Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause: A Complete Relationship Timeline

Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause seemed to have a fairy-tale relationship that began back in 2013, long before he became a huge star on This Is Us.

Both he and Stause got their starts in the world of soap operas and eventually tied the knot in 2017 to much fanfare and a glossy People magazine spread. Stause went on to star on Netflix's hit reality show Selling Sunset, which features real estate agents selling high-end properties in Los Angeles, with a side of personal drama.

And in season three, that drama was focused on Stause and Hartley's divorce, which played out onscreen after she said she learned about the split from her now ex…via a text message.

Let's take a look back at exactly how we landed at this, well, extremely dramatic end to their relationship.

2013

After being introduced by a mutual friend, Hartley told People in 2017, “we met up at a concert and talked all night. 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.’”

“The next day I texted my friend: ‘I found him,’” Stause added of that first meeting in October 2013.

2014

The couple makes their red-carpet debut at an L.A. event in January.

July 2016

They're engaged! After three years of dating, Stause shows off her ring on Instagram and tweets, “Such a happy time. Thanks for all the well wishes guys! So sweet.”

September 20, 2016

This Is Us premieres on NBC and is an instant hit—skyrocketing Hartley to a new level of fame.

October 2017

Four years to the day after their first date, Hartley and Stause tie the knot at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu in front of 75 close friends and family. “The wedding exceeded anything I could have ever imagined,” Stause told People at the time. “They don’t make them any better than Justin, and I could not be more thrilled to officially be Mrs. Hartley!”

“At the risk of sounding cheesy, I look forward to sharing life experiences and growing old together,” Hartley added. “Someday we can talk about all the things we did together 30 years ago!”

March 22, 2019

In the years since their wedding, Stause attends many red carpet events, including the Emmys with her husband. But in March 2019, she's back in the spotlight on her own when Selling Sunset premieres on Netflix. She has a major role as the newest real estate agent at the high-end Oppenheim Group in L.A.

November 2019

Entertainment Tonight confirms Hartley files for divorce. “People close to Justin and Chrishell are completely shocked by Justin filing for divorce,” a source tells ET. “The couple has always been incredible, with no signs of things being on the rocks. Friends are speculating this was an impulse on Justin's side due to something that happened, and are hopeful the couple can work things out.”

December 2019

Stause posts a cryptic message on her Instagram, which many interpret to be about Hartley.

On December 13, Us Weekly publishes an interview with Stause's costar Heather Rae Young that will later be addressed on the show. “It‘s really hard to hear that, especially someone who is a good friend of mine. And, you know, Justin and her were a great couple,” she said. “It’s sad. I’m mainly just giving her space. Tarek and I sent her flowers wishing her well, and I told her I’m here for her. If she just needs me to come over and spend girl time together, I’ll bring some wine, I’ll bring some cheese.”

May 22, 2020

The second season of Selling Sunset starts streaming on Netflix and becomes even buzzier on the internet. Stause takes on an even more central role in the plot, and while Hartley never appears, she does reference their life and all seems to be well. But at the conclusion of the season, the show teases that in season three we will get to the couple's divorce and watch Stause's side play out on air.

August 2020

Selling Sunset season three begins streaming on August 7, and Stause's side of the divorce story becomes a hot topic online.

“We had a fight that morning over the phone, and I never saw him since. We didn't talk things through, and before we had a chance to figure anything out, he filed,” Stause says. “In a fight, like, that's his go-to. Like, ‘I'm out, I'm out.’ I hate that kind of impulsive stuff, but I always just thought, you know, that’s just an issue that we work through it.”

“It was just me fighting for something that was a lost cause because he didn't even care enough to sit me down and tell me,” she tells her older sister at one point, after fleeing L.A. amid all the drama. “All that money and fame…it shouldn't change how you treat people. I would have done anything for him.”

Stause makes it clear what her perspective on the whole situation was. "Because of the crazy way in which this went down, people want answers, and I f—ing want answers," she said. "I know people are saying, like, we were only married two years—but it’s like, we were together for six years. I talked to him right after because I thought that must be a joke—but that was kind of the end of the communication. What am I supposed to say? What do you say after that?"

Hartley has not spoken out about this publicly, but after the show began airing, his first wife, Lindsay Korman-Hartley (with whom he shares a daughter), defended her ex on social media. "In a day when social media should be used for positivity… an inspiration towards movement in an honest and deserving way...I’d like to join in, by highlighting my appreciation for my family," she wrote. "Today, I appreciate my ex-husband Justin for not only being exemplification of a solid man, but for being my dear friend and devoted father to our daughter. Simply put; for being family."

September 2020

In an interview published on September 30, Stause opened up about seeing her ex-husband begin to date again.

“I feel like anybody would be heartbroken to see how quickly or easily you are replaced; of course that’s going to sting,” she told People, describing the feeling as “painful.” However, she's “excited to get back out there” now that it's been almost one year since the split. “I’m a hopeless romantic, so I think it can still happen. It’s 2020, maybe you could meet your person through an Instagram DM. I don’t know. Crazier things have happened!”

Stause also shared that she legally dropped Hartley's last name this summer, saying, “I'm not trying to be somewhere I'm not wanted.”

“I’ve had to start over so many times in my life,” she said. “I always know how to look at the bright side because there’s been a lot of dark.”

Originally Appeared on Glamour