Heather Rae El Moussa Says Filming Selling Sunset Was “Toxic”

Heather Rae El Moussa doesn’t look back on her Selling Sunset days fondly. On April 1, the reality star stopped by The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, where she described filming the Netflix real estate show as “very toxic.”

El Moussa, who starred on Selling Sunset for seven seasons (2019–2023), said not being asked back full-time was “a blessing,” as the show had gotten “out of control.”

“In the beginning was it just all fun, not crazy drama,” she said. “We were all friends. Any drama was just simple. ... Then it just got worse and worse and worse. They started adding in more girls.”

The erratic filming schedule left her “crying from the stress,” she said, making it hard to focus on her life away from the cameras. “I never knew when I was going to be filming. It was last minute. It took over my life. It was hard to do my real job — real estate,” she added. “It was hard to do anything else.”

As for the Selling Sunset drama fans have come to expect, El Moussa said things got “pretty brutal” between her former castmates.

“I pretty much was level-headed almost the whole time. I was kind of friends with everyone,” she said. “It’s very toxic. You’re around a bunch of women, [and] everyone wants to be stars on the show, No. 1. And they’ll kind of do anything.”

She Won’t Be Back For Season 8

For the show’s seventh season, which premiered in November 2023, El Moussa took on a reduced role, having welcomed a son with husband Tarek El Moussa in February 2023. But shortly after, she revealed to E! News that Netflix still hadn’t asked her back.

Despite the show’s changes, there doesn’t appear to be bad blood. El Moussa sent well wishes to her former co-stars ahead of the Season 7 premiere. “Congrats to my girls on S7,” she wrote on Instagram, adding, “You may see me in a few episodes.”

Netflix confirmed in February 2024 that the Selling Sunset Season 8 cast doesn’t include El Moussa. (The cast consists of Jason and Brett Oppenheim, Chrishell Stause, Emma Hernan, Bre Tiesi, Chelsea Lazkani, Amanza Smith, Nicole Young, and Mary and Romain Bonnet.)

She appears content with the streamer’s decision, however, having recently told People, “I love being able to prioritize my family and my happiness and step away from some of the drama that Selling Sunset brought into my life.”