Selling Sunset stars Jason Oppenheim and Chrishell Stause are speaking out for the first time about their sudden split, and they have nothing but wonderful words for each other.
In an Instagram Stories post on Tuesday, December 21, Jason shared a photo of the pair cuddling and wrote over it, “While Chrishell and I are no longer together, we remain best friends and we will always love and support one another.” He then gushed, “She was the most amazing girlfriend I’ve ever had, and it was the happiest and most fulfilling relationship of my life.”
Jason, 44, confirmed that the pair were ultimately at a stalemate when it came to the idea of starting a family. “While we have different wants regarding a family, we continue to have the utmost respect for one another,” he wrote, adding, “Chrishell is an exceptional human being and loving her and having her in my life is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”
That night, Chrishell, 40, shared a lengthier statement to her Instagram, noting she is “choosing to see” their breakup 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,” the former All My Children star wrote.
“Men have the luxury of time that women don’t and that’s just the way it goes,” she continued. “All of that being said, navigating this public terrain is difficult and I am just trying my best,” she continued. “Although my initial reaction to a private situation was to not speak on it, sometimes it’s easier to just live transparently because we only get one chance at this life. 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.”
Chrishell then ended her statement by thanking her now-ex-boyfriend for “the most incredible relationship and for consistently being honest with me even when it hurts.”
An insider further explained to Life & Style that “Chrishell really wants to have children, but Jason isn’t on the same page so they mutually agreed to end their relationship. They’re still best friends.” Another source exclusively told Life & Style, “They split up because they had fundamentally different views on where their future was going. No one cheated,” adding, “They still love each other very much, and the split is painful and upsetting for both.”
The Oppenheim Group president and the actress turned celebrity realtor had been dating for six months, going public with their romance in the summer of 2021. “Chrishell and I became close friends and it has developed into an amazing relationship,” he told Us Weekly in a July 28, 2021 statement, confirming their romance, adding, “I care about her deeply and we’re very happy together.”
The new couple put on a loved-up display amid a cast trip to Italy, where the pair unveiled their romance in an Instagram photo of Chrishell, 40, sitting next to Jason aboard a boat with her arm around him, as he leaned in and nuzzled her neck. Two days later, they were in full PDA mode as Jason and Chrishell held hands while walking through the streets of Rome.
The fact that their split is so amicable seems to stem from the fact that the pair were close friends before becoming romantic. “I think it’s always nice if you can get to know somebody as a friend first because then I think you really know who you’re getting in bed with at night,” the real estate broker exclusively explained to Life & Style in October about his “honest and communicative relationship” with Chrishell.
After calling the former All My Children star, “just an exceptional woman in so many ways,” Jason added, “I really appreciated that because I think as friends, we had such open and honest conversations, and there’s no holding back anything.”
Chrishell was previously wed to This Us Star Justin Hartley from October 2017 through November 2019, when the actor filed paperwork to divorce his wife of just over two years. Chrishell later claimed he via text message. Their divorce was finalized in January 2021. The former Days of Our Lives actress joined The Oppenheim Group in 2018 after she got her real estate license.