‘I can’t be an absentee mom’: Maya Vander may not return to Selling Sunset

The real estate agent experienced a stillbirth in her third pregnancy last December

Kate Ng
Friday 14 January 2022 10:40 EST
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Maya Vanders on Selling Sunset
Maya Vanders on Selling Sunset (Selling Sunset/Netflix)

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Selling Sunset’s Maya Vander has revealed she may not return for the next season of the series, following the loss of her third child, who was stillborn.

The 39-year-old real estate agent confirmed in December that she had a stillbirth 38 weeks into her third pregnancy, after what was supposed to be a regular weekly checkup.

In an interview with the New York Post, Vander said she wanted to prioritise her family life and new independent brokerage over the popular reality show.

She said that “going back and forth” between the East Coast, where she lives with her family in Miami, and the West Coast, where the show is based in Los Angeles, is becoming “tough”.

Vander also told the publication that she is still dealing with the loss of her third child every day, adding that it’s “been difficult to still process and seek answers”.

“We go every Friday to the cemetery to visit our son,” she said. “Life is great, but unfortunately, [it’s] not always perfect – not always fair.”

After the reality star shared her experience on Instagram, she said she hoped it would help “other women just knowing they are not alone”.

Vander has started her own real estate firm, Maya Vander Group, in Miami, six years after she joined the Oppenheim Group as the firm’s first female agent. Selling Sunset revolves around the Oppenheim Group, which is founded by Jason Oppenheim.

Selling Sunset first aired on Netflix in 2019 and has since released four seasons, with a fifth season expected some time this year. The full cast is expected to appear in the upcoming season.

But Vander said that she has no plans to return as a full cast member for a sixth season, as she does not want to be “an absentee mom”.

She also revealed she was unhappy with the direction the show is going in and said it “would’ve been nice covering more real estate and showing more of the drama of real estate” in the fourth season.

“It was very entertaining but… there are seven other women in that show that do real estate,” she said. “Frankly, I don’t really care about the drama.”

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