Empanada empress. Queen of the slo-mo walk. Mother to a menagerie of adopted pets.
Since Emma Hernan joined Selling Sunset in Season 4, she’s more than made her mark at The Oppenheim Group — plus a few friends and office nemeses. Besides her steady stream of Barbiecore outfits, Emma’s one constant has been her friendship with fellow real estate agent Chrishell Stause.
By the end of Season 9, however, the two are at odds over Emma’s on-again, off-again relationship with her boyfriend, Blake Davis. And when they face off at the reunion, the tension between them reaches a boiling point, potentially fracturing their friendship beyond repair.
“Going into the season, I wanted people to see what’s really going on in my life,” Emma tells Tudum. “There’s no such thing as perfect. I’m going to show my relationship and talk about the struggles. I’m going to be open and honest — whether you like it or not.”
Keep reading to find out what’s gone down with Emma since the reunion, where she stands with Chrishell now, and if she’s gotten back together with her polarizing ex.
The reunion must have been overwhelming given all the drama that went down. Now that it’s been a few months, what was that day like for you?
It was just really sad. There’s a lot of hurt on multiple sides for a lot of people. It was emotionally draining, to say the least. I remember going back to my trailer at the very, very end of the reunion, and it was just [me] crying. I finally was able to let everything go.
I’m not perfect, but I did the best that I could. I tried to just tell the truth, follow my heart, and express everything that I was feeling in the moment, as difficult as it was.
At this reunion, you were sitting on a different couch — next to Bre and not Chrishell. Have you and Bre gotten closer since the finale?
I don’t want drama with anybody. I don’t want drama with Chrishell. I don’t want drama with Bre. If there’s a chance to just be cool with everybody, that’s what I would like. It gives me no pleasure to argue with people. It’s actually my nightmare. If I can be civil and get along with everyone, that’s my first choice.
[Bre and myself] didn’t need to have any drama. It was over [a] situation where her and Chelsea had issues, and I wanted to be there to support Chelsea during her divorce. I told Bre that I didn’t agree with whatever went down. I felt like I did the right thing, and there’s nothing that I would go back and change. I think Bre has let it go that I chose Chelsea’s side. I wasn’t a malicious person. I wasn’t out there trying to hurt Bre. Obviously, with Bre and Chrishell beefing, I think she now realizes, “Oh, Emma’s not a bad person.” She just took Chelsea’s side a little bit, which I’m sure still hurts her a little bit to this day. But I don’t think we’re going to lose sleep over it.
Did you feel like Chrishell’s judgment or advice — however you want to frame it — regarding your boyfriend this season was fair?
Looking back at the season, there were a few things that make me sad. When you are friends with somebody, you tend to share the good and the bad. There were certain times I overshared [about my relationship] when we were in an argument, and I know she’s coming up from a protective space. I don’t fault her for that.
But at some point, you have to take a step back and realize, “OK, I am a good friend to you as a person, and I understand that you don’t like my partner, but you have to remember who I am, and how I love and support you.” You don’t like him, and you might think a certain way of him, but that’s not me. And you just have to separate the two. It’s OK to not love [a] person’s partner that they’re dating. We can’t pick someone’s partner, but we can love and support them and be there for them.
Did any of the opinions about Blake penetrate your thinking? You two have been on-again, off-again. Was that part of the reason why?
For sure. I am so close with my friends and my family, so I want them to love the person that I’m with — and that was hard when that wasn’t the case. Did I fault certain people for feeling that way? No. But it did make the relationship a lot harder to be in. I didn’t really want my friends or my family judging me, so then you tend to distance yourself a little bit when it happens.
Are you and Blake back together after the reunion? I’ve seen some photos of you on social media. What’s the latest with your dating life?
Yes, we are back together. If I really cared about … making myself look good, I would’ve stayed broken up with him or would’ve said, “Nope, we’re not together.” But ultimately, with relationships there’s back and forth — and I think that that’s OK to show.
I had a realization at the reunion that I was [thinking too much] about what other people think. If I want to go spend time with this person, why am I so concerned about what everyone else is going to say? After the reunion, I went to go see him, and we’ve been traveling and been together ever since. I just started posting him on social, but I’m still protective, because [he] didn’t sign up for this or the judgment. I’m in a really great place just in general with my relationships, and my family.
How has Blake and the relationship changed? There were discussions about him being controlling and not supporting your career. Has he been able to celebrate all the amazing things that you’ve accomplished?
He’s super sweet and he’s super supportive. It’s not that he doesn’t want me to work. He just wants me to be in a safe space. He knows a lot of men have been inappropriate with me during showings.
To be honest with you, [Blake] did make me realize that I’m not going to do these showings by myself. I’m going to have an assistant with me at all times. As much as people could say he was controlling, he was being protective because there are situations where people are inappropriate, and I have confided in [him]. He also knows how I want to be a mom, and he wants me to know that if I wanted to stay home with the kids, he would make sure to take care of me. But he’s never been like, “OK, you cannot work.”
At the end of the end of the reunion, Chrishell gets emotional about your friendship and expresses to you that her actions came out of how deeply she cares about you. How did that land? Have you been able to rebuild the friendship since then?
Unfortunately, there’s been no progress since the reunion. I wish that there was some positive progress, but I’m OK with where things are at. Ultimately, I can’t change people’s opinions of anything, so I’m going to let it be where it is right now. It was very emotional at the reunion, and there were moments that were really, really difficult. Things are not where they were with Chrishell and [me], but ultimately, I really just want her to be happy. I hope that everything goes really well in her life, and I hope that deep down inside, she wants the same for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
