Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year, or have not realised what’s good for you: you will be rightfully obsessed with Selling Sunset, the reality TV show that’s got us all through lockdown.
The premise, oh uninitiated few, is simple. An office filled with business-brained Barbies selling flashy homes for gazillionaires in the Hollywood hills. Every multi-million dollar property sold by the savvy, stiletto-clad power queens of the Oppenheim Group – run by travel-size twins Brett and Jason – comes with a side order of more drama than you can shake your shellac manicure at.
The undisputed queen of the group, Christine Quinn, sat down for a virtual chat with GLAMOUR to spill all the tea on her gothic winter wonderland wedding, who really gets on with whom and what exactly is going on with the Oppenheim Group. Here’s what we learnt…
She’s patched up her friendship with Mary…
The ride-or-die besties, Christine and Mary, were the backbone friendship of season one, whose solid union had -mysteriously-disintegrated by season two. The result was a dividing line between Team Mary and Team Christine in the office, a division that dominated both of the latter seasons.
“It was really strange to watch it play out,” she says, “We hadn’t seen each other Mary and I, in between the first two seasons, so much time went by. And then even when we were filming, they were keeping us apart.”
A few days before our interview, Mary Facetimed Christine. “You’re the first person I’ve told!” she exclaims.
“I was like, is this a butt dial? I couldn’t believe that she was calling me, I actually moved a work meeting because I wanted to talk to her,” she says, “ So, her and I were sitting on FaceTime for a good hour and a half. And then, you know, we just decided, let’s get together like, let’s do this. It was so nice because it was something that was weighing on me for so long. I don’t know why we let this silly stuff get in the way of the solid friendship that we did have. I’m glad that we came to a really great place.”
…but not with Chrishell (yet)
Christine and her co-star Chrishell have made no pretence of the fact they do not get on. In fact, Chrishell rather publicly has our Ms Quinn blocked on social media. Is a reconciliation on the cards?
“I was talking to Mary about this, and I think we both are ready to, you know, move on,” Christine explains, “I feel like it’s time to like put the past in the past and reconnect because I mean, you shouldn’t hold a grudge this long and we’re grown ass women. We can get over that. She can unblock me then..”
She wants us to see more of her wedding.
“I have the raw footage of my wedding,” she says, of the lavish gothic winter wonderland we saw glimpses of in the season three finale, “I was thinking of putting it up on YouTube: 15 minutes of just my wedding because I feel like that’s what people deserve to see!”
In fact, the drama which played out on her big day, a clash between Davina and Chrishell, was short lived.
“Chrishell may have stormed out of my wedding but she came back!” she announces, “We sorted it all out and she was able to enjoy the rest of the evening.”
Oh and one more thing…
“People weren’t choking on the fake snow!” she eyerolls, “That was very dramatic.”
“My budget is love!” she laughs, repeating her infamous catchphrase, “I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a store and not bought something.”
Her OTT fashion, from neon Balenciaga shoes and Dolly Parton-esque ensembles, has long been a talking point of the show. But none more so than her single dressed-down moment of season three, when we saw her in – *gasp* jeans…
We just felt you wore stilettos on the treadmill, no?
“I love that. Let’s stick with that vision of me,” she deadpans, “I like that much better than my jeans.”
But don’t judge her for the way she looks…
“I can totally dress like a stripper and still be a boss-ass-bitch,” she declares, “Proving people wrong is my favourite thing to do. I’m not a ditzy blonde. I’m really good with negotiating, I’m great with people, I’m very, very business savvy. I think you see that in season three when I am hard negotiating with a client. People realise, oh sh**, she’s a shark.”
Balancing her burgeoning fame with her successful career as a realtor, however, has its blessings and its downsides…
“I definitely get more clients but it’s also a harder vetting process because you don’t know if they really want to buy a house or talk about the show,” she says, “So I’m like- as long as I see proof of funds…I’ll spill the tea all day long…”
She’s not a raging bitch. She’s just honest.
“I want to be honest, I want to tell the truth, but sometimes people aren’t ready to hear things, even if it is the truth,” she says, claiming her reputation as the Queen B Bitch of the group is unfounded, “A lot of the time I’m like am I the only person that sees this, like, I should have been a lawyer. I can evaluate situations really well. I want to tell people everything but you know, people have to be ready to hear it.”
Indeed, it’s often her loyalty (which she defines as “if I want to bury a bitch, you’ll be there with a shovel”) which has got her into trouble.
“I am a very, very loyal person to the point where I was finding myself defending my friends who, in fact, really didn’t even care to be defended. And then I will lose another friendship in the process,” she explains, “I did that two times on the show and I’ve been thrown under the bus and unappreciated for, you know, the intention of what I was trying to do. So I realised I can still be loyal without getting involved with other people in the process.”
Her witty clapbacks may have ruffled feathers, but her villain status soon paled in comparison to her co-star Davina’s…
She laughingly agrees.
“I feel like I get away with a lot because I’m super bitchy, but I’m *funny* bitchy,” she says, sharing that she is attempting to help Davina’s tone, “I told her, we got to work on this, let’s make you a little warmer. I guess until you watch yourself on TV, you really don’t know how things are gonna come across.”
Christine herself has no regrets about her behaviour on the show.
“If I didn’t do what I wanted to do, I would have fake friends. I don’t want fake friends. I’d rather have less friends.”
She really *is* friends with Queer Eye’s Karamo…
“I love him!” she squeals, “We’re great friends and I was actually just texting him last night. He’s a fantastic human and him and his soon to be husband are just great. And I love them as clients and even more as friends.”
Should we get the Fab Five to tackle Jason Oppenheim?
“Omg, I would die. I love that.”
Speaking of the Oppenheim brothers…
“Brett has left to start his own brokerage,” Christine confirms, “The girls are fed up with the favouritism of Mary in the office, we don’t know who will move where. It may be the battle of the brokerages! I think season four is going to be the juiciest season ever.”
While we wait for filming to resume, Christine says she is happy with her new married life, is working on a lifestyle brand that she describes as “If Gwyneth Paltrowand Glossier had a baby” and will hopefully have her own baby with new husband Christian, sometime soon.
But, pregnancy hormones *and* Christine’s truth-serum attitude?
“I should just wear a shirt that says ‘Sorry, not sorry’ every day.”
Oh and finally…
“YES we can agree that the $75 million house was overpriced!” she laughs “Of course it was!!”
Unsurprisingly, the house remains on the market.
Selling Sunset seasons 1-3 is on Netflix now.
