Breaking down 'Selling the OC's bisexual chaos, accusations & receipts

Mama, this is CHAOS!

Editor's note: this article contains major spoilers for season 3 of Netflix's Selling the OC.

We did not expect that one of the most explosive and dramatic LGBTQ+ storylines in reality TV history would take place in the third season of Selling the OC, but here we are!

The new episodes of Selling the OC season 3 released this Friday, May 3 on Netflix feature out bisexual cast member Sean Palmieri accusing two of his costars, Tyler Stanaland and Austin Victoria, of flirting with him, making suggestive comments, opening up about trying new things, and having a crush on him at different points in time. Even if you've seen the first two seasons of Selling the OC, this entire situation will probably look and sound completely wild to you. And if you're just tuning in to the show for the first time, you definitely have no idea who and what we're even talking about.

So whether you're a first-time viewer or just need a refresher, it's probably a good idea to do a quick little recap of the people, dynamics, and events that affect how things play out on Selling the OC season 3.

A prologue to 'Selling the OC' season 3.

Selling the OC is a spinoff of Selling Sunset. Both shows follow the lives of real estate agents working for the Oppenheim Group: Selling Sunset in the West Hollywood office and Selling the OC in the Orange County office. Up until Chrishell Stause's relationship with G Flip, the original series did not feature an out queer person in its main cast. Meanwhile, out bisexual realtor Sean Palmieri was introduced in the very first season of Selling the OC.

But for two entire seasons, Sean just faded into the background. He wasn't shown selling properties, chiming in during meetings, inserting himself into drama, going on dates, or even being social. He was still named as a main star of Selling the OC in the credits, but Sean barely registered as a recurring cast member in the final edit.

Instead, seasons 1 and 2 focused heavily on reality TV bombshell Tyler Stanaland — a fifth-generation realtor from a wealthy family who was also married to actress Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, Hairspray). As the events of Selling the OC unfolded, Tyler allegedly shared a drunken kiss with his coworker Polly Brindle, was accused of flirting with his coworker Kayla Cardona, and was shown having potential feelings for his longtime friend (and yes, also coworker!) Alex Hall. When season 2 premiered, Tyler and Brittany had already split.

Austin Victoria was another notable cast member since the very beginning. As a real estate agent at the Oppenheim Group, Austin's drive to provide for his family was always front and center in the edit. Austin and his wife, Lisa, got married in 2018 and had two children together when Selling the OC season 3 was filmed.

Keep scrolling for our breakdown of all the bisexual chaos from Selling the OC season 3 — which is now streaming on Netflix.

A shady bonfire turns into a roast.

The chaotic mess of Selling the OC season 3 is kickstarted in episode 2, "A Bond-Fire," as the cast members go to the beach, have a few drinks, and gather around a bonfire.

"We should play 'Guess Who?' and reenact someone in our L.A. or O.C. office," Sean suggests. The girlies tell him to go first, so Sean does an impression of Maya Vander from Selling Sunset. Tyler then asks Sean to do an impression of him. "Dad?" Sean says in a Tyler-pitched voice, which is a slightly shady reference to the recurring joke that Tyler's real estate career has been helped by his dad.

Most people pretend they don't understand the joke. Someone says, "Shots fired." But Sean looks confused at everyone's reaction, and he's right. In a Reading challenge on RuPaul's Drag Race, Sean's shady comment would be considered so tame that it would probably not even make it onto the episode.

Tyler gets big mad, though, and does his own impression of Sean. "I've been licensed for two years but haven't sold a single house." This everyone understands and reacts with a "woah."

"It'd be really nice if I had daddy hand me all my listings, so don't even go there," Sean claps back. "I've been working my ass off. You have no idea what's coming up."

Sean and Tyler keep throwing jabs at each other, and it gets awkward… fast. To be fair, though, Sean's one-word "joke" referencing a widely acknowledged fact (that Tyler comes from a successful real estate family) pales in comparison to Tyler's very specific and pointed "joke" about Sean not being able to sell a house yet.

A bunch of people start to leave, and the bonfire is basically over.

Austin accuses Sean of having a crush on Tyler.

