Heather Rae El Moussa calls Selling Sunset 'very toxic'

When Selling Sunset began in 2019, we were introduced to the Oppenheim Group and their realtors, located in the Los Angeles market. It was our first introduction to Heather Rae El Moussa (nee Young), as well as Christine Quinn, Mary Fitzgerald, and more. There was a lot to love about the series that did a deep dive into the world of luxury real estate.

However, it did not take long for the series to do what reality TV does best: bring on the drama! And while Heather may not have been a big part of the early drama, it didn't take long for her to be dragged into some of the messiness.

Selling Sunset also gave us the start of Heather's relationship with Tarek El Moussa and even their engagement and beyond. But it was clearly not all sunshine and roses in California. According to Us Weekly, it sounds like behind the scenes was even more dramatic than what we may have seen on screen.

In a recent appearance on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, Heather Rae El Moussa opened up about her time on Selling Sunset and not being asked back for another season. Specifically, the reality TV realtor called the show "very toxic."

"In the beginning was it just all fun, not crazy drama. We were all friends. Any drama was just simple. Then it just got worse and worse and worse. They started adding in more girls. It just became out of control."

- Heather Rae El Moussa

And it does make sense that more women also meant more personalities to deal with. But it sounds like the behind-the-scenes drama was so stressful for Heather because she would find herself "crying from the stress." She even talked about how "it’s very toxic. You’re around a bunch of women that everyone wants to be stars on the show, No. 1. And they’ll kind of do anything."

Considering the stress and the fact that things apparently got to a point where Heather would leave work in tears, it makes sense that she might not want to return to work for a new season of drama. Obviously the series is about real estate, or at least that is how it all started, but if there is that level of drama, it must be hard to focus on the actual business of selling these luxury homes.

Just because Heather Rae El Moussa may no longer be a part of Selling Sunset, that doesn't mean that she has left the reality TV sphere. In fact, if you are a fan of the realtor, you already know that she works alongside her husband on HGTV on their series The Flipping El Moussas. While she may not be working with the girls anymore on screen, she did let everyone know that she is still close with a number of the women from the show and that is definitely a positive takeaway.

It is not that surprising to learn that Heather found Selling Sunset to be toxic. Just watching the series, we can tell that the drama is enough to shake even the most hardened realtor. And while some of these ladies might be able to thrive amidst the drama, others like Heather clearly struggle with the spectacle of it all.