Former Selling Sunset star Maya Vander has defended Nicole Young amid her ongoing drama with Chrishell Stause and insisted she “deserves a second chance” after she liked a “homophobic” comment on social media.
The ongoing feud between Nicole, 38, and Chrishell, 43, came to the fore once again in the explosive new season of the popular Netflix series, and this time, Maya He was present to mediate the discussion.
Maya, 42, made a surprise cameo in the new series and stopped by The Oppenheim Group offices in Los Angeles just in time for another epic showdown between the two women, which saw Chrishell go on to accuse Nicole of being homophobic after she liked a fan’s Instagram comment dissing her.
Nicole later claimed that her apology to Chrishell was cut from the season seven reunion, but insisted, “It definitely DID happen!”
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com about Nicole’s actions, Maya shared: ‘I think it was honestly a miscommunication, because from what I understand, someone said a comment on Instagram that was definitely supportive of Nicole and didn’t speak well of Chrishell, and Nicole naively liked the comment.
Former Selling Sunset star Maya Vander makes a surprise cameo in the new season of the Netflix series
Maya has defended Nicole Young amid her current drama with Chrishell Stause
“But I don’t think I actually meant to like the comment about hate towards Chrishell. I think I just meant to like the comment about receiving love from someone, that’s all (but) I think I should have thought about it a little bit.”
Maya, who filmed her Selling Sunset scenes in February, continued: “I’ve known Nicole for a long time and I like her. I haven’t watched the seasons to understand what really happened there and why she came looking for Chrishell, but I think people deserve second chances.
“Just because I know her… I tell her, ‘move on, people make mistakes,’ but it seems like girls don’t really want to move on,” he added.
Referring to the final confrontation between Chrishell and Nicole in episode four, which ends with the latter apologising, Maya said: “I was a little stressed out about suddenly being in a scene that was quite dramatic than I remember when we filmed it.”
When asked if she thinks the work environment at The Oppenheim Group is toxic, or if it’s all just for the cameras, Maya revealed: “The drama is real, unfortunately. You have to keep in mind that when we’re filming, we’re in the office a lot, but off-camera, real estate is actually a very flexible business.
‘You’re not always sitting in an office and fighting – you’re going to see your clients, to screenings. Obviously when we’re filming and there’s conversations, it can be awkward and less than ideal, and the sad thing about that is that’s what TV really sells.
“Unfortunately, nobody is perfect. Drama is real and one gets carried away by it, but in everyday life, with our work and profession, we are not always sitting in the office and fighting.”
Asked if she would ever consider returning to the Netflix show for good, Maya admitted: ‘I don’t think a full-time situation would work for me logistically, just because I’m in a different state and I have kids, and it’s really hard to do the back and forth.
In the final season, Chrishell (right) is seen arguing with Nicole in The Oppenheim Group office.
Despite appearing cheerful in her cameo, Maya admitted to DailyMail.com that returning to the drama was “quite intense”.
“Cameos would be nice, but then again, the office drama… I don’t know, it was pretty intense. I can tell you that,” he added.
Another conflict dominating season eight is the drama between Bre Tiesi and Emma Hernan, after the latter accused the mother of Nick Cannon’s baby of deliberately bringing information about Chelsea Lazkani’s husband to the camera.
During the third episode, Bre, 33, is seen hanging out for cocktails with her friend Amanda Lynn, who proceeds to tell her that someone she knows has seen Chelsea’s husband, Jeff Lazkani, at a hotel with another woman.
Bre, who has had a somewhat rocky friendship with Chelsea, 31, since she joined Selling Sunset in 2023, made the decision to tell the mother of two about her husband’s alleged infidelity on camera, prompting Emma to accuse her of setting it all up.
Asked if it would have been possible for Bre to orchestrate such scenes, Maya replied: “I think anything is possible on reality TV. I wasn’t there, so it’s hard for me to say. If I had known about that situation, I don’t know if I would have chosen to tell it in front of everyone.”
“From what I’ve heard, this is the first time she’s heard about it, so I think it’s a very tough situation. I don’t think if I had heard about it, it wouldn’t have been my first interaction with Chelsea, if it were me.”
Maya’s comments come just days after Chrishell threatened to leave Selling Sunset after discovering that Nicole had secretly spread a rumor on season 8 that fellow agent Emma Hernan was having an affair with a married man.
The terrifying fallout came last weekend when officers were given footage from the new episodes and Chrishell claimed her friend Emma, 33, had been left “shocked” by the “disgusting” and “categorically false” lie.
Shocked by the damning scenes, Chrishell and her co-star Chelsea Lazkani, 30, publicly slammed Nicole and also accused Done and Done Productions, the company behind Selling Sunset, of “spreading lies to get views.”
A scene from season 8 in which Bre Tiesi (right) tells co-star Chelsea Lazkani a rumor about her husband.
Chrishell and Chelsea have come to the defense of Emma Hernan (right) after Nicole alleged she had been involved with a married man.
Throughout the new season, Nicole alluded to the fact that Emma was romantically involved with a married man and in episode 11, she told co-star Bre Tiesi about it, stating, ‘She’s been involved with people she shouldn’t have been involved with…’
“Married people?” Bre asked, and Nicole replied, “I wouldn’t trust Emma with my husband,” to which Bre sarcastically replied, “I’m not a husband stealer.”
Referring to the scenes in question, Chrishell wrote on her Instagram Stories: ‘Are we still giving airtime to LIARS who just want airtime?’
In another post he wrote: ‘I will NEVER work on a show she’s on again. I’d rather get sued.
‘Disclaimer: When you watch the video, you should know that she is telling a disgusting lie about her best friend that is categorically FALSE and SUPER damaging. IT IS NOT TRUE.’
She then tagged Done and Done Productions and added, “You’re disgusting for blindsiding her with this for the world to see instead of letting her AT LEAST defend herself with the TRUTH.”