True love and real heartbreak were on the cards for Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause.
They had a fairytale relationship that began long before the actor became a huge star on
This Is Us and she became a fan-favourite on Selling Sunsets.
On season one of the reality show, the actress walked into the Oppenheim Group for her first
day.
At the time she was ready to celebrate her one-year wedding anniversary.
Little did anyone know that two seasons later, her divorce would become a major plot point
in the series.
It was 2013 when Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause were soap opera stars on The Days of
Our Lives.
While the cast mates had met in passing before, it wasn’t until Chrishell asked another
co-star to officially introduce her to Justin that sparks really flew.
Both of them seemed to immediately know that they had found the right one.
The next day, Stause texted her friend, “I found him.”
And Hartley felt the same way.
He shared that the two met up at a concert the next day and talked all night long.
"I drove her home and called the next day.
We haven't been apart since.
I knew right away [and] was like, 'Oh boy, here we go,’” he said.
This came not long after Justin had filed for divorce from his first wife Lindsay Korman
who he met on the set of Passions in 2003, and a year later they were married.
They then welcomed a daughter together, Isabella Justice Hartley, who they currently co-parent,
after divorcing in 2012.
So, it did appear that the actor had a type… soap opera co-stars.
But his relationship with Stause seemed to be like nothing he had ever experienced before.
And after 3 years together, they were engaged!
2016 was a big year for Justin.
He was engaged to the woman of his dreams, and he made the move from daytime to primetime
with the premiere of This Is Us.
The series skyrocketed the actor to a new level of fame.
Chrishell was right there by his side doting on her husband’s success while gearing up
for the wedding of their dreams.
In an interview, the Senior Year actor was asked what he was most excited about for the
big day and his answer couldn’t have been any sweeter.
"Just having her as my wife, to be honest with you.
It's like, I want to call her my wife.
That will be amazing," he said.
Aren’t you blushing?
Four years to the day of their first date, Hartley and Stause tied the knot in front
of 75 of their closest friends and family.
The groom’s daughter, Isabella, served as both the flower girl and ringbearer for
the ceremony.
The whole wedding was centred around how Isabella and Chrishell were the two women in his life
and how she completes their little family.
The actress was asked in an interview about how she felt to be married and said, “They
don’t make them any better than Justin, and I could not be more thrilled to officially
be Mrs. Hartley.
I could not love him more and I love him to death.”
Justin was asked the same question and with hindsight, it’s a heart-breaking answer.
“It’s a special thing when you find that one person.
You realize like ‘What the hell have I been doing my whole life?’
At the risk of sounding cheesy, I look forward to sharing life experiences and growing old
together.
Someday we can talk about all the things we did together 30 years ago,” he said.
The duo wasn’t only in love in real life, but they shared a love story on screen too.
Stause and Hartley made a movie together called Another Time which was released in 2018.
It follows the story of Justin’s character falling in love with Chrishell’s character
who is engaged to another man; and as a result, he must travel back in time to meet her before
she becomes engaged.
Sounds like an interesting movie, right?
In the years since their wedding, the actress attended many red-carpet events with her husband.
But in 2019, she was back in the spotlight for her own event when Selling Sunsets premiered
on Netflix.
Chrishell had a major role as the newest real estate agent at the high-end Oppenheim Group
in L.A.
The reality show was a major success and Stause was a much-loved personality.
She divulged a lot about her personal life on the show through conversations with other
agents.
This included her past relationship with Glee star, Matthew Morrison.
The pair met in 2006 and were engaged a year later, however they broke it off not long
after.
Morrison felt rushed and didn’t do it for the right reasons.
During the first season of Selling Sunset, Stause touched on her engagement to Morrison,
without revealing his name.
"I didn't know who I was at 25, and I didn't know what I wanted because actually, if I
ended up with the person I was with when I was 25, I would want to kill myself.
Yeah, you can Google that!
He was a dick,” she said.
The reality star also shared a lot about her happy marriage and perfect husband, but by
2019, after just 2 years of marriage, it would all come crashing down… on international
TV.
Chrishell was front and centre on camera when she was blindsided.
Midway through the season, Stause learnt that Hartley filed for divorce via text message.
"He texts me that we were filed.
