A few glasses deep into Polly Brindle’s birthday champagne, Tyler Stanaland intently stares across a hot tub at his co-worker Alex Hall. “I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t think about us being more than friends,” he tells her in the Selling the OC Season 2 finale. “If I’m in a crowded room and I look across and I see you, everything feels normal.” 

In an instant, everything changes between The Oppenheim Group agents, whose flirty friendship has been under the microscope since the series began. Stanaland declares he “plans to court” Hall starting with a dinner date before the two cross the bubbling rubicon and share a steamy kiss in the final moments of the episode. 

Well, now that you’ve had a moment to recover, it’s time to find out what happened next. Below, the realtors turned friends (turned maybe soulmates) are ready to fill you in about what they’ve been up to since the screen cut to black — and whether risking their friendship was the right move after all. 

“The feeling is mutual, for sure,” Hall tells Tudum about Stanaland’s hot tub confession. “There are some things that are undeniable between Tyler and myself, and so we’re trying to tread lightly, give each other grace, and see where it goes.”

For the record, Stanaland confirms that they have indeed gone out on that dinner date together, as they continue to “navigate and figure out” what their future holds.

“Taking that next step, there was a lot at risk. We’re not only co-workers and friends, but now we’re potentially exploring something further,” he says. “Sometimes friendships are best left as friendships and other times they lead to amazing relationships. At this time, Alex and I are still trying to figure out what we are because there is something more there.”

What hasn’t exactly helped is the chorus of friends, frenemies, and fellow agents who’ve judged their close bond since those noseys. 

But, hey, continue to speculate all you want, because both are well aware that the assumptions swirling in the office and beyond are out their control. “Honestly, at this point, no outside perspective, question, or assumption frustrates me anymore when it comes to my relationship with Tyler,” says Hall. 

“It feels like high school because how do people care so much?” she adds. “I get it, people want to know. At the end of the day, I mean what I say: We are still navigating. That has to be an answer in and of itself, whether you like it or not. I think that’s a very natural space to be for a lot of relationships.”

Of course, there’s much more to come in Season 3 with Hall teasing that their connection “really, really, really unfolds with that dinner, the whole friendship, and the navigation of uncharted territory.”

“Neither of us have ever tried to take a friendship past a friendship,” she says. “I’m hoping that in Season 3, they can show the audience more of what that means.”

No matter what happens, the two say they are intent on protecting their relationship, which has been a boon to each of them during the highs and lows over the past year. 

Through the “grieving and healing process” of his public divorce, Stanaland describes Hall as a tremendous support system — even when the cameras weren’t rolling. “She was taking me to dinner, calling on me, and checking up on me,” he explains. 

And, while the two agree that their personalities could “not be more different” from each other, that’s actually the secret sauce to their friendship. “She offers this comfort that I don't find very often, and as a more introverted human, she is the yin to my yang,” Stanaland adds.

But is that really enough to launch a full-fledged romantic partnership? As Hall states in the aforementioned hot tub, she’s “on a mission to find a husband.” And with two children from a previous marriage to consider, the realtor isn’t playing games when it comes to dating.

“From the audience’s perspective, you don’t see that first and foremost I’m a mother,” she says. “I don’t want to subject my kids to that life, but the other end of that is you don’t get to see… me making breakfast in the morning, making school lunches, doing homework, being a therapist, nanny, housekeeper, cook, and also being a career woman.”

Making room for a dating life, even one with an office deskmate, isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean that Hall isn’t willing to give it a shot — especially after Stanaland shot his. 

“It’s taken a long time and I’m still navigating everything,” she says. “I’m trying to add in dating and friendships because that’s an important part of my life. It’s just constantly trying to find balance.”

Does their relationship take a turn? Find out when Selling the OC returns for Season 3 this year.