Later in episode 2, the cast of Selling the OC attends the launch party for the Oppenheim Group's brand-new office in San Diego.

During the party, Gio Helou (another cast member who takes more of a backseat in season 3) tells Austin that the only fun part from the bonfire was Tyler clapping back at Sean… and it's the first time we ever hear about a group dissent against Sean. Austin says that he, Sean, and Tyler were close when they first joined the office, but then recalls a miscommunication issue that caused Sean and Tyler to drift away. But Gio is — understandably — confused by the story.

"The only way I can rationalize it is… I think maybe Sean had a crush on Tyler, you know?" Austin tells Gio. "And he felt like I was taking attention away from him. That's the only way I can put it, dude. Like, there's nothing else that explains why Tyler and I would not be able to work together."

It doesn't feel good to watch two straight men speculating that the only possible reason for a bisexual man to have a work-related problem with them is that he potentially had a crush on one of them that wasn't reciprocated, which results in retaliation.

Drama escalates between Sean and Tyler.

Episode 2 moves on to an after-party where these realtors are getting TURNT.

That liquid courage has Alex Hall feeling flirty, and Tyler kisses her right there and then, in front of everybody else. The kissing scene cuts to Sean standing next to the bar and saying, "Oh my god," which implies — if we ignore how reality television can be edited — that Sean did not approve of Tyler kissing Alex Hall.

Sean subsequently pulls Tyler aside to address their back-and-forth at the bonfire, and Tyler says that Sean has been "pressing that button" (about Tyler's listings coming from his father) a few times, which prompted him to go off that way.

"[But] the bigger issue is, what happened between us?" Sean asks. "We had a good working relationship and a friendship brewing. And then, out of nowhere, you act as if I don't exist. I feel like you just basically dispose of people."

Tyler replies, "I didn't just bail. There was a line with you. But as time went on, I saw character traits that [made me not] want to be aligned with you. You come at me with these weird f*cking jabs, and I'm not into it."

Sean insists that it's weird for Tyler to just "drop him" after they were "really good friends" for a while, but Tyler reaffirms that his issues with Sean stem from work.

"I was gonna align myself with you in business because I thought you had an incredible background," Tyler says. "But I realized you didn't. You aren't truly in real estate. You haven't done a deal. So when you attack me, I'm gonna respond."

Sean tries to respond, but Tyler dominates the conversation, adding: "You've been in marketing for eight years. I've been in real estate for 12 years. And I don't want to partner with somebody that's not in real estate. We can respectfully be coworkers, but we don't have to be friends, and that's that."

"You're being disingenuous," Sean replies. "I've been nothing but a good friend. I've been nothing but a kind person. You're making fun of my background, honestly? I'm a hard worker."

Tyler ends the conversation by telling Sean to "sell a f*cking property" if he's such a hard worker, which is followed by Tyler storming out of the scene.

Sean alleges that Austin and Lisa are very flirty with him.

The third episode features two separate restaurant scenes: one with Austin and Lisa celebrating their 13th anniversary of dating; and another with Sean having drinks with Kayla and Selling the OC newcomer Ali Harper. Given that she's new to the show and this team, Ali asks Sean what happened with his relationship with Austin.

"Austin and I are chill. [But] I do think that him and his wife are a little bit too flirty for my taste sometimes," Sean says. "Maybe [it's] with everyone. They're a flirty couple."

Austin and Lisa deny wanting to have a three-way with Sean…

The episode cuts to Austin and Lisa addressing the same allegations brought up by Sean.

"Do you remember the night when we invited Sean over?" Austin says. "Sean said, 'Hey, can I come over? I would love to hang out with you and Lisa.'" It seems that Lisa does recall making cookies that night. Austin adds, "So he came over, we cooked him dinner, we played Oculus, and then he went home… [but] apparently his story is much different."

Austin explains, "His story is: he came over, we drugged him with marijuana cookies, and we tried to have a three-way with him. Like, that pisses me off. My daughters are upstairs. Like, that guy has some sick sh*t going on in his head to even come up with that scenario."

