On-screen reality TV relationships are a dime a dozen for co-stars, and they tend to fizzle out as quickly as they appear. But I must admit, I was kind of rooting for Selling Sunset's Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim to make their relationship work out, especially given Stause’s gnarly divorce-text saga with ex-husband Justin Hartley in recent years. Unfortunately, though, the two Netflix co-stars have already called it quits on the romance front, and Stause has a very particular reason why it happened.
The pair went Instagram official with their romance back in July, amidst filming for Selling Sunset’s latest seasons. (Even though one of their castmates suggested something was going on even before then…) Now, only five months later, Jason Oppenheim and Chrishell Stause have broken up. In a statement on her Instagram, the latter shared some details on their split in an apparent effort to get ahead of comment-thread naysayers. She wrote:
I have tried to embrace the world I have found myself in and that includes being open and honest about my relationships. It felt scary and terrifying knowing that it may not end in what society deems a success and what I am ultimately looking for. But after many long heartfelt talks, I am choosing to see it as a success no matter what label is attached to it publicly. Jason was and is my best friend, and other than our ideas for family ultimately not being aligned, the amount of respect and love we have for each other will not change going forward.
Years before Chrishell Stause, Jason Oppenheim had interestingly enough also dated another woman at his real estate agency: co-star Mary Fitzgerald. And on Selling Sunset, Fitzgerald and Oppenheim have been very frank that they, too, consider themselves still best friends after their breakup. (They even swap “custody” of their two dogs they share together.) Oppenheim’s desire to remain the ultimate bachelor with nothing permanent holding him down has been something of a joke around their office, but it appears to have held strong even with the lovely Chrishell Stause. The Netflix star also said her in statement:
Men have the luxury of time that women don't and that's just the way it goes. All of that being said, navigating this public terrain is difficult and I am just trying my best…I very much hope to one day have a family and decisions I make at this point are with that goal in mind. Thank you for the kindness and support to those that understand. And thank you Jason for the most incredible relationship and for consistently being honest with me even when it hurts.
Jason Oppenheim confirmed the split as well on his own Instagram, reiterating their differing desires for family. However, for his part, he revealed that Chrishell Stause was “the most amazing girlfriend” he ever had and that loving her was the “one of the best things” to ever happen to him.
Despite all the scandalous hype surrounding their boss/employee romantic entanglement, the two actually didn't even appear to be dating in the recently released season of Selling Sunset on Netflix. There were some throwaway reaction shots of Jason Oppenheim seeming just slightly interested in Chrishell Stause’s failed flirtation with her client/Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu. But in the preview for Season 5 – which was filmed back-to-back with Season 4, and will premiere in March 2022 – the co-stars become open about their relationship amongst the other cast members.
The preview suggests that Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim’s dating life/arrangement might cause some issues with the other women at the Oppenheim Group. Alas, it's somewhat of a non-issue at this point. Hopefully Stause can take her new post-breakup hair change and find a man willing to settle down for real this time.
