Heather Rae El Moussa Says She's ‘Very Proud’ of Bre Tiesi on “Selling Sunset”: 'She Is Strong' (Exclusive)

"She does incredible on the show," El Moussa tells PEOPLE of Tiesi

Heather Rae El Moussa is singing her praise for Bre Tiesi.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the reality star, 36, speaks candidly about her Selling Sunset costar, who at one point during the series' recently released season 7 said she was over the show.

"TV is hard and when you're living your life on TV, you're being criticized by a bunch of fans and there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that doesn't make the show," El Moussa says. "There are a lot of different stories, it's our real life, and because the audience is seeing a small portion of that, it can be very hard and very challenging and very stressful."

Still, noting that Tiesi, 32, "is a strong woman," El Moussa admits, "I'm not worried about her. She does incredible on the show. I'm very proud of her."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Heather Rae El Moussa Says Her Life Is ‘Drama Free’ After Stepping Back From Selling Sunset: ‘On to Bigger Things’ (Exclusive)

Alongside El Moussa and Tiesi, Selling Sunset's seventh season also stars Mary Bonnet, Amanza Smith, Emma Hernan, Chelsea Lazkani, Nicole Young and Romain Bonnet — plus the Oppenheim brothers, Jason Oppenheim and Brett Oppenheim.

During the latest season, the realtors behind The Oppenheim Group were involved in various scandalous and emotional storylines, while all still trying to sell homes.

Young, 38, continued feuding with Chrishell Stause, 42, and found herself in a heated quarrel with Hernan, 32, as Tiesi clashed with another realtor and shocked castmates with her admission of having a fling with Michael B. Jordan.

Stause and Smith, 46, meanwhile, had a falling out following a tense dinner in Cabo, as Bonnet, 43, suffered a miscarriage.

Related: Heather Rae El Moussa and Bre Tiesi Have Beach Picnic with Their Baby Boys: ‘The Cutest Set Up!’

According to El Moussa, who only appears in a few episodes of Selling Sunset's season 7 due to her pregnancy with her baby son Tristan Jay, she only partially kept up with the drama on the series this time around.

"Well, because I'm friends with all the girls off the show, I know a lot that's going on as it's happening," she says. "So [a lot of the drama] did not surprise me because I already was in the know of everything. But obviously, I'm not there, so watching how things play out, it was very shocking."

"I kind of watched around here and there and watched certain scenes that Brie was in because she and I are close, and I wanted to see how she did," El Moussa continues.

All seasons of Selling Sunset are currently available to watch on Netflix.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.