Netflix’s Selling Sunset follows a group of beautiful real estate agents from the Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate firm, as they sell some of L.A.’s most desired listings and navigate through the drama that their personal lives entail.

Maya Vander recently sat down for an exclusive with uInterview founder Erik Meers to discuss how she managed being a supermom and super agent, commuting between L.A. and Miami to be with her family and being the peacekeeper among her colorful colleagues.

“It’s been tough. I lived in L.A. for 15 years and the show got picked up literally three months after my husband and I relocated to Miami,” Vander said. “I saw the demo, and I knew it was going to be good, so I had to commute back and forth to make my way onto Selling Sunset. I flew literally every week to film Season One. Then, we got picked up for two more seasons and we filmed them back to back the next season, so I had to relocate by myself back to L.A. My husband was the one doing the commute. I also traveled so we made it work somehow, including [seasons] four and five so it’s been tough. The girls in the show complain, I’m like what are you complaining about? I’m the one who’s flying red eyes every week. I have kids. I work in Miami, but you’re complaining about driving from Sunset Plaza. Come on! It’s like everything in proportions ladies!”

Vander elaborated on the dynamic in the Oppenheim office and her approach to relationships within the show.

“As a peacemaker, I like the girls, I don’t want to take sides, and I don’t want to be in the middle. I try to focus on real estate and business,” Vander said. “It’s a bit challenging to stay neutral because you are the boring one. You don’t create anything. Sometimes you see me question, you see me comment … It’s not because I care or I want to instigate, it’s just because if I don’t say it, I’m not going to be in the show. Thankfully, my reputation is still okay – the voice of reason. I personally don’t like confrontations. If someone were to come at me, then I could probably respond and not be as nice. You just haven’t seen that side of me because thankfully nobody came at me.”

Vander is shown pregnant with her third child throughout season five, but tragically lost the child.

She also chimed in on some of the pressing storylines of Season 5. Her colleague, Chrishell Stause and boss Jason Oppenheim began a relationship at the beginning of the season, which she expressed skepticism about on the show.

“In the interviews, I did say people grow up, but they just showed me being skeptical,” the agent revealed. “I’ve known Jason for a long time and he’s the ultimate bachelor. That being said, I know he loved Chrishell … still loves Chrishell and I know it’s been difficult for him since it unfortunately didn’t work out.”

Mary Fitzgerald, another colleague, was named office boss this season, putting her in charge of her friends.

> WATCH MARY FITZGERALD’s uINTERVIEW!

“It’s hard to say she’s a boss because we’re all independent contractors,” Vander said when asked about Fitzgerald’s new position. “When I sell, Jason gets my commission. Granted, if you do things that are not appropriate in the brokerage, you could maybe have a conversation, but we are independent contractors, so it’s not that she’s directly our boss. Maybe office manager if you want to call it that. The only issue she has is Christine [Quinn] at this point, the rest of us get along and are all professional…. I think she is doing well.”

Stream Selling Sunset on Netflix and tune into the Season 5 reunion show on May 6.

Read more about:

Leave a comment

Subscribe to the uInterview newsletter