Lisa declares that they've never had a three-way. And, if they were to have one, it wouldn't be with Sean. "He thinks he's gonna be the first one?" Lisa adds. Austin agrees, "It ain't gonna be f*cking you, bro."

…but Sean accuses Austin of making moves on him.

The episode goes back to Sean's side of the story. He says in a confessional:

"I'm not here to judge underlying parts of someone's relationship. You can be open. It's your relationship and your marriage. Do whatever you want. I'm not here to judge that."

Sean adds, "But [Austin] has been very interesting toward me in the past. He's made moves on me. If your wife is touching me, saying, 'You're my favorite in the office.' That could lead to hints. I choose to stay away from some of these situations."

Austin confronts Sean about the accusations he's been hearing.

Buckle up, sis, because this is when the WILD MESS truly begins.

The realtors all find themselves at the Oppenheim Group office, and it's clear that Austin is already feeling flustered about something. When Sean enters the building, Austin immediately asks to talk to him in the outside area.

"I've heard some rumors that you're starting," Austin tells Sean. The two men proceed to play a game of chicken — daring each other to say what's happening but unwilling to address the situation.

"Don't play stupid," Austin says. "What rumors am I starting?" Sean asks. "Own up to what you said," Austin insists. "I don't have time for any of this right now," Sean declares while starting to walk away from Austin and out of the office.

Back in the office, Austin calls Sean a coward. Some people stand up to defend Sean, but Austin keeps saying it.

Sean claims that Austin and Lisa like having "foursomes" and "flipping."

And just like that, Sean returns to the office, this time ready and willing to spill all the tea he was previously trying to contain.

While Sean and Austin continue to play a game of chicken at first, this time, it feels like Sean is really trying to ask Austin if he "wants to go there" in front of cameras and the entire office.

"You literally overstepped a boundary, and I'm not okay with it," Austin says. "I'm not making up a rumor. I've heard it from multiple people."

Sean responds, "You've told me when we were friends… you gave me all this little stuff that you and your wife are into. I don't care if you're doing these foursomes, flipping, doing all this kind of stuff with your friends." Austin gets visibly angry. They're now both pointing fingers at each other, and Austin is inching closer to Sean. "You're mad because I'm not into it."

"You're not hot, bro," Austin declares. "I would never f*cking wanna hit on you. You're the last person I would ever hit on."

Sean responds, "You're not gonna flip this damn script on me when you [previously] hit on me. You've literally looked at me and you said, 'If I wasn't married, the things I would do.'"

Austin says, "You're making up rumors that my wife and I wanted to f*ck you…"

"You literally told me that you and your wife are experimenting and you're open to certain things, like bringing a guy in. And I said, 'Good for you,'" Sean claims. "That's why I stopped talking to you."

Austin gets physical against Sean.

Austin's body starts motioning forward, which leads to him pushing Sean on the chest. Gio and Tyler rush outside to hold up Austin, but Sean stands his ground, so the argument continues.

Tyler tells Sean, "If you don't want to get your ass kicked, you need to take a step down. You both need to take a step back."

"You need attention, dude, because you can't sell a f*cking property?" Austin yells out toward Sean. "So now you're gonna make sh*t up about my family? You don't talk about my family, dude."

The other realtors finally manage to separate them. Inside the office, Sean insists that he's not making anything up. He thinks out loud, "What kind of work environment is this? It is a horrible work environment. This is turning into a brothel." Alex Hall tries to defend Austin, but Sean shuts her down.

In the outside area, Austin is surrounded by Tyler and Gio. "[Sean] just told me right now that I hit on him and told him that Lisa and I want to have a three-way with him," Austin says.

Tyler tells Austin, "Just don't touch him because you will get in trouble." Gio adds, "And secondly, I'm f*cking pissed if you are doing three-ways and four-ways. I wasn't f*cking invited. Tyler, too."

I mean… the jokes literally write themselves!

"It's fine if I was doing it. I'm happy to admit sh*t," Austin tells Tyler and Gio. "You know I'm an honest person. But for someone to say something that's not true really pisses me off."

Inside the office, Sean is swearing "on his family" that he would never make up something like this, and Austin can hear what's being said. "This man and his wife hit on me before," Sean continues.

