Heather Rae El Moussa might live in Orange County, but she has no intentions of hanging out with the ladies of the O.C. — for now.
In a recent interview with Us Weekly, the former Selling Sunset star was asked if she’d ever consider joining Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County. “Well, you know, they may have reached out to me,” Heather revealed, suggesting that she turned the show down due to her packed schedule.
“I’m just too busy right now. It’s just not a good place in my life to do that,” she continued, adding that she’d much rather film her HGTV show The Flip Off, which she fronts with her husband, Tarek El Moussa, and his ex-wife, Christina Hall.
“I love being able to film with my husband and be drama-free,” she continued. “I like [being] drama free. Selling Sunset was a lot for me, so it’s nice to be able to just enjoy what I’m doing.”
Despite his wife’s Real Housewives reluctance, Tarek appears open to Heather joining the franchise. “You just never know,” he told Us Weekly about the prospect of her joining the show, which currently stars Tamra Judge, Heather Dubrow, Shannon Beador, Emily Simpson, Gina Kirschenheiter, Jennifer Pedranti, and Katie Ginella.
Given Heather’s reality TV resume, she’d be a fitting addition to RHOC. She previously starred in Netflix’s Selling Sunset as a full-time cast member for six seasons, before taking a reduced role in Season 7 after welcoming a son with her husband Tarek in February 2023.
Netflix confirmed in February 2024 that the Selling Sunset Season 8 cast wouldn’t include Heather, but would star Jason and Brett Oppenheim, Chrishell Stause, Emma Hernan, Bre Tiesi, Chelsea Lazkani, Amanza Smith, Nicole Young, and Mary and Romain Bonnet.
Selling Sunset Was “Toxic”
Appearing on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast shortly after her Selling Sunset exit, Heather said leaving the “very toxic” real estate reality show was “a blessing.”
“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.”
Heather also claimed the show’s increasingly busy filming schedule left her “crying from the stress,” making it difficult to focus on her real life. “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.”
