Amid Wildfires, a new reality for reality TV stars in LA

The two most important ingredients for a successful Los Angeles TV show are multi-million dollar homes and their spectacular views.

As stories surfaced about sex rumors, divorces, and petty arguments about “ugly leather pants,” the hotel served as a beautiful backdrop for the series. many.

Over the course of eight bright and shiny seasons on Netflix, “Selling Sunset” has staked its claim as one of the most-watched TV shows in the country, thanks in large part to how he showed the luxurious life in Los Angeles. And the lavish, ornate mansions featured on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” are part of the show’s success.

But last week’s devastating wildfires have really upped the ante on this LA reality TV show. The mountains are covered in smoke. The glittering city lights surrounding the iconic Hollywood sign were engulfed in red flames that spread over an acre and destroyed 12,000 homes in its path.

Some of the stars of these shows were among the evacuees. A few lost their homes and possessions. Their devastation, heartache and attitude have made some of the most popular — and even most hated — reality TV stars in a different vein.

Spencer Pratt, 41, first rose to fame in the early 2000s as a supervillain on the MTV reality show “The Hills,” and is part of “Speidi,” along with her husband , Heidi Montag, 38 years old. report on his family’s life after their house burned down.

The 2,300-square-foot hilltop retreat featured breathtaking views of the Santa Monica Mountains, an extensive crystal collection valued at more than $1 million, a hummingbird sanctuary, and numerous portraits of the couple adorned with various tabloid covers. The couple bought the house in 2017 for $2.5 million.

Jason Oppenheim, 47 years old, whose brokerage, the Oppenheim Group, is at the center of “Selling Sunset”, is known for his many romantic relationships as well as his multi-million dollar listings. But he stepped into an activist role, appearing on a news show to call out landlords who charge exorbitant rents amid claims.

Gina Kirschenheiter, 40, a member of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” and her boyfriend, Travis Mullen, 40, drew viewers into their intense relationship after the Mrs. Kirschenheiter to leave her house.

After the fire, the couple, who are both real estate agents, took to social media to announce that they would donate their huge tuition fees to the hundreds of thousands of fire victims looking to buy. or rent in Orange County.

“We just want to help,” Ms. Kirschenheiter said in an interview. “I will never profit from someone else’s danger. So Travis and I, the only thing we can do is relocate people, find them housing, and give them that money back and make it a contribution to them.

These reality TV stars live life without censorship and without a production team, in a change that could have a big impact on the upcoming season of the current show.

The 19th season of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is set to begin next week, and the fire and Ms. Kirschenheiter’s current efforts to find a home in in Orange County for displaced Angelenos may be a key story.

“With the timing of everything, I’d say L.A. could be covered in fire,” Ms. Kirschenheiter said.

The eighth season of “Selling Sunset” aired in September. The show was preparing to begin filming its ninth season – expected later this year – when the fire broke out. Controversies, home listings and open houses can confuse fans who are well aware of the direct fire effect on some stars.

Chrishell Stause, 43, who has been on the show since its inception, fled her home in the middle of the night, like thousands of other residents of Los Angeles.

Then he heard that his house did not die in the fire.

Without cameras to capture the events, Ms. Stause is likely to tell the story of the fear and adrenaline of the moment when the film rolls back and the show begins to fight a city that cannot be saved, said Adam DiVello is the film’s executive producer. performance.

“We’ve had a big group meeting about how we’re going to move forward, and that’s something we plan to address in the show,” Mr. DiVello said. The horrific devastation, which burned neighborhoods and reduced homes and businesses to ashes, was something “we cannot ignore,” he said. “We’re doing a real estate show, and it’s really devastating.”

Mr. Oppenheim’s role as a critic of landlords who manipulate prices will also be discussed. He said he was shocked, when several clients who were on fire asked for help finding a rental, to find dozens of properties online with prices that had gone up by 50 percent or more. California state law prohibits landlords from increasing rent by more than 10 percent during a state of emergency.

“I have to draw attention to this,” he said in an interview, “because it is absolutely wrong – morally, ethically and legally.”

