Kayla Cardona is the talk of the O Group office in 'Selling The OC'

New to the OC O Group crew? Allow us to fill you in

Kayla Cardona on Selling the OC
(Image credit: Netflix)

Kayla Cardona might be new to the real estate industry, but she was quickly engulfed in O Group drama. 

The Selling Sunset spinoff, Selling The OC, has finally made its way to Netflix, and fans are reveling in the glorious listings (that $100 million listing) and soaking up the turbulence between co-workers. As you might've expected, there's plenty. 

Meet Kayla Cardona

Kayla comes from Orange County and she's 33- years old. She's a single mom with a 15-year-old son, Jordan. On the show, she reveals that her parents didn't support her decision to keep the baby after getting pregnant as a teenager, and she was forced to move out of their home and into shelters. 

"That was the hardest thing for me, when my parents disowned me at the time that I needed them the most," she revealed on the first episode.

Before making her way into real estate in 2019, she worked several jobs to stay afloat. She actually tells Alex Hall on the show that she was still working a second job while waiting for any potential commissions to come through.

"People wanna come across as like, 'Oh, I'm this badass agent that's making it right away,'" she told Women's Health. "The reality is you might need one or two side hustles to get you through the first couple years of real estate. That's just the truth."

Cardona admirably proved her worth in the industry, and her O Group bio states: "She started her real estate career working alongside the highest-rated team on Zillow and all of Orange County where she quickly became a top 1% agent, earning a prestigious Executive Club Award."

What about the Kayla and Tyler kiss drama?

Her success on Selling The OC seems to be clouded by a little office drama...particularly with Tyler Stanaland, real estate royalty and pro surfer. Kayla tried to sneak a kiss with the realtor on several occasions, which normally wouldn't be an issue—except he's married to actor Brittany Snow

In a new interview with Reality Life with Kate Casey, the surfer-turned-realtor mentioned the now buzzy incident.  

"One night, Kayla did try and kiss me. And then it happened another night as well," he revealed. "And so on the show, out of respect for her, I am just kind of trying to minimize it and brush past it so that there isn't drama. We can all focus on what we should be doing."

According to Stanaland, this has not come between him and Snow, and Cardona apologized for the almost-kiss on the show. He also admitted that oftentimes he and the co-workers are "all over" each other, which could cause some confusion, to say the least.

In a new interview with US Weekly, Cardona decided to set the record straight. 

"I’m not gonna flirt with someone if I don’t feel like I’m getting flirt[ed] with back. If I know that someone is definitely not interested, I have a lot more confidence in myself than to just throw myself at someone for no reason," she told the outlet. "I was definitely feeling the reciprocation back and, you know, multiple times. But nothing has ever happened."

Who is Kayla Cardona dating?

At the moment, Kayla is currently single, though it's likely we'll see relationship changes as the show continues. 

But for the moment, it's all about soaking up the debut season, the good and the bad. Between the kiss drama and other emotional happenings, like ups and downs with Alexandra Rose and Alexandra Jarvis, Cardona admits she had a somewhat difficult time transitioning to reality TV fame.

"I pretty much cried every single scene…I was cringing, not gonna lie," she told Women's Health.

But now, she's a staple on our TV screens, and we're crossing our fingers to see her story—and her co-workers' stories—unfold in Selling The OC season 2.

Danielle Valente

Danielle is a writer for woman&home and My Imperfect Life, covering all-things news, lifestyle and entertainment. 


The heart of her time at Future has been devoted to My Imperfect Life, where she's been attuned to the cosmos, new TV shows and relationship trends.  


Before her time at Future, Danielle was the editor of Time Out New York Kids and a news editor at Elite Daily. Her work has also appeared in Domino, Chowhound, amNewYork and Newsday, among other outlets. 


When Danielle is not working, you can usually find her reading a book, coffee at hand, or attempting a new recipe. (Recommendations always welcome!)