Former Selling Sunset star Maya Vander has defended Nicole Young amid her ongoing drama with Chrishell Stause, insisting she “deserves a second chance” after liking a “homophobic” comment on social media.
The ongoing feud between Nicole, 38, and Chrishell, 43, reared its head again in the explosive new season of the hit Netflix series — and this time Maya was present to mediate the dispute.
Maya, 42, made a surprise cameo in the new series, visiting The Oppenheim Group’s Los Angeles offices just in time for another epic showdown between the two women. Chrishell continued to accuse Nicole of being homophobic after she liked a fan’s offensive comment on Instagram.
Nicole later claimed that her apology to Chrishell was cut from the season seven reunion, but she insisted, “It absolutely happened!”
Maya spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com about Nicole’s actions: ‘I think it was a miscommunication honestly because as far as I know, someone on Instagram made a comment clearly supporting Nicole and not being nice to Chrishell, and Nicole naively liked that comment.
Former Selling Sunset star Maya Vander makes surprise cameo in the new season of the Netflix series
Maya has defended Nicole Young amid her ongoing drama with Chrishell Stause
“But I don’t think she really wanted to like the comment about Chrishell hating. I think she just overly wanted to like the comment about getting love for someone, that’s it. [but] I think she should have thought about it for a moment.’
Maya, who filmed her Selling Sunset scenes in February, continued, “I’ve known Nicole for a long time and I like Nicole. I haven’t watched the seasons to understand what really happened there and why she came for Chrishell, but I do think people deserve second chances.
“Just knowing her… I say, ‘Move on, people make mistakes,’ but it seems like the girls don’t want that at all,” she added.
Referring to the final confrontation between Chrishell and Nicole in episode four, which ends with Nicole apologizing, Maya said, “It felt a little stressful to suddenly be in a pretty dramatic scene, from what I remember from filming.”
When asked if she thinks The Oppenheim Group has a toxic work environment — or if it’s all just for the cameras — Maya revealed, “The drama is unfortunately real. 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 fluid business.
‘You’re not always in the office and fighting – you’re going to your clients, you’re going to screenings. Obviously when we’re filming and there’s chatter, it can be uncomfortable and not ideal, and the sad thing is that’s actually what sells TV.
“Unfortunately, nobody is perfect. The drama is real and you kind of go along with it, but in our daily lives with our jobs and our professions, we’re not always in the office fighting.”
When asked if she would ever consider returning to the Netflix series permanently, Maya admitted, “I don’t think a full-time job would work logistically for me because I live in a different state and have kids, and it’s really hard to go back and forth all the time.
In the final season, Chrishell (right) is seen arguing with Nicole at The Oppenheim Group office
Despite looking cheerful in her cameo, Maya admitted to DailyMail.com that her return to the drama was ‘pretty intense’
“Cameos would be fun to do, but again, the office drama, I don’t know, it was pretty intense. I can tell you that,” she added.
Another drama dominating season eight is the drama between Bre Tiesi and Emma Hernan, after the latter accused Nick Cannon’s baby mama of deliberately spilling information about Chelsea Lazkani’s husband on camera.
In episode three, Bre, 33, is seen having a cocktail with her friend Amanda Lynn, who tells her that someone she knows saw Chelsea’s husband, Jeff Lazkani, with another woman at a hotel.
Bre, who has had a somewhat rocky friendship with Chelsea (31) since joining Selling Sunset in 2023, decided to tell the mother of two about her husband’s alleged infidelity – on camera – and it led to Emma accusing her of staging the whole thing.
When asked if it would have been possible for Bre to orchestrate such scenes, Maya replied, “I think anything is possible in 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 choose to show it to everyone.
“From what I’ve heard, it was the first time she found out, so I think it’s a really tricky situation. I don’t think if I had found out, it wouldn’t have been my first interaction with Chelsea, if it had been me.”
Maya’s comments come just days after Chrishell threatened to quit Selling Sunset after learning that Nicole had secretly spread a rumor in season eight that fellow agent Emma Hernan was having an affair with a married man.
The huge fallout unfolded over the weekend when agents were given screeners for the new episodes, with Chrishell claiming her friend Emma, 33, was “blindsided” by the “disgusting” and “absolutely false” lie.
Shocked by the devastating scenes, Chrishell and her co-star Chelsea Lazkani (30) publicly spoke out against Nicole. They also accused Done and Done Productions, the company behind Selling Sunset, of ‘spreading lies to attract viewers’.
A scene from season eight in which Bre Tiesi (right) tells her co-star Chelsea Lazkani a rumor about her husband
Chrishell and Chelsea have come to Emma Hernan’s (right) defense after Nicole claimed she had an affair with a married man
Throughout the new season, Nicole hinted at Emma being in a relationship with a married man. In episode 11, she told her co-star Bre Tiesi, claiming, “She’s been in relationships with people she shouldn’t be with…”
“Married people?” Bre asked, to which Nicole replied, “I wouldn’t trust Emma with my husband,” to which Bre sarcastically replied, “Not a man 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 upload she wrote: ‘I will NEVER work on a show with her in it again. I’d rather get sued.’
‘Disclaimer: If you’re watching, please know that she’s spouting a disgusting lie about a best friend that is categorically FALSE and SUPER damaging. It is NOT TRUE.’
She then tagged Done and Done Productions and added, “You guys are disgusting for surprising her with this so she can show it to the world instead of at least giving her a chance to defend herself with the TRUTH.”
