Emma Hernan Nearly Quit Selling Sunset Ahead of Season 9

After onscreen insinuations that she was involved in an affair with a married man, Emma Hernan nearly quit Selling Sunset altogether.

“100 percent [I almost walked away completely]. I was down to the very last second deciding if I should do it or not, because I felt what happened was so unfair,” Emma, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting Mel’s Diner on Sunset now serving her vegan cheeseburger empanadas. “At the end of the day, I came on the show to inspire women and what they portrayed is the opposite of what I did and the opposite of what I stand for.”

“The reason that I joined the show is to show young girls out there that you can not come from a lot. You can create your own story and own dream, so when they took that away from me, it made me seem like something that I wasn’t and I waited until the very last second,” she continued. “And the reason I ended up doing it was because I wanted to get my truth out there. I wanted people to see how bad I was hurt, because it hurt me tremendously.”

The real estate agent ultimately decided that she wanted to use season 9 as a way to share her side.”Just getting my truth out was really important to me and my family,” she told Us. “I am so close to my family and that was a decision that they played in as well.”

Emma joined Selling Sunset and The Oppenheim Group in season 4. She quickly forged strong friendships with Chrishell Stause and Chelsea Lazkani — but she also made some enemies. Emma’s biggest feud was with Nicole Young, who accused Emma of sleeping with a married man in multiple scenes during season 8.

“I wasn’t given a voice in the last season. I had no idea what was being filmed behind my back. I filmed an entire season just trying to be there for one of my best friends [Chelsea] going through one of the most difficult times of her life and that was taken away by what happened when the show came out and me being blindsided,” Emma told Us about finding out what Nicole said days before the episodes aired earlier this year. “You saw me in a light that was false and unfair. I’m very passionate about that [because of] how hurtful it was to me. I really can’t reiterate how painful it was to me and how shocked I was and how hurt I was and how blindsided I was to everything.”

Emma was grateful that Chelsea, 31, and Chrishell, 43, publicly defended her against the false information.

“They came to my defense right away when we all got wind of this,” she gushed. “And I’m so thankful to them because sometimes when you’re hurt and lose your voice a little bit, it’s really nice to have people that love you and support you and I know that it was so important to them and it was so meaningful to me that they stepped up for me.”

While Nicole, 38, claimed Emma knew about the rumors being mentioned on the show, Emma couldn’t disagree more, adding, “I had zero idea. Chelsea and Chrishell had zero idea. It was literally a complete blindside to myself and my two best friends because everybody made sure not to let them know because they were going to let me know, so I had zero idea.”

Emma has disputed the claims multiple times since season 8 aired.

“I wish that I was at least made aware of what was being said behind my back because then I could’ve addressed it and squashed it in two seconds because there was no truth to it. But that wouldn’t be as great of a story line,” she told Us. “It wouldn’t be as juicy. So of course, they didn’t give me that opportunity because they know it would’ve been squashed in two seconds. I wish things could’ve been handled differently and people involved could’ve done things differently.”

Nicole has publicly issued an apology, which Emma refuses to accept.

“I will never accept her apology. I do not think she is a good person. I know that she lied,” Emma explained to Us. “I like to surround myself with positive people and she’s not a positive person. What she’s done to me and what she’s done to Chrishell and what she’s done to others, I don’t agree with and I never will.”

While Emma will get a chance to clear the air during season 9, which is currently filming, it won’t be easy. “When you have to be around somebody that literally hurt you so bad and did so much damage, of course it’s difficult. I don’t wish that upon my worst enemy. What she did to me, I don’t wish that upon my worst enemy,” Emma shared. “I think she’s so evil. Honestly, the only thing that drives me to address it and clear the air is to tell my truth so people can understand, but that’s the only reason that I would have a conversation with Nicole.”

Emma couldn’t share too much about how production was going, but she could tease that fans can expect the unexpected.

“We’ve already probably had the wildest [moments] that have ever been filmed on Selling Sunset, so that has already taken place and we are about two weeks in,” she revealed. “I’ve also had some really, really great moments with Chrishell and Chelsea. The new season is probably going to be the best … It is definitely going to be very entertaining — that is for sure.”

As for where Emma stands with Bre Tiesi — who is at odds with some of the cast for how she spoke about Chelsea’s divorce on the show — when season 9 returns? Sounds like the costars haven’t made any progress.

“I see how people treat other people and I prioritize good people and there’s things that happen behind closed doors that I don’t agree with,” she detailed. “I don’t agree with a lot of the things that have transpired and there’s no bad blood. I actually wish the best for Bre, her family and everything. Sometimes — especially as a woman — you have to stand up for what’s right and there were some things that were not OK and I have to stand up for what’s right and I sleep well at night knowing that I did that.”

Off camera, Emma is staying positive and celebrating her vegan cheeseburger empanadas officially being served at Mel’s Diner.

“I’ve been asked to put my empanadas in many different restaurants before. I wanted my first restaurant partnership to be something that was iconic and it doesn’t get more iconic than Mel’s on the Sunset Strip,” she shared with Us. “Mel’s is also really special to me and my family because we live super close by and it’s my dad’s favorite restaurant. So every time that he comes to Los Angeles, Mel’s is the place that we walk down to and my dad gets a vanilla milkshake to start his morning and it’s his favorite thing to do. I thought what better partnership than to have my empanadas at my dad’s favorite restaurant.”

She continued: “They’re going to be on the menu indefinitely and we launched with the Sunset location and then we’re going to continue to launch at all the other locations. They’re adding it on the menu in a super cute way. We have this whole design. It’s going to be on there forever and the only other two people on the menu are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lana Del Rey, so I’m in great company!”

Selling Sunset is currently streaming on Netflix.

With reporting by Lanae Brody