'Selling Sunset' star Chrishell Stause thought her divorce would be a "public humiliation" for her.
Chrishell Stause, Amanza Smith and Mary Fitzgerald Courtesy of Cosmopolitan UK / Nino Munoz / Netflix
The 40-year-old reality star tied the knot with 'The Young and The Restless' actor Justin Hartley in October 2017 but he filed for divorce in November 2019 citing "irreconcilable differences" and their divorce was finalised in February 2021.
Chrishell was reluctant to appear in the Netflix reality show as her divorce was being finalised as she thought it would be too emotionally hard but staying on 'Selling Sunset' throughout the tumultuous period actually had the opposite effect.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK (Cosmopolitan.com/uk/selling-sunset-interview/), she said: "I was going through a really hard time and didn’t want to be in front of the camera. I thought it was going to be a public humiliation. But it actually had the opposite effect - it gave my pain a purpose. Now, I feel fearless. I can’t think of anything worse to have to do on television, so from here, it’s all up. Any kind of drama I have with the girls ... nothing will get to [that] place. If I can get through that, I can get through anything."
The real estate agent went on to start dating her 'Selling Sunset' co-star Jason Oppenheim, 44, and their romance blossomed after they became firm friends.
She said: "We announced it a little earlier than I would’ve liked to, because I felt like we were about to be outed by paparazzi photos. But I didn’t want people to think it was a mistake or they’d ‘caught us’ doing something - I wanted to be able to hold my boyfriend’s hand at dinner. We became best friends before anything, and I’ve never had that before. We know everything about each other and tell each other everything. We’re silly and laugh a lot. I love that there’s no need to try and pretend to be the best version of yourself. I recommend being friends with someone first - I’ve never done that before and it’s quite different."
Chrishell was interviewed by Cosmopolitan UK along with her with her co-stars Amanza Smith - who spoke about her custody battle - and Mary Fitzgerald, who opened up about how she found out her ex Jason was dating Chrishell.
Mary said: "We were out together and I noticed the way he was looking at her was different, so when she went to the bathroom I confronted him. When she came back Jason said, ‘Sorry Chrishell, Mary knows.'"
The girls were photographed by Nino Munoz for Cosmopolitan UK.
Tagged in Chrishell Stause Mary Fitzgerald