Now that Selling Sunset season 3 is upon us, it makes sense to take a closer look at Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause’s relationship timeline for clues about their divorce. While the latest season of the Netflix reality TV series promises to follow Stause as she works through the immediate aftermath of her split, it’s worth going down memory lane first.
Fans were shocked—much like 39-year-old Stause—when Us Weekly confirmed in November 2019 that her husband of two years had filed for a divorce. The 43-year-old This Is Us actor cited “irreconcilable differences” and listed the date of separation as July 8, 2019 in his filing, whereas Stause was reportedly “blindsided” by the decision, which she learned of via text in the middle of November while wrapping up filming for Selling Sunset. “He texted me that we were filed,” she said in a preview clip for the season. “Forty-five minutes later the world knew.”
In May, the Selling Sunset star told STYLECASTER that going through her divorce while filming the reality series was “the most bizarre thing I’d ever lived through in my life. Even now, when I look back on it, it seemed like it was a dream. A nightmare, to be honest.” But there were happier times before her very public divorce. In October 2018, Hartley took to Instagram to celebrate their anniversary: “The best day, the best friends, the best wife!” he captioned a video from their wedding day. “Let’s do 300 million more”
While those years are no longer ahead of them, Staus and Hartley did have a good run while it lasted. Although they were married for only two years, they were together for a total of six—and things hardly looked like the “nightmare” of their split. So, let’s take a look at the rest of Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause’s relationship timeline. There may even be moments that hinted at their divorce, long before it happened.
2013: Justin Hartley & Chrishell Stause’s First Date
To kick off Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause’s relationship timeline, we’re going all the way back to their days as soap opera actors. That’s right: Long before Hartley starred as Kevin on the beloved NBC drama, This Is Us, and Stause’s real-estate career took off, the pair were both booked and busy on the set of soap operas.
Naturally, they crossed paths from time to time. But their relationship didn’t really take form until a mutual friend, who worked on Days of Our Lives alongside Stause, introduced them to each other in 2013. The rest was history. “We met up at a concert and talked all night,” Hartley says of their first date in a 2017 interview with People. “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.’”
Stause also knew pretty instantly that Hartley was the one. “The next day I texted my friend: ‘I found him,’” she told the magazine.
2016: Justin Hartley & Chrishell Stause’s Engagement
Two and a half years after making their red carpet debut in West Hollywood, the couple announced that they were engaged. Stause took to Instagram to break the news, posting a photo of her gorgeous engagement ring. She joked, “You guys think I need sunscreen?” before adding on Twitter, “Such a happy time. Thanks for all the well wishes guys! So sweet.”
2017: Justin Hartley & Chrishell Stause’s Wedding
Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause’s relationship timeline really took things to the next level when they finally got married in October of 2017. The couple wed at a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where Hartley’s This Is Us costars, along with the duo’s friends and family, were all in attendance.
“The wedding exceeded anything I could have ever imagined,” Stause told People in 2017. “They don’t make them any better than Justin, and I could not be more thrilled to officially be Mrs. Hartley!”
Hartley agreed: “At the risk of sounding cheesy, I look forward to sharing life experiences and growing old together,” he told the outlet. “Someday, we can talk about all the things we did together 30 years ago!”
2019: Justin Hartley & Chrishell Stause’s Careers Take Off
Two years into the marriage, both Hartley and Stause’s success was at an all-time high. Hartley’s role in This Is Us really began to gain traction as the NBC drama was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmy’s. Meanwhile, Stause’s career as a real-estate agent was kicking off as she joined the cast of Selling Sunset on Netflix.
Stause opened up to STYLECASTER in May 2020 about how her role on the Netflix series was something she discussed with Hartley—and apparently, her husband did have some “reservations” about it. “I think everyone would probably have reservations signing up for something like this, which is fair,” she said at the time. “That was a normal conversation that you have with anybody in your life who cares about you. They were normal conversations of concern.”
2019: Justin Hartley & Chrishell Stause’s Divorce
Months after Stause joined the series, news broke that Hartley had filed for divorce. By May 2020, the This Is Us star had moved on with former Young and the Restless costar, Sofia Pernas. “I sleep like a baby. I don’t have anything on my mind,” he told Entertainment Tonight in July 2020. Evidently, not even a divorce could phase him.