Selling Sunset’s newest cast member is taking the luxury real estate industry by storm!
Meet Alanna Gold — a fresh face at the Oppenheim Group who’s set to make her debut on season 8 of the hit Netflix docusoap (premiering Friday, Sept. 6). PEOPLE chatted with Gold (née Whittaker) to hear all about her journey to becoming an O Group agent and how she initially started out on a “very different path.”
Gold, 32, reveals she grew up in a "small town" called Nobleton located just outside of Toronto. Her dream was to become a veterinarian — but there was one slight problem.
“I was originally studying to be a vet, so I was going to university and I got discovered for modeling in the middle of it,” she tells PEOPLE. “I took the opportunity because I'm actually allergic to animals, so that was not a good path for me.”
She then embarked on a whirlwind modeling career that sent her all around the world, including cities like Tokyo, New York City and Paris. Though she ended up settling in New York for nearly five years, she realized that Los Angeles was the place she wanted to call home after visiting for a two-month modeling gig.
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After she moved to L.A., Gold immediately felt like she “wanted to do something bigger here,” she recalls. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic when she decided to take the leap into real estate and start studying to get her license.
“When everything kind of shut down, I knew that was an amazing chance to get my license. So I really spent those months just studying and I went for my license and got it,” she says. “When I started working in this industry, I loved it and I realized that I didn't want to go back into modeling. I really wanted to put all my time into real estate.”
Reflecting on her start as a vet student, Gold says, “The path I was headed when I was studying to be a vet is not the path that I see myself on today. I'm so grateful that I got thrown in a different direction.”
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As for how she ended up on a reality TV show, Gold explains that her road to Selling Sunset was something that she "jumped at" and that it all “happened really quickly.”
“There was a little bit of hesitation there of course, and just thinking about how it will change my life. It was this big shift and I really had to evaluate,” she says of her decision to join the show. “I did go through all of the emotions, but at the end of the day I was like, ‘what is life for?’ Just put yourself out there and take opportunities as they come.”
Hinting at the drama in season 8, Gold says she was able to navigate it in a way that she’s “proud of” as she came onto the show with an “open mind.”
“I just kind of made a promise to myself to stay true to who I am and really stick up for the things that I believe in, but also not get involved with things that don't involve me,” she explains, noting that her costars Chrishell Stause and Mary Bonnet have been especially “sweet” to her through it all.
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Gold also credits her husband Adam Gold, whom she tied the knot with in 2022, and her family for being “very supportive” as she embarks on this next chapter. She recalls leaning on her husband for support when she signed on for the show.
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“He was very helpful through the process and I think he was actually one reason why I felt very confident to be able to do it. I knew I had his support and I knew we're a team through everything,” Alanna tells PEOPLE.
She continues, “My family was also very excited and they've always been supportive of my choices and what I wanted to do.”
Selling Sunset season 8 premieres Friday, Sept. 6 on Netflix.