"This Is Us" star Justin Hartley's divorce seemingly just got uglier.
The 42-year-old actor reportedly left estranged wife, Chrishell Stause, "reeling" when he filed for divorce on Friday, November 22, after two years of marriage. His filing came just eight days after the former couple attended a Hollywood Reporter-sponsored pre-Golden Globes party together.
"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 things," an insider told People. "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 necessarily the path Chrishell is looking to take. She thought babies would happen soon after they got married, but it just hasn’t worked out."
"Justin never took their marriage seriously at all," the source added. "She was his staunchest supporter and would’ve had his back through anything."
Indeed, Hartley's star has skyrocketed in recent years, ever since "This Is Us" became a runaway hit for NBC when it premiered in September 2016.
Stause hinted at being blindsided by the divorce filing by posting a cryptic quote by author Nishan Panwar on her Instagram page that read, "It’s hard to watch people change right in front of you. But it’s even harder remembering who they used to be."
The "Selling Sunset" star took things a step further one day later, when she filed a divorce response on Tuesday that calls a major detail from Hartley's filing into question. While TMZ reports that she listed their separation date as November 22, 2019 (the day that Hartley filed his divorce petition, citing irreconcilable differences), Hartley's filing claimed that the separated a whopping five months earlier, on July 8, 2019, despite the fact that they attended no less than three public events together -- including the Emmys in September -- this fall.
Additionally, Stause requested that Hartley pay her spousal support, as well as cover her attorney fees. The actor doesn't want to pay for either.
At the end of the day, though, it appears as though, as the stars' paths were diverging, so, too, were their hopes for the near future.
"Chrishell is really ready to just settle down and be a wife and stay-at-home mom and was hoping to start a family relatively soon," another insider old People. "Justin wants that but also doesn’t think it has to happen in the near future and is at a point in his career where he wants to really be able to explore all the options that are coming his way."
"In many ways, they’re somewhat fundamentally incompatible," the source added.
Justin Hartley and Chrishell Stause wed in October 2017.
