High interest rates and mansion taxes aren’t the only things causing drama in the new season of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, which has found Tracy Tutor stuck between two Joshes.
Tensions between the two men were explained in the Season 15 premiere when Josh Flagg accused Josh Altman of hijacking a $15 million listing after they both went on the appointment together the year prior. However, Altman claimed that the owner only wanted him to sell the property — and that he simply “forgot” to let Flagg know.
In tonight’s episode, the real estate agents come together to hash out their differences, with Altman telling Flagg that he feels like their relationship is “one-sided.”
“That was probably pretty tough to hear for Flagg, because I do believe that Flagg adores Altman and loves him,” Tutor told DECIDER ahead of the new episode. “I mean, they’re going through a rough patch and Altman can kick in the gut sometimes. He can be a little bit below the belt.”
While she wasn’t sure that she agreed that their friendship is “100% one-sided,” Tutor did speculate that Flagg tends to get “a little bit of tunnel vision.”
“That it’s Josh Flagg, meaning the Josh Flagg show, not our show, and we’re all just members of his cast,” she said. “I think, respectfully, he could probably make bigger efforts to see his family more, spend time and not just make it about him.”
Flagg and Altman end their conversation in the episode on a seemingly hopeful note; however, Tutor teased that they still have “a ways to go.”
“It’s a tough season for them. I’m sort of in between both of them, helping them navigate it,” she said, noting that she doesn’t see a full reconciliation on the horizon “any time soon.”
Tutor recently visited DECIDER’s offices, where she talked about the pressure of being a successful agent, needing to relive the end of her relationship and giving Flagg a B- rating on his Days of Our Lives performance. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: You say that everyone expects everything you touch to break records. How do you deal with that kind of pressure?
TRACY TUTOR: The pressure is real. We just came off a couple of really great years in the business where we were killing it and the market was super hot and strong, so things were happening for us. And now the tables have turned, and we have to work seven times harder to achieve the same goals and so it’s a lot of work, a lot of hours for a little bit less pay. Sound familiar?
You and Flagg seem to be in a much better place this year. What “crazy efforts” did he make to repair your friendship?
I mean, it started that night after the cameras turned off. We probably talked until 1 a.m., 2 a.m. I just tried to explain to him, because I think things just kind of fly out of his mouth without a lot of thought or consideration. And so after we took a little bit of a break, we came back in January and he just started trying to repair the friendship and coming over and making efforts with my daughter Juliet. And so I can’t hold it against him forever. I love him too much.
You gave Flagg a solid B- for his Days of Our Lives performance. As a former actress, what tips do you have for him?
Maybe learn your lines. I’m pretty certain there was, like, a prompter behind him to make sure that he was okay. But I do think he really went into Yuri deeply. He was like, “I am a businessman who really loves cocaine and I’m going to embrace this part.” So I thought he was great. Considering [he had] zero acting experience, [it was] pretty cool.
Well, are there any shows that you would do if they asked you to return to acting?
I mean, a lot of them. I gotta tell you, I told Josh, I said, “If you’re going back, I need to be your girlfriend. They need to slide me in there as, Yuri’s, like, slutty girlfriend who’s Russian or something.” I don’t know, I’m half Armenian, so maybe I’d be half Armenian. But we thought that would be a hoot. We’ll see how that pans out.
I do want to get your thoughts on the Flagg v. Altman drama. Was Altman wrong for listing the property that he initially intended to co-list with Flagg?
Watching all of that play out, obviously, you hear [Flagg’s] version of the story and then you hear Altman’s version of the story, and I also went on that listing appointment a year and a half ago, but I didn’t go on it with either of them. So, respectfully, to Altman, the mistake that he truly made was not picking up the phone and pretending to not remember that they went on it together. He obviously had a conversation with the co-list agent about it. So after they hung up the phone and said, “Okay, we’re not listing it with Flagg, they don’t want to work with Flagg,” it was an immediate phone call and it was pretty simple. That’s where Altman screwed up.
I do understand his position, though. He does work really hard. That was a year and a half ago [when] they went on that listing appointment together and in the year after that, [Altman] was showing the property, calling them, following up and being the aggressor that he is while Flagg was probably in the south of France with me, I don’t know.
