Self-made millionaire and reality television star, Christine Quinn, announced in August 2022 that she will not be appearing in the sixth season of the Netflix hit series, “Selling Sunset.” She had been one of the original cast members/realtors featured in the show, and has been called by many names, including ‘icon’ and ‘bitch.’ Most fans were surprised at her decision, as she’d been doing great not only as a top real estate agent in their company for the past five years, but also rising to cable TV prominence. Viewers wondered if the reason behind her quitting the show was due to a major tiff she had with her co-stars, or the rumors that she would star in her own reality-TV show.
What is “Selling Sunset” all about?
Cable TV has been an effective marketing tool for many businesses in the form of reality-TV shows over the past decade. While there were many risks involved in letting the viewing public inside the privacy of corporate offices, the positive result in the cash register outweighed the negative ones, such as the loss of privacy and the possibility of tarnishing its reputation. The Oppenheim Group was one of the pioneers in showing the ins and outs of how a successful real estate company operated.
Origins of the show
The premise of selling properties on TV wasn’t the original concept of the creators of “Selling Sunset.” In the past, the HGTV network dabbled into real estate transactions, which they featured in their popular house makeovers TV shows. However, this was the first time that a reality-TV show would solely focus on the real estate industry. It was Adam DiVello, a TV show executive, who thought of it after he saw an ad placed by The Oppenheim Group in a magazine. He said, ‘I ripped it out and gave it to my development executive.’ He instructed them to call The Oppenheim Group, and schedule a meeting for him.
Adam became even more determined to push through with the concept after he watched Jason Oppenheim appear as basketball star Kris Humphries’ representative in Bravo TV network’s reality series, “Million Dollar Listing.” Adam had envisioned the show with Jason as his primary guy, but when Adam called him up, Jason was hesitant due to the over-the-top drama associated with most reality shows. Eventually, after several meetings, they agreed on the premise, look and narrative of the TV show.
“Selling Sunset” TV premiere
After the Oppenheim Group founder was convinced that his company would not end up just like one of those soap operas with caricature-like characters and ridiculous storylines, the filming of the pilot episode started. He was assured that the show would focus highly on the real estate business transactions, including discussion of strategies, viewing of properties, boardroom meetings, and some of the difficulties the realtors went through when closing a deal. The executive producers also told him they would include some internal issues between co-workers, as it would make the series more interesting, but not so much that it would annoy the viewers or make the company a laughingstock. On 21 March 2019, “Selling Sunset” made its television debut, and viewers loved it.
https://www.facebook.com/sellingsunsettvshow/photos/a.283281362601958/283284469268314
Meet the cast: Oppenheim twins and their real estate team
The “Selling Sunset” cast was headed by the Oppenheim twins, Jason and Brett, who co-founded the company, The Oppenheim Group. They were joined by the company’s sales team, such as Mary Fitzgerald, Heather Young, Maya Vander, Chrishell Stause, and Christine Quinn. All of them appeared in the show from the first season up to the fifth season, but additional personnel were included each season. Romain Bonnet and Davida Potratz started as recurring guests, but were later upgraded to the main cast along with Amanza Smith during its second season. Emma Hernan and Vanessa Villela were added in the fourth season, while Chelsea Lazkani was the last to be added to the cast during its fifth season.
Know more about The Oppenheim Group
Jason and Brett Oppenheim were from a family with a long, notable history in the real estate industry. The twins’ great-great-grandfather, Jacob Stern, was the one who established The Stern Realty Co in 1889 – at that time, the company’s office was located inside a barn on his personal property. Through his hard work, he had two of Hollywood’s most iconic and future historic buildings the Hollywood Plaza Hotel and the original Paramount Pictures movie studio built on his grounds, making it one of the prime locations for real estate back then.
