While Vanessa Villela was one of the few agents keeping the peace in the Oppenheim office, the Mexican-American actress won’t be seen much on Season 5 of the docusoap.
The Selling Sunset star told Page Six that she sat out a good portion of the upcoming season due to a very strong COVID-19 case.
“My case, it’s still going actually,” the 43-year-old explained to the publication. “It’s called long COVID. I’m still dealing with it.”
Vanessa Villela explains her absence while filming Season 5 of Selling Sunset
The latest installment of the series saw Villela’s emergence into prestigious real estate brokerage and found herself as one of Christine Quinn’s last few allies in the office.
After Season 4 wrapped, the cast immediately went into production for Season 5. However, for Vanessa, her storyline took a dramatic turn.
Out of 11 weeks of filming, “I was sick for five,” Villela recounted. “I got COVID in August and we started filming right in that moment, so obviously they couldn’t wait for me.”
While the telenovela star tried her best to mend the wounds of the Oppenheim Group last season, her function on the series will admittedly be different this time around.
“I was sick for too long and you’re going to see a little bit of a struggle with Vanessa in work,” the real estate agent spoke about her absence.
Explaining that she suffered brain inflammation that presented itself in debilitating spells of dizziness, “I went to film one day after I ‘recovered’ and while I was speaking, I started feeling like I was going to pass out and I started feeling super dizzy,” she explained.
She added, “They had to send me in an Uber to my house.”
When does Season 5 of Selling Sunset premiere?
It hasn’t even been a month since Season 4 debuted on the streaming service and most fans are calling for the already promised Season 5.
While we do know, according to Mary’s Instagram, is that filming for Season 5 has wrapped, all that has currently been confirmed is that it’s expected to drop in 2021.
According to the trailer, Season 5 of Selling Sunset is set to include the blossoming romance between the founder of the brokerage, Jason Oppenheim, and fellow agent, Chrishell Stause.
Selling Sunset is currently streaming on Netflix.