Forty-five minutes later, the world knew," she said.
Many watched on as the actress broke down and struggled with the divorce, but it wasn’t
until the following season of Selling Sunsets that we knew exactly how it all went down.
They had a fight over the phone on the morning of the text and she hasn’t seen him since.
The pair didn’t talk things through and before they had a chance to figure anything
out, Hartley had filed for divorce.
According to Chrishell, that was Justin’s go to after a fight, to threaten a breakup.
She hated that kind of impulsivity but thought it was an issue that they would work through.
The reality star felt like it was her fighting for something that was a lost cause because
he didn’t event care enough to sit her down and tell her.
“I think a lot has changed in the six years that we were together.
It's not normal to meet somebody and then they become wildly famous or wildly rich.
I can understand, God forbid your feelings obviously changed for me at some point, but
all that money and fame, it shouldn't change how you treat people.
I would have done anything for him," she said.
How heart-breaking is that?
Justin never officially responded to his ex-wife’s statements but Chrishell also revealed that
she was completely shocked with the split.
She was trying her best to keep it together, but she found out the same time as everyone
else about the divorce.
“I don't think anyone ever gets married thinking that they'll get a divorce.
Have you ever been knocked over by a wave and you don't know which way to swim to get
up?"
she said.
Chrishell later said in a conversation with co-star Mary Fitzgerald that she was frustrated
that people wanted to know what happened because she didn’t even have those answers.
“Because of the crazy way it went down, people want answers, and I fucking want answers.
I talked to him right after because I thought that must be a joke, but that was the end
of communication.
What am I supposed to do?”
she said.
The actress said she immediately packed a bag and left when Hartley texted her about
the filing but wanted to make it work.
Additionally, the actress said she was heartbroken that she didn't get a chance to talk to stepdaughter
Isabella about it.
Chrishell was reeling after the split and believed Justin didn't take the marriage seriously
at all.
The actor had already been married, and divorced, once before.
But Chrishell had been in other serious relationships in the past, like with Matthew Morrison, and
didn't take them further because she was always adamant that when she got married, it would
be forever.
She was only going to do this once.
Their divorce was finalised in February 2021 and irreconcilable differences was cited as
the reason for the split.
"They're fundamentally incompatible.
Chrishell is ready to settle down and was hoping to start a family relatively soon.
Justin wants that, but also doesn't think it has to happen soon,” a close friend of
the couple said.
About six months after filing for divorce, Hartley was seen kissing his former Young
and the Restless co-star, Sofia Pernas.
She had previously played his onscreen girlfriend on the series, in which Stause also appeared.
In an interview, Chrishell opened up about seeing Justin dating so soon after the split
and before the divorce was even finalised.
“I feel like anybody would be heartbroken to see how quickly or easily I was replaced;
of course, that’s going to sting,” she said.
It definitely must have stung when only one month after the divorce was finalised, Hartley
and Pernas tied the knot in a secret ceremony.
Chrishell had no choice but to move on with her life.
She restored her maiden name, froze her eggs, and sold her wedding ring to help pay for
her new home.
“I'm not trying to be somewhere I'm not wanted.
I’ve had to start over so many times in my life.
I always know how to look at the bright side,” she said.
Woah, talk about letting go!
Stause also went on to join Dancing with the Stars, and started dating professional ballroom
dancer, Keo Motsepe.
The couple only lasted three months.
From there she went on to date her Selling Sunset co-star and boss Jason Oppenheim.
They seemed to be a perfect match and were even discussing fertilizing Chrishell’s
frozen eggs.
But it came to a dramatic end when Jason decided he didn’t want children even though he was
madly in love with the actress.
“She was the most amazing girlfriend I’ve ever had, and it was the most fulfilling relationship
of
my life,” he said.
In May 2022, Chrishell confirmed her latest relationship with Australian singer G Flip
and the pair are currently living together.
Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause had a loving marriage and a dramatic divorce.
Through the heartbreak, they both managed to find happiness.
Justin is happier than ever with his wife and Chrishell managed to come through the
heartbreak stronger than ever.
The reality star still hopes to one day have the family she has always dreamed of, and
we hope she gets just that!
Let us know in the comments below if you think Justin could have gone about the situation
differently?
This has been Rumour Juice.