As Netflix’s hit reality series “Selling Sunset” returns for its fourth season later this month, one of the stars of the show is opening up about what to expect and the love that’s in the air.
Chrishell Stause, who at the end of the last season was still reeling from the fallout of her divorce from “This Is Us” star Justin Hartley, spoke to TODAY about her new relationship with her co-star and the owner of the brokerage, Jason Oppenheim.
She explained they had started out as friends before it turned into something more.
“We become friends that turned into best friends that didn't even see each other that way. So I think it was pretty surprising for everybody, including us,” she laughed to TODAY. Stause explained they had gotten close working together as friends just before the pandemic and then ended up being in the same COVID-19 bubble for quarantine.
“So you have your small group of people that you end up you know, hanging out with and you know, it just kind of happened where I think what started as something that was a little, you know, just going to be really light and nothing, you know, no feelings, nothing like that, it just really took a turn,” she said. “And it really kind of surprised both of us of what we kind of saw for the future and I think it was obviously a pleasant surprise.”
“I'm the happiest I've ever been. But nobody's more surprised than both of us. I mean ... we did not see this coming.”
She added that filming the show during the ongoing pandemic was tough but they were “really excited” to be able to get back together and “back to doing what we love.”
“The world had just been shut down for a year,” she said. “So it really added to the simple things and the excitement of OK, even if there is drama, at least we're just happy to be here.”
As featured in the show’s trailer this season, two new realtors, Emma Hernan and Vanessa Villela, join the cast as well — bringing even more drama to the Oppenheim Group.
The upcoming season will also show more of resident mean girl/queen bee Christine Quinn, who recently welcomed her first child with husband Christian Richard, and castmate Heather Rae Young’s romance and eventual marriage to HGTV star Tarek El Moussa of “Flip or Flop” fame.
Stause added that the already wild Los Angeles real estate market only got crazier during the pandemic.
“It was very great if you were on the selling side,” she laughed. “It sucked if you were on the buying side because yeah, so it's just, you know, it's one of those things where the power shifts.”
In fact, the first episode of the new season even features Stause’s struggle to buy her own place following her divorce.
The Kentucky native, who authored a book titled "Under Construction" during lockdown, which is due out in February, teased more drama and celebrity guests this season.
“You know, obviously people tune in for the drama and the houses ... and I feel like we really deliver and so I think we have a really fun season,” she said. “Of course it's going to get, you know, a little dramatic, but that's what makes it harder for us on this side. It makes it fun for you guys, so you guys are going to have a great time watching the show.”
“Selling Sunset” will premiere on Nov. 24.
