Culture

“I’m seated:” Fans react to the “threesome” drama between these Selling the OC stars

By Jordan Robledo

4th May 2024

Selling the OC has delivered some spicy queer-coded drama, and viewers are obsessed. 

On 3 May, fans were treated to the highly anticipated third season of the Selling Sunset spinoff.

Set in Orange County, California, the show follows a group of agents at the high-end real estate brokerage firm Oppenheim Group as they work toward selling multi-million dollar properties in various sunkissed beach cities.

However, in true reality TV fashion, Selling the OC is also filled with heaps of drama, including love triangles, over-the-top arguments, glamorous parties, and workplace backstabbing. 

While the new batch of episodes was full of drama, the shocking showdown between Sean Palmieri and Austin Victoria garnered the most attention from fans. 

The conflict kicked off in episode three after it was revealed in episode two that the two realtors were no longer close.

While having dinner with Alexandra Harper and Kayla Cardona, Sean opened up about his fractured friendship with Austin and how he and his wife, Lisa, were a little too flirty with him. 

“Austin and I were chill. I do think that him and his wife are a little too flirty for my taste sometimes,” the openly bisexual realtor explained. 

On the other side of town, Austin shared his side of why he and Sean were at odds, revealing to Lisa that his co-worker spread a rumour about them wanting a threesome.

“Like that guy has some sick s*** going on in his head to even come up with that scenario,” Austin added.

The scene then transitioned to Sean in a confessional, giving further insight into his feelings regarding the married couple. 

“I’m not here to judge underlying parts of someone’s relationship. You could be open. You can do whatever you want. It’s your relationship and your marriage,” he explained.

“Do what you want. I’m not here to judge that. But he has been very [interested] in me in the past. He’s made moves on me. And if your wife is touching me, saying, ‘You’re my favourite in the office,’ that could lead to hints. I choose to stay away from these situations.”

Later in the episode, things took an explosive turn when Sean and Austin got into a war of words at the Oppenheim Group office.

“Tell me exactly what happened. I’m done with the games,” Sean exclaimed after Austin asked for him to come clean about the rumours.

In response, Austin said: “You overstepped a boundary, and I’m not okay with it.” 

After tiptoeing around the issue, the pair got down to the nitty gritty, with Sean asking Austin if he “really wants to go there”.

Instagram / @sean.palmieri and @austin_victoria

“You told me when we were friends, you gave me all this stuff you and your wife are into. I don’t care if you’re doing these foursomes, flipping, doing all this kind of stuff,” Sean added. 

“You made a move, and because I’m not into it, you’re mad that I’m not into it.” 

Austin was quick to deny the accusation, stating that he’s never had a threesome before, calling Sean “disgusting” and “not hot.” 

“I would never f****** wanna hit on you. You’re the last person I would ever hit on,” he added. 

Sean went on to accuse Austin of trying to change the story after the fact.

“You’re not gonna flip this script on me, when you hit on me. You literally looked at me and said, ‘If I wasn’t married, the things I’d do,'” he claimed. 

Towards the end of their argument, the two almost came to blows when Austin pushed Sean and accused him of making up the rumour. 

In the end, Tyler Stanaland, who’s also on the outs with Sean, and Gio Helou, intervened before things turned violent. 

The explosive moment certainly left a mark on fans, with many flocking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their shock over the drama. 

One person wrote: “Oohhhh, the tea is particularly brisk today.”

Instagram / @sean.palmieri and @austin_victoria

Another fan tweeted: “Let me go and reactivate this Netflix account and start from season one.”

A third person added: “Raise your hand if this was the first thing you saw when you woke up this morning.”

While episode three ended with a cliffhanger, the drama between Sean and Austin continued in the remaining five episodes, which are all available on Netflix.

See below for more fan reactions to the pair’s shocking feud.