"I did not want the friendship to end": Selling Sunset's Emma on the status of her relationship with Chrishell

Emma Hernan, star of Selling Sunset, has opened up about the dramatic split with her former best friend and costar Chrishell Stause.

The two had been close for years, but the friendship collapsed amid Emma’s on-screen romance with boyfriend Blake Davis.

Emma, 33, revealed in an exclusive with Us Weekly that she never wanted to have to pick between Chrishell and Blake.

She explained,

“I feel like I wanted both relationships to work. I still wanted Chrishell to be my best friend and I did want to revisit the relationship with Blake.” 

She admitted she believed she could make both bonds strong, but ultimately she couldn’t.

Emma said the fact that the friendship ended wasn’t a choice she felt she made freely:

“That was not a choice that just happened, but I did not want the friendship to end. I also did not want my relationship with him to end. I think ultimately the choice was made by other people, but it wasn’t made by me.”

Her language reveals the great inner conflict she suffered: loyalty to a once-trusted friend or love for a partner who was questioned by most of the contestants of the show.

Chrishell, 44, has never hesitated to bring up issues regarding Blake, mentioning the warning signs she claims she detected during their first encounter as reasons for her distrust.

The rift between Emma and Chrishell was not only the biggest but also the most dramatic aspect of Season 9 of Selling Sunset, and Emma claims that the unbearable situation became so serious that she had no choice but to take action.

She picked Blake over the friendship in its original form, a decision she said she wished she could avoid, but felt, nevertheless, she had to take.

This event signifies a shift in the narrative; it has evolved from mere friendship issues to a more profound dialogue concerning priorities, trust and individual decisions.

What really happened between Emma, Chrishell & Blake

Here’s the fuller picture of how things escalated.

Emma and Chrishell became close when Emma joined the show in season 4 of Selling Sunset.

They were often seen together socially and worked side by side at the real estate firm.

But when Emma’s relationship with Blake emerged publicly, dating from late 2023 into 2024 and resurfacing for season 9’s cameras, things changed.

According to a detailed write-up by People, Chrishell felt uneasy early on when she first met Blake, citing “so many red flags … in one short meeting.” 

In season 9, the tension played out on screen, and Chrishell questioned Blake’s attitude, his lack of career drive, and his treatment of friendships.

Blake allegedly made remarks about pronoun use and non-binary identity that Chrishell viewed as disrespectful.

She shared,

“He just would say these extremely problematic things … he compared people being nonbinary to mental illness.”

From Emma’s side, she says she tried to balance both relationships, but in her recent interview, she admitted that balancing was impossible.

She said she began to accept that she couldn’t hold onto the same friendship and the same romance without it breaking somewhere.

The show’s reunion, filmed in August 2025, surfaced as a final public moment for Emma and Chrishell together before the friendship visibly ended.

Chrishell, for her part, has made clear that she no longer wants to continue the friendship.

She told Variety the whole scenario left her in a “dark place” and she realized the relationship was over because her values and Emma’s choices no longer aligned.

So while Emma publicly says she didn’t want the friendship to end, she also acknowledges it did, and says much of the decision was made outside her control.

Stay tuned for more updates.