'Selling Sunset' star Jason Oppenheim says he and Marie-Lou Nurk are 'very much in love'

Jason Oppenheim says Season Six of "Selling Sunset" is his most personal yet. “I think that each season I get more comfortable and a little bit more relaxed,” he tells TODAY.com.

When the Netflix show began, Oppenheim — a brokerage co-owner — was mostly at a remove from the real estate agents' fights, though he intervened occasionally. As it went on, Oppenheim (and his romantic decisions) became a major plotline.

"I did not think that would happen," he says, of his new prominence in the show. "I found myself being more open as things go on. But I also don’t have any regrets about it either."

Season Five chronicled the rise and fall of Oppenheim's romance with agent Chrishell Stause in Season Five. Now, Oppenheim returns to the real estate-centric show with a new girlfriend on his arm. (Keep in mind that he also dated agent and cast members Mary Fitzgerald and Nicole Young).

The broker is dating model Marie-Lou Nurk. He and Nurk, who is about 20 years his junior, met after locking eyes at a restaurant in Mykonos in 2022.

As their one-year anniversary approaches, Oppenheim says that he and Nurk are "very much in love" and that he can't wait for fans to see the new season of "Selling Sunset."

How are you dealing with a long distance relationship?(Mary-Lou) and I just got the phone like 30 seconds ago. We're trying to figure out how to see each other in a couple of weeks, because it's already been a couple of weeks. We talk every day and things are still going great, but obviously, it's hard being apart. I think we have two or three trips planned for over the summer. It's a lot of flying. But we're doing well.

What would you say is the key to making a long-distance relationship work?

Communication. I think we talk a lot, but I don’t know. It’s new for me. So I don’t know if I figured it all out yet. But I think we’re very relaxed about it. We encourage each other to be happy and have fun and I don’t think we take things too seriously. We just communicate a lot.

During the show, you said that you were 'in love' with Nurk. Where do you see your relationship going?

Neither of us put any pressure on the relationship. Right we’re just trying to feel our way through the long-distance aspect. We're very much in love. I think we’re just trying to be more relaxed about it.

On Season 6, you take a long European vacation with Nurk — but face problems at the agency when you return. Did that change your approach to vacation?

I try to think about what's going on and if it's a good time for me to be able to take off. But I also need to be able to take vacations because I need balance in my life and I need to be able to spend time in Europe with my girlfriend. I think those things are going to outweigh everything else.

Recently, your ex-girlfriend Chrishell Stause got married to G Flip. How did you celebrate the occasion with her?

I was aware prior to the announcement, and I've already congratulated her, but I also reached out again and to both of them, just letting them know how happy I am for them and how proud I am of how inspiring they are and what a beautiful relationship they have together.

Did you see this coming?

Yes. Chrishell and I talk often so it wasn't a surprise to me.

What does your mom think of your dating life?

I talked to my mom for about two hours last night about both of our dating lives. At the end of the day, both of my parents just want me happy. They really loved all of the serious women in my life. They're still close with Nicole and Mary, and they really care for Chrishell and they really, really care for and enjoy Lou as well.

They just want me happy and they see me happy with Lou. Also, they're extremely nonjudgmental parents. I don't think there's any decision I could make that they wouldn't be proud of, or at least happy with, as long as they felt like I was happy, whether that's in relationships, or probably just about anything else.

This season, Chrishell tells Mary that she wants to focus more on her relationship with G Flip than her job. How did you feel about that moment in the season?

All of the women on the show who are agents at the office are independent contractors. I think that's an apt term for them because they're all very independent. They all have the right to make up their own minds about their professional careers and personal lives.

I'll always respect the decisions that Chrishell makes. There's probably nothing more important in the world than the person you love, so I would never question or second guess Chrishell's decisions regarding her relationship or regarding her career.

Chrishell is a very thoughtful person, so I think she is very capable of making good decisions for herself.Her career is proof of that. Even though I selfishly want her focused on real estate, I want her to be happy even more than that. So I think that her focusing on her relationship is important.

Your relationship ended with Chrishell because she wanted children and you didn't. Have you changed your views on fatherhood?

My thoughts haven’t changed. It’s not that I ever closed the idea of being a dad. It’s more about how I feel now. I don’t pretend to know how I’ll feel in two, five or 10 years, but my thoughts currently have not changed on that.

In Season Six, Nicole Young said that you had a crush on Chrishell when she was still married to her ex-husband, Justin Hartley. Did you ever confront Young about that?

No, I actually haven't because there's really nothing to resolve. It's just not true. I'm not even going to bring it up with Nicole. I just assumed she was upset or something. I think she believes that. But no, there's just nothing to resolve.

Bre Tiesi hit the ground running. What do you think of her introduction to the show?

She was excellent as an agent and cast member. She's even more fearless than it shows on "Selling Sunset," so I'm even more excited about her being on future seasons.

I'm honestly really proud of Nicole and Bre. I thought that they were honest and exposed themselves, and they just kind of let it all hang out. I'm proud of both of them.

I think they both added a tremendous amount of value to the brokerage and to the show. It's difficult in your first season. They did a good job of allowing the cameras in to see who they were. They did a better job than most of us on our first season of "Selling Sunset." It took us a couple of years to do that.

Did this season feel different without Christine being a part of the cast?

Yes and no. I was under a great deal of stress filming this year, so it was difficult, I think, for everyone. But on a positive note, I feel like the show was more layered this season. I feel like her absence allowed the show to explore different relationships and more layered aspects between people. So, ultimately, I think this season was really our best because you get to see the depth of people. But also, it's more nuanced and more layered so I think it's a richer season.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com