What do you think of Altman telling Flagg in this week’s episode that their friendship is one-sided?
That was probably pretty tough to hear for Flagg, because I do believe that Flagg adores Altman and loves him. I mean, they’re going through a rough patch and Altman can kick in the gut sometimes. He can be a little bit below the belt. I’m not sure if it’s 100% one-sided, but I do think that [Flagg], again, gets a little bit of tunnel vision — that it’s Josh Flagg, meaning the Josh Flagg show, not our show, and we’re all just members of his cast. And I think, respectfully, he could probably make bigger efforts to see his family more, spend time and not just make it about him.
They both hug it out at the end of their conversation.
Was that not the most awkward hug though?
It was a little awkward! How has this truce held up?
Let’s just say, it’s episode two. We have a ways to go. So, yeah, it’s a tough season for them. You know, I’m sort of in between both of them, helping them navigate it. And, you know, we try to come together but you’ll have to watch and find out.
It did feel a little early for a full reconcilliation.
Yeah, I don’t see that on the horizon any time soon.
Heather Altman is taking on more of an on-screen role this season. Were you happy that audiences would get to see what a boss she really is?
She’s always been a boss. It’s about time that everyone gets to see her in that role because she’s not only a boss at the job, she’s a boss mom. She’s an incredible wife. And she looks damn good, too. So, I mean, I’m proud of her. I’m happy for her. And I think she kills it.
In the trailer, we see your struggles with Erik. Is it possible to prepare yourself to relive the end of your relationship on the show?
No, I’m not looking forward to that episode. I keep trying to figure out when it’s coming. Because I haven’t seen it. So I know that in the moment, when I was living it, I was like, I’m just going to be as vulnerable as possible because I’ve been there before and I’ve sort of withheld. And I felt like it was cathartic. I don’t know if watching it back will feel cathartic. I think it’s going to be tough for Erik and I, but in the moment, I’m really glad that I did it, because I got to kind of talk through a lot of things on camera and share a lot of things that typically I wouldn’t have.
Bachelor Nation has no doubt noticed that alum Tammy Kay Ly is one of your colleagues. Were you aware of her reality TV past? How is she doing as part of your team?
Okay, so I love Tammy. And I had heard when she was meeting with me that she was a Bachelor alum, and I didn’t watch it until my last flight. I was doing a speaking engagement somewhere, and I downloaded a lot of the episodes. And then after that, Bachelor in Paradise! She is crazy town in Bachelor in Paradise, which I was totally here for, so I embrace it. I’m glad she’s done what she’s done. She’s in the show this season with us representing the team. You’ve probably already seen her in, I want to say episode two. And we love having her on board. And while she’s new to L.A. real estate and only a couple years in, she was in New York prior to that, so she’s doing well.
You were recently on RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars to provide your expertise for the queens’ fake real estate commercials. What was that experience like? And which queen is ready to join Team Tutor?
First of all, I love that show. I had so much fun mentoring them on that show and Carson [Kressley] is an absolute riot. So I was just grateful to be a part of it. They’re all so talented, but if I had my pick of the litter, I might actually choose the U.K. winner that I did an episode of his show, Lawrence, who is fantastic. I mean, we drove through McDonald’s together. He is an absolute riot. He’s Scottish and he won the U.K. one. He’s fabulous.
What else can you tease about the rest of the season?
I think we’re just so happy to be delivering a show that’s kind of going against the grain in terms of reality television and real estate. Like, actually, we have agents that watch our show, and we have people that engage in this show because they actually learn something from it. So we’re focused on that, and we’re trying to deliver as much of our truth this season as we have in years past, which unlike some other shows that are a little more focused on the fun drama, which I love as well, but that’s just not what what we’re about.
I have seen Owning Manhattan, and I think, you know, Ryan [Serhant] is such a force. And so obviously, he’s doing deals. So I have a lot of respect for him and he’s very much in that lane. But there aren’t too many now that are really trying to lean into what actually we do for a living, because it’s not throw drinks at each other at open houses — for the most part!
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.