EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Serhant Gets Candid About His Emotional ‘Owning Manhattan’ Breakdown—as He Lifts the Lid on Pressures of Fatherhood

Real estate mogul and "Owning Manhattan" star Ryan Serhant has candidly opened up about his emotional outburst in the latest season of the hit Netflix show, revealing why he agreed to show how the pressures of managing a powerhouse brokerage while balancing his role as a father had taken their toll.

Ryan, 41, returned to screens this week—alongside a team of his top agents—in the second season of the Netflix hit, in which he is seen breaking down in tears as the stress of his many obligations became too much to bear.

Viewers saw the powerful broker get emotional as he revealed his struggles with being the "No. 1 dad" to his 6-year-old daughter, Zena, and the best boss to his growing team.

While speaking to Realtor.com®, Ryan confessed that he "wasn't planning" on lifting the lid on his trials as a dad and businessman, adding that he is still working to find the balance.

"I wasn't even planning to [open up] in that moment. But again, the cameras follow us from September of last year through May of this year," he explained.

"Whatever happens, happens. If you agree to go into a reality TV show, you agree to be your true, authentic, vulnerable self, and what I said about fatherhood is true. When I started my own company, I don't think I fully understood what I was agreeing to."

While Ryan prides himself on giving his all to every role he takes on, he confessed that this latest season of the show made him question whether he had piled on too much.

"It's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of, 'Should I have done this?' You also feel responsible for a lot of people who would jump with you. [Me getting emotional] was a real moment for sure," he said.

"When you are balancing the TV aspect of things and so many different personalties, with also a successful brokerage, how do you deal with everything? Especially when drama comes into play, we see that I just try to move and respond to situations very quickly. No analysis paralysis."

With that in mind, Ryan said he has a clear strategy for dealing with his clients, whether they approach him for help with a huge listing or to find their ideal home.

"If there's an offer on the table, let's move. Let's discuss it. There's momentum. If the buyers are real, they're going to buy it. Same thing with bad behavior. You have to move fast, and you have to prove to the great people that you appreciate them being great," the broker noted.

Ryan proved he had no patience for bad behavior in Season 1 when he fired Jonathan Normolle after he and fellow Serhant agent Jessica Markowski recorded a podcast in which they badmouthed former colleague Savannah Gowarty.

Although he forced Jonathan to leave the brokerage, he gave Jessica another chance, one which she didn't take lightly.

Going into the second season, Jessica told Realtor.com, "The most important thing for me, for my takeaway from Season 1, was to really focus on the business, and really prove myself to Ryan that I still belong here.

"I know that the podcast is something that I was definitely not proud of. I am very lucky to still be here, because Ryan could have easily fired me, right? Jonathan got let go. I could have been let go as well, but I think he still wanted to give me a chance, so I didn't take it lightly. I really wanted to still prove myself to him, and to the company, and to all the agents involved."

Jessica added that the podcast brought up many emotions for her, especially when she and Savannah were reunited in the second season, during which Jessica broke down in tears, noting that it was a "very vulnerable moment" for her.

She also noted that she wanted to "stay out of the drama," adding that even the on-screen tiff viewers see between her and fellow agent Chloe Tucker Caine has since been resolved and the pair have developed a close friendship.

Chloe and Jessica's friendship wasn't the only one tested this season, as viewers also saw Chloe and agent Jade Shenker get back on good terms after Jade's tumultuous divorce from Matthew Denham, after which Chloe sided with Matthew.

Opening up about their friendship, Jade told Realtor.com that she was very "guarded" from everyone after her divorce; however, she values her friendship with Chloe.

"What I love about Chloe is that we both shoot for the stars, and we both always have people doubting us, thinking we're nuts. It's been amazing being able to rekindle our friendship.

"It's hard because with breakups, people take sides. But, we are in a much better place now than where we were when we started filming," she added.

Another point of contention occurred among agents Nile Lundgren, Jessica Taylor, Genesis Suero, and Eric Shostak.

The drama was sparked when Jessica and Eric accused Genesis of going behind their back and speaking to their client, prompting Nile to step in, which nearly caused a physical altercation between him and Eric.

Despite being told off by Ryan for yelling at Eric, Nile told Realtor.com that "Genesis is like my little sister, we have been working together for about five years, and I protect the people I work with and consider family. I stood up for Genesis, and I would certainly do it again."

At the end of the jaw-dropping season, viewers see Ryan get a very generous offer from an investor. Although he wouldn't say whether or not he accepted the offer, the TV star did reveal that the business has been expanding, most recently to Miami.

"We've opened up 14 states, we have gone from 300 agents to 1,500, we have 200 employees, and I am losing my mind," he admitted.

Touching on the decision to begin to take over Miami's luxury market, Ryan added, "It was so cool. I get very excited about Miami, I think this is just the beginning."

The luxury broker even hinted at a spinoff of "Owning Manhattan" in Miami.

'Owning Manhattan' Season 2 is available to stream on Netflix.