Austin motions toward the door to seemingly storm toward Sean, but Tyler stops him, saying: "You're gonna end up with f*cking jail time."

"You should be ashamed of yourself. You have some nerve coming at me like this," Sean yells out at Austin. "You guys are not my type. You never will be."

Austin brushes off Tyler's arm and re-enters the office to reply, "Bro, you'd be the last person on Earth…" Sean quips back, "Likewise!"

It bears repeating that this is a situation involving a straight-presenting married man who is denying accusations from a bisexual coworker, but the conversation still turns into a matter of who is or isn't into one another.

Sean shows proof that Austin has complimented his legs on Instagram.

Austin starts, "[Go] do your ayahuasca and f*cking…"

"You have some nerve," Sean interrupts him. "Go to Instagram. You're the one telling me, 'Nice legs.'"

Austin challenges Sean to show him that comment or message, so Sean pulls up his phone and shows it to Austin. "Right here. 'Them legs,'" Sean reads, and some people are giggling at that compliment. "You're the one commenting on all my photos. Look at all this."

Austin yells, "Because we were working out together, bro, and your legs are f*cking huge! It's a compliment! That doesn't mean I want to f*ck you!"

Sean and Austin reflect on their fight (separately).

For the most part, Sean and Austin stay away from each other during the next few episodes. The next explosive scene involving Sean only takes place at the season 3 finale, but we do get a few tidbits of information and little updates along the way that set up the next big dramatic scene of Selling the OC.

For instance, Sean goes out to lunch with Kayla and Alexandra Jarvis in episode 4, and Kayla asks him to catch her up on what happened with Austin. Sean rehashes the whole office fight scene between them, and it seems that Jarvis still very much agrees that Sean is in the right.

"He's told me about things that him and his wife are interested in doing, and he's hinted it toward me," Sean tells Kayla. "[And] you know what? If this is what your lifestyle is, great. Go for it. I'm an openly bisexual guy, I'm not judging. But as a man with a wife, don't flirt with me. I'm sorry."

Episode 4 also includes a scene at the beach between Austin and Tyler in which they reflect upon what's happened with Sean.

"It's just kind of a sh*tty situation. Sean and I got really, really close," Austin tells Tyler. "I considered him one of my close friends, [and I] invited him over to my house for dinner. We worked out together, I gave him a workout plan. Like, you know, he hung out with my kids. He was a friend. So to see someone that I considered a good friend look me straight in the eyes and lie about something… it just kind of triggered me, you know?"

Tyler replies, "Some people are just really good at lying and believing their own bullshit, and I think that's who he is."

"If it's about me, I don't mind," Austin says. "You can make rumors about me. I can take that. But when you involve my family, it's not cool. So I will just separate myself from that because it's only a matter of time until he does it to someone else."

In a confessional, Austin claims that Sean's behavior follows a pattern. "He gets close to someone, and then he burns bridges. He's done this with both Tyler, Polly, and now myself."

The episode cuts back to Sean's lunch date with Kayla and Jarvis.

"They're just mad they got called out because they know the truth," Sean tells them. "I'm not trying to hook up with people in the office like everyone's doing recently. I'm not about that, and I'm not gonna go there. At the end of the day, I am sleeping like a baby because I have the truth and I know my truth."

Jarvis nods in agreement, but Kayla looks concerned — and it's during this very specific moment that we see that Kayla is trying to be as objective as possible. While she's had issues with Austin and his clique of friends/coworkers at the Oppenheim Group, Kayla also isn't jumping to conclusions about whether Sean is right or wrong.

Later in the season, we do end up circling back to her thought process about this entire situation.

Jason reprimands Austin for pushing Sean.

One scene worth highlighting in episode 5 features Jason Oppenheim — one of the twin brothers who own and run the Oppenheim group — and Austin. They go together to see a house and brainstorm strategies for selling it, but the scene does culminate in a conversation about Sean.

"Serious question," Jason starts. "I got a text with no detail… something about Sean. What happened? As much as I want to avoid it."