Buying and selling real estate properties was in their blood, and so their father established the brokerage firm, The Oppenheim Group, in the 1980s. The business was supposed to be passed on to the twins, but they were troublemakers back then and so it closed down. There were multiple high school expulsions, and it took a militaristic method of teaching from their father, who was a Vietnam War veteran, to straighten them out. Eventually, they turned a new leaf, and both graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Law., and became associated with prestigious law firms. However, Jason wanted a piece of the real estate industry, and re-opened their father’s company, after which Brett resigned from his work, and joined his brother. In 2020-21, the International Property Awards recognized Jason as the Best Real Estate Agent in the United States.
Get to know Christine Quinn before her stint in “Selling Sunset”
Christine Quinn was acknowledged by many to be the most electrifying star in “Selling Sunset,” described by the press as someone who was always front and center of most of the drama issues in the show. Here are some of the most interesting things about her, before she joined The Oppenheim Group and became a reality-TV breakout star:
Homeschooled due to mother’s bout with cancer
Christine Bentley Quinn was born on 14 October 1988, in Dallas, Texas. Her childhood was pretty normal up until her mother was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 40, and became extremely ill, so Christine had little choice but to quit school to be with her. For someone who loved interacting at school, she admitted it was hard for her, however, it was interesting to note that during one of her interviews, she called her growing-up years ‘different’, not ‘difficult’. which showed her unique outlook on life, but saying that she grew up fast during those times.
Her greatest insecurity – she had no high school diploma
When her mother continued to have multiple health issues, Christine devoted most of her time to taking care of her, and as a result didn’t finish high school. She confessed, ‘Something I’ve never spoken about publicly is that I don’t have a high school diploma. I’m really insecure about it.’ She wanted to forget about it, but wanted to share her experience so other people would know that they weren’t the only ones who never had enough funds to get a diploma. She also said that these things should be discussed, to take the pressure off those individuals who couldn’t get a formal education, and let them know that there were other options, and not everyone had to follow the same path to be successful.
Pursued a career in acting and modeling
In 2009, the 5ft 7ins blue-eyed blond left her hometown, and flew to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. With her physique and beauty, she was able to land modeling gigs with various products, and had magazine photoshoots. Christine started acting in 2010, with small roles in two independently produced films, “Wrong Side of Town” and “Super”. It was a year later when she became a member of SAG. Christine shared, ‘I got really lucky – the first job I ever did, I was SAG and had a billboard on Sunset [Boulevard] for this silly movie’; it was a horror film called “Shark Night 3D” with Dustin Milligan, Katherine McPhee and Sara Paxton, after which she went on to make 18 more movies. She made her TV debut in “Lone Star” in 2010, and appeared in several popular TV series, such as “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Family Tree,” “Drop Dead Dive,” and “Ballers.”
Advocated on getting a sugar daddy
Christine confessed that she had a sugar daddy back then through her self-penned book, “How to Be a Boss B*tch,” but she advised that women should ensure having a separate account to keep their own money. The blond bombshell said that it was better if one should be upfront about it, even on the first date. She parted ways with her sugar daddy, because she felt that he was too controlling, claiming that her partner wanted to do everything together but she wanted some semblance of independence.
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Christine’s journey with “Selling Sunset”
The model turned actress took a two-year hiatus from the entertainment industry and traveled around. After the much-needed break, she wanted to change her life and be a realtor.
How it all began
When she returned to California, she saw her friend Jason Oppenheim, and was inspired by what he had achieved in the real estate business. She wanted the same thing, so he told her, ‘Just study for the real estate exam, take three months and get back to me.’ Christine took his advice to heart but she only studied for three weeks or an equivalent of around 135 hours of pre-licensing education. After she passed the real estate licensure examination, she contacted Jason again, and told him she was ready – the Oppenheim founder was shocked that she was able to do it that quickly. Apparently, she took an Adderall prescription to aid her in her test, and was like an expert with a great memory, just like “Rain Man.” Jason hired her to be part of his sales team.