“We’re a reality show. And this is our reality,” he said.

Bozoma Saint John, the newest star of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” was vacationing in Zambia when she found her 2,500-square-foot Malibu beach house destroyed by a wildfire because of the video. shared with X. At first I was like, you know, it can’t be real,” he said in an interview. “Because if a house burns, I think there is something left. It doesn’t all just go away, does it?”

The show, which is in its 14th season, is currently airing on Bravo, which was filmed last year, but fans have already seen it on the network. -it is online.

Ms. Saint John, 47, who also owns a home in Hancock Park, said she bought the home in 2021 after her bids on four other properties in Malibu were rejected. “It’s a fact, unfortunately, many people are like me, even if you have money to buy a house, you will also be rejected,” said Mrs. Saint John, who finally bought her house. in the name of trust to hide the identity of the buyer.

He said he has yet to see the extent of the damage to his property, outside of videos shared on social media. “Maybe it’s the fire, maybe it’s the pictures, maybe it’s the destruction left behind, but it looks like a terrible nightmare,” he said. “Everything is gone. I think there might be a misunderstanding because it’s my second home, but I don’t own anything there, and that’s not true. A house is a house. “

Alex Baskin, executive producer of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” The Real Housewives of Orange County,” “Vanderpump Rules” and “The Valley,” wrote in an email that situations like Ms. Saint’s would not be dismissed. John. “We record everything that happens in an actor’s life. We will certainly cover this as it has a natural effect on the players and as they deal with the reality and fallout of every situation. “

There are some reality TV celebrities who are no longer familiar with the show that made them famous or the show was canceled, but the fire has put them on a new level.

Mauricio Umansky, 54, best known as the estranged wife of Kyle Richards on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” anchored her own show, “Buying Beverly Hills,” which featured her real estate brokerage, The Agency. His show was canceled last March after two seasons.

The brokerage has more than 120 offices worldwide, and he said at least 30 of the Los Angeles agencies have lost their homes. Mr. Umansky’s mother left her home in Pacific Palisades and was still staying with Mr. Umansky earlier this week when she spoke to The New York Times; he didn’t know if his house was alive.

In the days after the fire, Mr. Umansky set up an emergency center in Marina del Rey, filled with donations, including clothes, baby items, electronics and toiletries. He posted a call on Instagram to donate new items to the evacuees, and through a client close to Elon Musk, he received several Starlink kits for high-speed Internet, which he donated for emergency medical personnel. And he was busy texting some of the city’s most expensive real estate agents, including Kurt Rappaport, Tracy Tutor and Mr. Oppenheim, about how they can raise resources to help the thousands of residents who have lost their homes.

“I have a platform, and I have a voice,” he said. “In many ways, today, real estate agents are also first responders. You’ve got firefighters and police, but what’s the next step? We are people who help people find new homes.”

Although Mr. Pratt and Ms. Montag have appeared on various reality TV shows since their star turn on “The Hills” in the early 2000s, they can be seen on ‘by sending them live broadcasts.

But losing their Pacific Palisades home and opening up about their feelings on social media has renewed interest in a couple fans love to hate. Visceral images softened their image: A camera in their child’s nursery showed how their son’s crib was on fire like a heart. “Watching this live will haunt me forever,” Mr Pratt said on Instagram.

Mr. Pratt also used live media to ask fans to stream Ms. Montag’s 2010 album “Superficial” to help raise money for the rebuild. Celebrities like Flavor Flav and model Emily Ratajkowski posted about the album, which reached number one on iTunes.

Although many people have criticized the couple’s frequent posts, it seems that the public is rooting for them. A customer X recently posted, “Someone needs to give Spencer Pratt a reality show ASAP.”

“I need all the validation I can get right now,” Mr. Pratt said in an interview. “Any opportunity to succeed in rebuilding and turning the worst things that have happened to us into a form of hope and light is (a good thing). There’s nothing like being on a television network, so doing a reality show will obviously help continue our recovery success. “