Fans were shocked when news broke in November 2019 that Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause
are divorcing.
The This Is Us actor and the Selling Sunset and Emmy-nominated All My Children soap star
split after two years of marriage, walking away from a relationship that they began in
2013.
Hartley officially filed papers first, leaving Stause surprised by the seemingly sudden break.
At the time, a source told People magazine,
"Yes, they'd had some problems, but she certainly never thought he would just go and suddenly
file for divorce, and not even try to save [their marriage]."
Stause's nightmare became a major plot point on Season 3 of Netflix's Selling Sunset.
And as fans watch her real life story unfold by the episode, we're looking into the messy
way in which Chrishell allegedly learned about her divorce.
"I just got a Google alert from TMZ.
Justin Hartley files for divorce.
Oh my God."
On the show, Chrishell broke down in tears as she recalled how Justin supposedly ended
their marriage, with her Selling Sunset co-star Mary Fitzgerald listening in shock as she
described the humiliating experience.
"I found out because he texted me.
Forty-five minutes later, the world knew."
"He just blindsided you?"
Other details about the split are slim, yet just as strange.
Hartley blamed the widely-claimed irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce
and said that the separation occurred on July 8th, 2019, a date Stause firmly disputed.
The couple was photographed together at a Hollywood Reporter party a week before Hartley
filed for divorce, with Stause even posting the snapshot on Instagram.
As sources told TMZ, Stause theorizes that Hartley ran with an earlier separation date
so he wouldn't have to share earnings from an alleged business deal he might have made.
Either way, Stause wasn't exactly thrilled about watching the brutal split play out on
TV, for the whole world.
She told Entertainment Tonight in May 2020,
"It's obviously not something that I am looking forward to, you know, but it does follow our
real life."
As for Hartley, according to multiple outlets, he is reportedly already dating another soap
star, Sofia Pernas.
But it sounds like he isn't happy with Chrishell's claim that he ended their marriage via text.
A source told Us Weekly in August 2020,
"Justin has not watched the [Selling Sunset] episodes but has been alerted to what is said.
He's irritated that she's airing their private information publicly and knows there is more
to the story than is being told.
His close friends and family know what really happened, as does Chrishell, so ultimately
it's her choice [on] what is put out there."
"People want answers.
I want answers."
We're not sure what the other side to the story is, although an insider close to Hartley
confirmed that his rapid ascent to fame was not a factor, adding,
"Chrishell knows that's not what happened, so for her to let people believe that is upsetting
to him."
As was revealed on Season 3 of Selling Sunset, Crishell claimed she didn't care about the
glitz and glam of Hollywood.
She shared with Us Weekly,
"It's not normal to meet somebody and then they become wildly famous or they become wildly
rich or all these things.
I don't, at the end of the day, think that those things matter."
"I get it.
Like, that's a lot to change in your life, all that money and fame and all that stuff,
but it shouldn't change how you treat people."
Still, an especially devastating element to this situation is the effect it might have
on Justin's teen daughter from a previous marriage.
Stause developed a relationship with Isabella throughout her six-year pairing with Hartley,
and the two grew very close.
Stause captioned behind-the-scenes shots of the pair on her wedding day, writing,
"Proud to be a Stepmom to the lovely [Bella Justice Hartley].
Love you, Bella!"
Stause revealed during an episode of her show that she even wrote Isabella a goodbye letter
after the divorce, explaining, per E! News,
"I love her so much and I had to write a letter to her."
Hartley hasn't spoken out about his fractured family, but he also doesn't appear to be sweating
the drama.
He told Entertainment Tonight in July 2020,
"I'm a happy guy.
I sleep like a baby.
I don't have anything on my mind.
I treat people the way I want to be treated and I have lovely friends who love me and
I love them.
And I've got this wonderful daughter, and I've got a great family, and I am a very,
very lucky, lucky individual."
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