Divisive ‘Selling Sunset’ Star Leaves Series Ahead of New Seasons

Selling Sunset is going to have to find a new villain for Seasons 6 and 7. The divisive Christine Quinn is reportedly leaving the hit Netflix real estate series to focus on her other interests. Quinn, 33, had been part of the show since the beginning, but her feelings about the show have cooled in recent months.

Production sources told TMZ it was a “mutual decision” between Quinn, Netflix, and series producer Lionsgate Television. Sources close to Quinn said she recently signed with IMG Models and has already booked new modeling and fashion events gigs. She is also spending more time with RealOpen, a brokerage firm that lets people buy and sell real estate using cryptocurrency with her husband Christian.

Although TMZ‘s sources said the decision was amicable, Quinn hasn’t been quiet about her waning interest in the show. In April, she missed her first reunion show taping, with her representative telling TMZ she tested positive for COVID. Days after the positive test, she was seen filming a commercial with Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga.

Those photos led to speculation she faked her COVID test results. During a May appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Quinn insisted she “absolutely” had COVID. Andy Cohen noted that fans believed she didn’t want to be around her Oppenheimer Group colleagues after the firm said there was “not a place” for her. Quinn then said she watched The Kardashians instead of the reunion and insisted she had no contractual obligation to appear.

Cohen later read a question from a fan who asked why she didn’t participate virtually as Amanda Smith did. “Well, I wasn’t feeling well at all. I was in bed until 4 o’clock that day. And like, no one wants to see what I look like in the morning,” Quinn claimed.

Quinn then pulled the curtain down on Selling Sunset in a Call Her Daddy podcast episode on May 18. She noted that she’s “best friends” with Chelsea Lazkani and Vanessa Villela, but the show makes her look like the villain. She claimed producers egg them on by claiming the other was talking behind their backs. “So they set up these scenarios which instigate our emotions intentionally. But I’ve been doing the show for four years,” Quinn said. “I’m on five seasons, so I know how it works.”

Quinn told podcast host Alex Cooper Seasons 4 and 5 were filmed in one-month spans. She also said the production has “six full-time storyboarders” who plot out stories “and depending on how things change in [the] real world in our lives, they can kind of rotate the storylines.” In the same podcast episode, Quinn jokingly said she was afraid she would get sued for revealing so much. She said she and Jason Oppenheimer were paid the most. “My entertainment attorney, you know, basically [said] this is my value and I think it’s all about recognizing your worth,” she said.

Quinn’s decision to leave the show behind comes a few weeks after Netflix confirmed there will be two new cast members joining Seasons 6 and 7. Model Bre Tiesi, who recently welcomed her first child with Nick Cannon, and longtime Oppenheim Group member Nicole Young will be in the new episodes. Netflix hasn’t set a premiere date for the next season.