Selling Sunset Alum Slams Netflix Reality Show as ‘Very Toxic’

Selling Sunset‘s Heather Rae El Moussa will not be returning for Season 8 — set to premiere sometime this year — and she’s not at all pressed about it.

During an appearance on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, the reality star, who was a series regular for Seasons 1-6 and briefly appeared in Season 7, opened up about her time with the Netflix reality show and the hyper-stressful work environment it bolstered.

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Calling it a “blessing” that she wasn’t asked to return for the upcoming season, El Moussa noted that she was “so much happier” filming and co-producing the HGTV unscripted series The Flipping El Moussas alongside her husband Tarek El Moussal, where they’re able to choose the work hours.

“With Selling Sunset, I never knew when I was going to be filming. It was last minute. It took over my life,” she explained. “It was hard to do my real job. I’d be gone for 12 to 14 hours some days. It was crazy because we live in Orange County, so I had to drive up to [Los Angeles] and so, it was pretty brutal. They just want more and more and more.”

“I was levelheaded almost the whole time. I was friends with everyone and… I kept things pretty chill in my life. But yeah, it’s very toxic,” she added. “You’re around a bunch of women; everyone wants to be stars on the show and number one and they’ll do anything.”

El Moussa is among the several Selling Sunset cast members who’ve departed since the show’s 2019 debut. Most notably, OG star Christine Quinn did not return for Season 6 amid allegations that she bribed a client not to work with Emma Hernan. Maya Vander also left after Season 5, as did Vanessa Ville, who joined the ensemble in Season 4.

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