of the season, keeping things cordial enough at Helou's casino night event, where Hall makes sure to formally greet Tiffany. "I'm here, look at me, I'm not snubbing anybody," she jokes in a confessional after her entrance.
Time will tell if any of this peace will last or it's only a matter of time before old wounds reopen.
All episodes of Selling The OC are now streaming on Netflix.