Austin explains, "Long story short, he's started some rumors about how Lisa and I are in an open relationship. [Sean claims that] we do three-ways and four-ways, we've had many experiences, and we think that you'd be great in bed with us. I got f*cking pissed off because he lied straight to my face. So I kind of just saw red and jumped at him at the office." Jason then asks if there was any physical altercation between them, and Austin says that he "pushed [Sean] a bit."

"You really can't do that, bud," Jason replies. "I'm not gonna allow anyone to be physical. We gotta stay on this side of the line. This is serious. Obviously, it happened. I'll investigate it. I just can't have anyone around in the brokerage that is being physical."

Austin apologizes and tells Jason that he doesn't want to have any association with Sean moving forward.

Tyler allegedly receives a bizarre text message from Sean.

The season 3 finale opens with Tyler, Austin, and Gio playing golf on a driving range. They're talking about other things, but Sean's name comes up when Tyler pulls up his phone and claims to have received a cryptic (and kind of bizarre!) text message from Sean.

The text message that Sean allegedly sent Tyler — which is blown up in the edit for all viewers to see — includes the date of Tuesday, July 25, 2023. The alleged message reads:

"I am not finished with you. You will not run away from what you started. You think you can throw me into the fire you started and fabricate lies about me for speaking the truth? You will see. The truth always wins my friend. You are a rat."

Sean claims that Tyler was flirting with him after the split with Brittany Snow.

The entire cast of Selling the OC reunites at the Del Mar Racetrack.

It's all fun and games for a while, until Sean joins a conversation with Ali Harper and Jarvis. The women ask how things are going, and Sean says that he feels disgusted and confused about everything that happened.

"Tyler [is now] telling me we're not friends," Sean tells Ali and Jarvis. "If we're not friends, why are you sending me screenshots of your wife the day she dumped you?" Sean then corrects himself, "Your ex-wife."

He goes on, "And then telling me on the phone [for] three hours — I should freaking pull the call logs to prove this — [things like,] 'No wonder you prefer masculine energy. Women are crazy. Let's go drinking. Shopping, tanning, beach, pool. We would hang out three times a week. He started cooking me dinners… all these things. It got to a point where I just started getting like, 'What is this?' Because he's married [and] sending gifts to my house."

The episode cuts to a confessional from Sean where a producer asks what kinds of gifts Tyler was sending him. Sean replies, "It was always liquor. Or he [would] always come over and bring liquor." We then go back to the Del Mar Racetrack.

Sean continues to tell Ali and Jarvis that Tyler was seemingly planning vacation trips for the two of them. "I think he had a crush on Sean," Jarvis tells Ali, adding that she's seen the text messages that Sean is referring to.

Sean pulls up his phone and shows Ali an alleged text message from Tyler. "Look at this. What does it say at the end? 'Because our friendship comes first no matter what. Love you long time. Have a good work…'" The text seems to end with a lot of heart emojis.

Another alleged text message from Tyler to Sean seems to be about Tyler distancing himself from Austin. "When he found out that Austin was being sketchy towards me, [like] touchy-feeling, Tyler was obsessed with that topic," Sean claims. "[Tyler] was running around being like, 'Stay away from [Austin]. He's definitely in the closet. Him and Lisa give me swinger vibes.' All this kind of stuff."

Sean adds, "Polly, Hall, and Tyler were all saying the same thing. They were like, 'He's definitely, like, experimenting.' And [now] they want to turn this on me. Now I'm hearing that I'm psychotic. I have no friends. This needs to stop."

The final confrontation between Sean, Tyler, and Austin.

As soon as Sean walks up to his costars for this final confrontation, Austin walks away without skipping a beat. Tyler is quick to follow. "You were so quick to attack me in the office, why are you running now?" Sean yells out as he starts to chase after the two men, but Austin immediately decides to leave the premises.

Tyler tells Sean, "We've already had this conversation." Sean quips back, "We've never had a conversation. (…) Why are you running around saying that our friendship… like, we used to be really good friends."

"Sean, we're adults," Tyler says. "If I don't wanna be friends with you, that's okay."

