EXCLUSIVE: ‘Selling the OC’ Stars Reveal What It’s Really Like Working With Celebrity Clients—and the Wild Lengths They Go To Keep Them Happy

The cast members of the hit Netflix series “Selling the OC” are stars in their own right—yet their work often sees them at the beck and call of some very major celebrities and other big-time clients, who often come with some rather large demands.

On Season 4 of the show, which debuted in November, luxury real estate agent Kaylee Ricciardi reveals she’s working with a famous buyer, music producer and DJ, Diplo, helping him to find a private sanctuary in Southern California where he can both retreat and record music.

The 35-year-old member of The Oppenheim Group explains she first “met Diplo at Burning Man, like, 12 years ago” and “got to know him really well” while hanging out with him and his crew of friends over the years. 

Throughout that same time period, Ricciardi built a reputation in real estate by specializing in high-end, short-term rentals for clients attending popular music festivals.

“I got my start out of Coachella doing luxury vacation rentals, and that snowballed into me getting my license about five years ago now,” she explains. “This niche has allowed me to create a network from celebrities to the biggest CEOs in the world.” 

Diplo, who has made music with Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and Madonna, is one of Ricciardi’s most well-known clients; however, the Newport Beach-based agent hopes to represent more famous faces in the future.

“My goal is to get more celebrity high-profile clients,” she says.

Though Diplo did not end up purchasing the $13 million Malibu mansion he toured with Ricciardi on the show, he is still collaborating with her on locating the perfect property.

“We’re still actively looking,” Ricciardi reveals to Realtor.com®. “He has very specific needs, including wanting an ADU he can convert into a studio. 

“He’s also looking for something similar to his Pompeii property in Jamaica—somewhere he can live when he wants, rent out to select clients, and use as a creative space. We’re just focused on finding the perfect fit for him.”

During her scene with Diplo on “Selling the OC,” Ricciardi admits that working with her friend made the whole house tour process “so much more fun than it normally is” because as it turns out, many of her high-end clients tend to have unrealistically high expectations for what she can and should deliver.

“In my experience, sometimes the needs are a little ridiculous, especially pertaining to rentals,” she shares.

“If someone is paying an exorbitant amount of money—they're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for, like, a four-day rental—I’ve gotten calls at literally four in the morning being like, ‘There is something in the vent. You need to come here right now and get it out.’ 

“And I'm like, ‘OK, what could it be?’ They’re like, ‘It’s asbestos.’ I'm like, ‘The house is built in 2000, there's no asbestos in it legally,’ but I'll go over there.

“I climbed up on a ladder at four in the morning, half asleep with one eye open, pulled out a fuzz ball and threw it away.”

Though these late-night house calls are not necessarily emergencies, Ricciardi recognizes that responding to them is necessary to make clients feel well taken care of.

“Stuff like that, it happens a lot, and I just got to take it and swallow it,” she admits. “It is what it is. I'm grateful to have them as clients, so I just keep my mouth shut and keep going.”

Ricciardi’s costars have also had some difficult customers to deal with.

Fellow “Selling the OC” star Polly Brindle dishes she’s endured a fair share of “drama” while getting transactions done, and adds it’s not only luxury buyers and sellers who can be hard to handle, but other agents as well.

“It is dog-eat-dog, and you do get to experience, unfortunately, some large personalities that you've got to navigate and sometimes, there is drama with different personalities and the competition that goes with luxury real estate,” she says.

As one of Netflix’s most popular real estate-related reality TV series, episodes of “Selling the OC” are packed with office politics and personal clashes among its cast members. As a result, show star Brandi Marshall explains the real-life ups and downs of selling million-dollar properties can sometimes be glossed over.

“We don't walk into a listing and just immediately, [clients] like to write an offer,” says Marshall. “Most times it doesn't work that way. 

“We show and show and show and show and show until we're blue in the face a lot of times, and then it's time to write an offer … but for TV's sake, they have to kind of truncate that.”

Real estate agent and “Selling the OC” personality Gio Helou reinforces Marshall’s point, sharing he showed one Newport Beach property “40 times” before an offer was written.

While cast members “wish people got to see that” portion of the real estate process play out on the show, they’re pleased the over-the-top properties they represent are prominently showcased because they, too, are fascinated by all the unique features.

“Selling the OC” star Alex Hall, who won an intra-office competition to list O Group boss Jason Oppenheim’s stunning $15 million Newport Beach, CA, estate, points out the extraordinary property details that continue to catch her attention.

“Some homes have cool features, but the wow factor for me is the uniqueness of location, proximity to the beach, or the home itself and where it's located,” says Hall.

“Like a view or somebody having a pool that's right over a cliff where you never see a pool that close to the beach, or in that specific neighborhood—the properties here in southern Orange County have uniqueness in that way versus, like, a feature in the home.”

Show newcomer, Ashtyn Zerboni, recounts an “absolutely insane” floor plan that recently wowed her.

“I saw a house the other day that had a lot of secret pathways where, like, you open the bookshelf, and then it leads to a secret [pathway].

“[There] was an underground shooting range underneath this house that led out the back in case you need an escape route.”

Meanwhile, Ricciardi reports the most impressive design element she’s come across is a cold plunge pool that’s fully exposed to the elements.

“There’s a house out in the desert that has cold plunge,” she explains. “It doesn't have a lid or anything. It's just open air.

“The average temperature [in the desert] is like, 100 degrees,” she adds. “A cold plunge operating at 35 degrees, 24/7, no matter what … is incredible.”

As Ricciardi keeps up the search for Diplo’s ideal dwelling, it seems she and her fellow “Selling the OC” stars continue to rack up a roster of properties with A-list amenities that would please even the pickiest VIP.