What's It Like Being the First Female Agent on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles?

This season's premiere of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles is historic. Not only is it the 10th season of the series, but it also welcomed the first female agent in the history of the show, Tracy Tutor Maltas. 

There's only been one other female broker out of all of the Million Dollar Listing franchises: Million Dollar Listing Miami's Samantha DeBianchi. So this is a title that Tracy doesn't take lightly. "I feel honored to represent the first female cast member on the show. I'm nervous, I'm excited, but more importantly, I feel this is a turning point for the show where finally a woman has been added to the cast, and I take great pride in that. And I also want to bring that female opinion," Tracy told The Daily Dish ahead of MDLLA's Season 10 premiere. "I want to bring my own flavor to the show, but more important, I recognize I'm representing female real estate agents across the country, and that is a huge, huge opportunity, and I don't intend on screwing it up."

Part of what we'll see from Tracy this season is the challenges that women may face in the real estate industry. "I think that we actually dominate real estate. We are the majority, not the minority, when it comes to this business," Tracy said. "We still have to compete against men and work harder and do better and prove ourselves to be as aggressive and as available to our clients as our male counterparts. There's an automatic designation as a mother and as a woman that when I am competing for a listing against a man, I am going to have to show them that I'm gonna be as available, if not more available, than the man standing next to me, because I'm a mother and a wife, and traditionally and historically, that has come first for women."

Achieving that so-called perfect work-life balance continues to be a struggle for Tracy, who has two daughters with husband Jason Maltas. "I mean, I think at least six times during the course of this season, you'll see me struggle with the balance between working hard and making time for my family. It's part of the struggle. That's because our job doesn't stop. We don't stop at five o'clock or six o'clock. We go when a client calls us at nine o' clock at night because they want to discuss why they're paying 10-and-a-half million versus nine-and-a-half million for a property, you've got to pick up the phone. And that means you've got to step away from your family, and that's tough."

#MDLLA Season 10 Is Starting With a Major Clash

In fact, Tracy said that having the mindset that real estate is one of the easier professions for parents is "the biggest misconception." "So many people say — particularly moms that I know that want to go back to work after having their kids — that real estate is a great opportunity to go back to work and have a flexible schedule. But the truth is it's not nine-to-five; it's 7 a.m. until you go to bed," Tracy explained. "It is very difficult to make it in this business and be a parent. So I think that misconception is a major part of why so many people struggle to make money in the business when they have a family." 

But Tracy said that she thinks it's important for MDLLA fans to see her struggles as well as her successes this season. "I would say what Million Dollar Listing fans will learn about me, I think, personally, they'll see why I love doing what I do, and therefore, they'll see why I struggle so much with the balance between career and family life. And I think when you love what you do, that comes through to everybody. And because of that, I struggle all the time with that balance," Tracy shared. "And I think that's really real and that's authentic. And I think that Million Dollar Listing fans will appreciate that kind of authenticity. And I think that's what I'm most excited about, sharing the fun stuff but also the vulnerable moments. I'm not scared, I have no regrets, and I can't wait to see what happens with it." 

This season of MDLLA is just getting started. See what's in store for Tracy and the rest of the gang, below.

On Season 10 of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles...