Selling Sunset Fake or Real? Secrets From Hit Netflix Show Revealed

Recently, Netflix’s Selling Sunset– which has been one of their first hit reality shows- has come under scrutiny that there

Selling Sunset Cast

Recently, Netflix’s Selling Sunset– which has been one of their first hit reality shows- has come under scrutiny that there may be no “real” in the reality.

While every reality show tends to have a bit of “fakery” to it, some in the past have had more than others. For example, your typical reality show places people together in places they might not be unless they were filming a show. Other reality shows have set up scenes, where production encourages certain cast members to meet and discuss a certain thing. Still other reality shows can be almost scripted to a certain extent/completely faked just to tell certain stories and garner ratings. 

We reached out to an exclusive insider to find out what exactly is real- and what’s not- in the Selling Sunset world. 

Fake Rumors Started With Chrissy… 

The talk surrounding Selling Sunset being fake all started last week with a tweet from John Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen

On August 18th, Teigen tweeted “I just watched all of Selling Sunset after watching everyone talk about it for so long! I don’t even think anyone on it is as mean or insane as you guys said? Maybe I’m just so used to it because I live here? This is pretty normal lol some are actually really nice.” 

While this tweet didn’t stand out as anything that would get people talking, it was Teigen’s next two tweets that did.

“I will say,” Teigen then tweeted, “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.”

“Maybe I also know everyone on tv plays up a character,” Teigen continued. “They’re all doing that. You guys are… super mad at people who are in on the joke.”

Chrissy Teigen tweet about Selling Sunset Selling Sunset is questioned by Chrissy Teigen Selling Sunset fake tweet

With Teigen’s large following on Twitter, it led to a lot of media coverage- not to mention responses on Twitter- regarding if the show was indeed fake. Some people started responding to Teigen with their own stories of how the show may not be real, with one Twitter user writing that “I heard from someone that lives across the street from their office that it’s literally ALWAYS closed, no one is ever there. She did see one guy in there once, but not anyone from the show.” 

The Cast Responds 

Teigen’s tweet led to a lot of the cast to begin issuing responses which included the following: 

  • Owner of The Oppenheim Group (the real estate brokerage where all of the women on the show work) Jason Oppenheim tweeting, “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 Who (seriously, I love your new house). My team works tirelessly and if their real estate successes don’t precede them yet, they will. Remember their names. And feel free to come by the office and say hi.”
  • In a statement to US Magazine, cast member Mary Fitzgerald told them that “I was geeking out. I love Chrissy Teigen. We were just on a girls’ trip a couple of days before that, and all of us were talking about who we would want to meet and have a conversation with or who do you think would be cool that watches our show and loves it. And I was like, ‘Oh, the Obamas and Chrissy Tiegen.’ It’s not fake. We try to put as much of our lives out there as possible.I think sometimes things get played out of order. Like they’ll film things and then, and then they can show like one scene before it actually happened in real life. Just because for viewers, they need to set it up like one way so it makes sense.” While Fitzgerald did admit to US that producers “encourage us to talk about things that we normally wouldn’t want to talk about,” she added that “We’re like, ‘Oh, I want to talk about that.’ They’re like, ‘Well, I mean, it’s not going to make sense to people if they see the outcome of someone saying something or doing something, and then we don’t. So they encourage us to- if something does happen, then we’re going to have a conversation with one of the girls- wait and do it on camera. So that it’s real so viewers can follow along.”
  • Cast member Maya Vander also spoke to US, stating that “I know she was looking in West Hollywood and recently purchased a property down the street from an Oppenheim Group listing. If she’s looking for a home in Miami anytime soon, she can always shoot me an email. Super excited she loves the show!”
  • Cast member Davina Potratz told US that “It’s refreshing to have somebody with a platform like Chrissy Teigen acknowledge we’re real people with real lives despite being on TV. So cool to see she’s watching our show!”
  • Chrishell Stause took to her Instagram story to state that “Staging starts tomorrow, hits the market Monday. I’m really a real realtor — LOL!”
  • Heather Rae Young told Access Hollywood that “We are a boutique agency. But she has seen the show. She obviously has heard of us at this point so, I don’t know where she’s been hiding under a rock. We all are very active real estate agents and we are very, very busy at the moment.”
  • On The Gay and The Girl Podcast, Fitzgerald’s husband, Romain Bonnett stated that “Heather has her license. Maya works in Miami, she has a license. Amanza … when she got her license, she celebrated with us. Mary has it. Heather, I believe, she closed a deal not long ago. I don’t talk to Christine. But, Heather I believe … when they bought their house they are living in right now, she closed the deal.”

Shocking Selling Sunset Plot Twist 

While it seemed like the stars of Selling Sunset were holding to the claims the show is real- even if producers do encourage them to talk about certain things- a shocking report came out over the weekend that seems to add to the notion that the show is fake. 

TMZ ran a report detailing that Fitzgerald and Bonnett had actually gotten married 19 months before their wedding aired during the second season on Netflix. 

According to TMZ, a copy of their license and certificate of marriage shows that the pair tied the knot on March 9th, 2018 at the Ventura County Courthouse. TMZ’s report explains that Selling Sunset’s first season did not even begin taping until July of 2018, and that on that season Bonnett proposes to Fitzgerald. Bonentt also stated on that season, as TMZ mentions, that he had been dating Fitzgerald for “a little over a year” and, when pressed on the show about if a marriage with Fitzgerald was in his future, he alluded that they’d have to wait and see, obviously knowing that the pair were already legally married. 

This adds a new interesting twist into the conversations regarding the show being fake, as it calls into question the validity of the wedding fans saw play out on the show. While it’s certainly possible Fitzgerald and Bonnett were legally married at the courthouse and wanted a bigger wedding, the whole “engagement” storyline certainly seems bizarre given the documentation obtained by TMZ.

Fake Or Real? What’s Really Going On? 

CELEB reached out to a prominent Hollywood Realtor in Beverly Hills to get the inside scoop on what’s real- and what’s not- in terms of Selling Sunset.

Selling Sunset has parts that are very real and parts that are not,” our source began with dishing. 

“The women on the show are all realtors, have licenses, and all do sell property in the area,” they continued stating. “Jason is also the brokerage owner and all of the women do work for them.”

“With that being said,” our insider went on to state, “the women don’t actually work in the office unless filming is happening. If you were to randomly walk into The Oppenheim Group, you wouldn’t see one of the women sitting at a desk there working, just like you wouldn’t see some of the stars of Vanderpump Rules working behind the bar if you were to walk into SUR.” 

“So yes, there are parts of the show that theoretically could be labeled fake,” our source wrapped with dishing, “but then there are also parts that are real. And isn’t that what a good reality show is at its core, anyway?

While there likely will still be a lot of discussion around if Selling Sunset is fake or not, at the end of the day we personally don’t care. It’s an enjoyable show to watch, has drama, and keeps us engaged. In the current state of the world, we need more of that, real or not.

MORE SELLING SUNSET NEWS:

Mary Fitzgerald- Selling Sunset Season 3 Is Going To Be Insane

Selling Sunset Cast Feud: Heather Rae Young Breaks Silence- ‘The Ship Has Sailed And Will Not Return’

Selling Sunset’s Maya Vander Talks ‘Shock and Disappointment’ With New Season

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