She was designated as the villain in the ‘evil editing’ in “Selling Sunset”
The Oppenheim twins brought the company’s top agents into the reality-TV show. Among the five girls who were introduced during the first season of the show, Christine was given the villain character, and was immediately both hated and loved by the fans. She was surprised at how she was portrayed after she watched the first season; some of her lines in the show became iconic, but admitted that many lines were fed to them. For instance, she wasn’t so keen on uttering the line, ‘Bitch doesn’t even cook!’ because she didn’t want the viewers to think that she talked that way to her clients, but was glad that it became popular. The bitch reputation came from the editing room, but she wasn’t the only one who got the evil edit. ‘They really, really did. Davina (Potratz) and I both really got to read filth in the editing room.’
Her quota per year in closing deals
Each year was different for her, as the real estate market could change depending on the economic climate, not only locally but also globally. She mentioned in an interview that if she was able to close a $6 million deal, then she would take a break for the rest of the year. However, if the deal was only worth $2 million, then she would continue closing four to five deals the rest of the year.
The differences between reel and real
During the start of “Selling Sunset” filming, she initially thought that the reality-TV show was all about the daily activities of a realtor, but soon realized that it was an entertainment show first and foremost. For instance, there was a property valued at $17 million, and she wanted the viewing public to have a closer look at it, but the TV producers didn’t want to spend too much money on bringing the crew to its location, because it was an hour away from their office. She was frustrated at first, then learned to adapt from the second season onwards. Instead of worrying about the real estate part of it, she decided to just dress up stylishly, be herself, and have fun. Her work as a reality-TV star became easier after that, and made her more comfortable with everything thrown at her.
Her infamous squabble with Chrishell Stause
From the get-go, Christine and co-worker Chrishell Stause didn’t see eye to eye on many things. During a pool party in the first season, Christine accused Chrishell of being a two-faced backstabbing bitch. After that, Chrishell avoided Christine like a plague, so that even the production team had to film them separately. Christine said, ‘She likes to be the victim, and really loves to get sympathy from the audience. That’s just kind of how she goes about things.’ The tall, svelte realtor said that she didn’t go that way as she was a strong person, and would own up to the things she did. She also said that she reached out many times to her, but felt that Chrishell threw her under the rug each time it happened. At one point, they talked in the third season and agreed to remain civil towards one another. However, when Chrishell had a controversial public divorce from actor Justin Harley, she didn’t like Christine spreading unverified information about it to the press. Their relationship went sideways again and never recovered.
Personal life
At the end of the third season of “Selling Sunset,” Christine married Christian Richard, a multi-millionaire software engineer, in a lavish ceremony on 15 December 2019 in an old cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. They met in 2018 through a common friend when he was looking for a property, and immediately started dating. The couple welcomed their son they named Christian Georges Dumontet in May 2020.
The rumors and the real reason why she left “Selling Sunset” after five years
After Christine failed to appear in the reunion episode of the fifth season, many speculations were thrown on social media. There were rumors that she was leaving the show, and that her services were terminated by Jason Oppenheim, stemming from the story that Christine was accused of bribery by one of her co-realtors. Allegedly, Christine offered $5,000 to a client of Emma Herman so he would work with her instead; it was the client who told Emma about it. Christine denied it vehemently and said that she could file a lawsuit against them, but they couldn’t afford her lawyers.
#ChristineQuinn is done with #SellingSunset… but she is not done looking fabulous! She was spotted wearing #ChristianCowan while working on a new fashion project!https://t.co/DNGEn43q1m
— Pop Lips (@poplipsmagazine) August 24, 2022
Apparently, the reason she wasn’t in the reunion episode was that she tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. Another co-star, Amanda Smith, also tested positive. but appeared in the episode through a zoom meeting. Christine was offered the same thing by the production team, but said she wasn’t feeling well, so opted not to appear at all. Other cast members were highly doubtful of her reason for failing to show up, because three days after she tested positive, she was seen filming a commercial for the TV show, “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” It was reported that she’d undergone two negative tests as per the Covid-19 protocols, and so returned to her scheduled activities.
After weeks of speculations, in August 2022, Christine finally announced, ‘I have left The Oppenheim Group to start my own venture, actually called RealOpen.com. It was purely a decision for what was best for my business.’ She claimed that it was a mutual decision, as she considered “Selling Sunset” her baby.
