Let’s just say that Justin Hartley’s reaction to Chrishell Stause’s Selling Sunset comments was a little harsh. The 43-year-old This Is Us star reportedly hasn’t watched any of the new episodes in season 3 of the Netflix reality series, which premiered on Friday, August 7, but he’s already “irritated.”
“Justin has not watched the episodes but has been alerted to what is said,” a source told Us Weekly. “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 of what is put out there.”
So, what really happened? We know that Hartley filed for divorce from 39-year-old Stause in November 2019, citing “irreconcilable differences.” At the time, he listed the date of separation as July 8, 2019—an entire four months before their divorce was announced. Stause, however, was reportedly “blindsided” by the news. In a recent preview clip for Selling Sunset, the Kentucky native revealed that she learned of the divorce via text just moments before news of the split leaked. “He texted me that we were filed,” she said tearfully. “Forty-five minutes later the world knew.”
But Stause has also hinted at why they divorced. In May, the Selling Sunset star told STYLECASTER that Hartley had “reservations” about her being on the Netflix series. “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.”
It’s possible that those concerns grew too large for Hartley. Some sources believe that his “new level of fame” from This Is Us influenced his decision, with one insider telling People that Stause’s plans to settle down were not in line with his goals. He was “at a point in his career where he wants to really be able to explore all the options that are coming his way,” the source said at the time. “He’s reached a new level of fame thanks to the show and he doesn’t want to close many doors right now, and that’s not the path Chrishell is looking to take. She thought babies would happen soon after they got married, but it just hasn’t worked out.”
Stause seems to allude to this shift in a Selling Sunset confessional, where she talks about the “outer elements have reared their ugly head and inserted themselves into our relationship.” While that can be interpreted in a few ways—Stause has also talked about her struggles with the paparazzi, for example—some believe the quote is an indirect dig at Hartley’s growing fame thanks to This Is Us.
However, a separate source tells Us that any claims about Hartley changing after This Is Us are false. “The claims made in the show that something changed in Justin after his This is Us fame are completely false,” the source told the outlet in August. “Chrishell knows that’s not what happened, so for her to let people believe that is upsetting to him.”