Kayla Cardona admits she felt the 'reciprocation' from Tyler Stanaland amid kiss drama

By now you've heard of Kayla Cardona, Selling The OC and the realtor's almost-kiss with Tyler Stanaland.

For the uninitiated, the Selling Sunset spinoff follows the happenings in the Oppenheim Group's Newport Beach office—which means new cast members and new drama, like said almost-kiss.

Those who've streamed the first season were immediately consumed by the non-event between Cardona and Stanaland that rocked the entire staff and somehow became everyone's (read Alex Hall's) business. Under normal circumstances, a lip lock between two co-workers is nothing earth-shattering, but Stanaland married actor Brittany Snow in 2020. 

Both parties have attempted to move on from the ordeal, but now it appears that Cardona is telling her side of the story...and it doesn't necessarily add up to Stanaland's.

Kayla Cardona, Selling The OC realtor, tells her side

In an interview with Reality Life with Kate Casey (opens in new tab), the surfer-turned-realtor discussed the now infamous moment. 

"One night, Kayla did try and kiss me. And then it happened another night as well," he said. "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."

In a new exclusive with US Weekly (opens in new tab), Cardona gives a slightly opposing viewpoint, to say the least.

"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."

Though the O Group staffers have a tendency to be a bit flirty with one another, per Cardona, Stanaland defends his actions and believes he wasn't trying to lead her on.

"I was just trying to brush it under the rug and not have office drama and ignore that those actions were even being attempted," he told US. "I think it was a big lesson for all of us: communication is key and sometimes dealing with it sooner than later is more beneficial."

As for Stanaland's boss, Jason Oppenheim, well...he takes a different approach. My Imperfect Life sat down for a chat with the O Group founder and CEO, who admits he tries to stay out of the shenanigans, despite having a close relationship with his employees.

"I've learned to take a step back from trying to solve everything myself," he admits when speaking of the office drama. "I realize a lot of things solve themselves. A lot of things seem like a big deal upfront, but they end up not being a big deal if you just let them go."

Well, better luck next time—perhaps in Selling The OC season 2!