Sean argues, "And if we were such close friends that you called me your best friend for life…" Tyler doesn't believe he's ever called Sean his best friend for life, but Sean claims to have screenshots of everything. Jarvis inserts herself and says that she's seen them.

The entire group around Sean and Tyler is now being shown the "love you long time" text message that is followed by several heart emojis. We cut to a confessional from Tyler saying, "If a heart emoji is inappropriate, then I'm inappropriate with everybody I text."

Sean shows the group another alleged text from Tyler, one that seems to show "two women wrapping their legs around each other [while] drinking wine." He reads, "Is that us?" and claims that Tyler replied, "That's the plan, haha."

When Sean brings up the gifts he was receiving, Tyler appears to confirm that he did send gifts "at one point," but argues that Sean is only showing "one version of the truth."

Sean then tells Tyler, "Your ex-wife might be a good actress. Stop f*cking with me right now, because you're trying to manipulate me."

As tensions build up, Sean accuses Tyler of starting the rumor that involves Austin. Polly quips back that Sean started that rumor and doubled down on it when confronted by Austin, which Sean denies. The episode cuts back to the office scene when Sean confronts Austin about that topic, and it seems like we are told to interpret that Polly is right… though that much is still unclear.

The entire group then gets into a mode of breaking down every little detail about the story of Sean going over to Austin and Lisa's place. Alex Hall brings up that Sean talked about having dinner at their place. "We never had dinner," Sean replies. Hall then mentions the edibles, which Sean also denies.

It is at this precise moment that the tides turn against Sean even among his allies and friends. Kayla's face immediately drops when she hears Sean denying that he had dinner or ate edibles with Austin and Lisa, as those are the exact details that Kayla remembers Sean telling her about.

We don't know if there's a heavy-handed edit here to push the narrative that Sean is lying… or if he really is lying, as Kayla tells us. Jarvis stands by Sean, but Kayla leaves the scene, and Ali is now also looking at him funny.

Sean tells Tyler, "You told me when we were friends that Austin and Lisa gave you swinger vibes."

"I've never said that," Tyler responds. "You tried to turn Austin and I against each other."

Given Tyler's track record on Selling the OC when it comes to not always telling the truth, nor being totally forthcoming with his real feelings, it's also hard to believe him in exchanges like these.

If even Alex Hall — his longtime friend, coworker, and recent romantic partner — talks about how she's going crazy with the uncertainty that comes from Tyler… of course Sean (and us, the audience) also have a hard time trusting what Tyler is saying.

Tyler walks out of the room. "I'm not doing this," he announces and finds a different place to sit down.

Sean follows him there, saying: "You're such a f*cking p*ssy wimp."

"F*cking A. I'm a p*ssy wimp?" Tyler responds. "Come here, tell me that. F*cking piece of sh*t."

After a lot of back and forth between them — mostly rehashing previous insults — it appears that Sean and Tyler finally give up on fighting and/or trying to prove their side of the story.

In one final scene, Sean walks by Tyler, who is sitting down. "I didn't want it to end like this, man," Sean says, but keeps walking.

An epilogue to 'Selling the OC' season 3.

The season 3 finale of Selling the OC ends with several question marks, particularly in regard to the accusations involving Sean, Austin, and Tyler. After all, these three men have different versions of what the dynamics between them actually were. However, we do already know a few things from subsequent reports about these reality TV stars.

On October 5, 2023, Tyler told People that he had officially left the Oppenheim Group to join his father (John Stanaland) and his brother at the family's brokerage firm, the John Stanaland Group, which reportedly became part of the high-profile agency Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

On November 20, 2023, Sean revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he also left the Oppenheim Group. "Unfortunately, the Oppenheim Group was not a culture fit for me," Sean said. "I'm really excited for the future as I just signed as a partner with an amazing, top-producing team and mentor, Steve Games, previous owner of Prudential California Realty and Pacific Sotheby's International Realty. Our team recently just launched with Coldwell Banker West."

On April 25, 2024 — eight days before the premiere of Selling the OC season 3 — Austin and Lisa welcomed their third baby, which was exclusively reported by People. After already having two girls, the couple has now welcomed a son to their family.