When Justin Hartley speaks about his past, there’s a softness in his tone that fans rarely get to hear. The actor, who has been celebrated for his commanding presence in This Is Us and most recently Tracker, finally opened up about the heartbreak that still lingers from his divorce with Chrishell Stause, and his words reveal a side of him that the cameras never show.
In Hollywood, breakups often become tabloid fodder, stripped of humanity and turned into gossip headlines. But for Hartley, his split from Chrishell wasn’t just a celebrity divorce—it was a deeply personal storm that shook his sense of love, trust, and self-worth. “I don’t think people realize how much of yourself you lose when you go through something so public,” Hartley admitted in a recent conversation. “It’s not just two people parting ways. It’s your life being ripped apart in front of strangers.”
The pair’s breakup became infamous after Stause’s emotional account on Selling Sunset, where she described being blindsided by a text message that announced their divorce. Fans were quick to take sides, and Justin—who had always kept his personal life private—was suddenly painted as the villain in a story that wasn’t his to tell. “I kept quiet not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t want to fight publicly,” Hartley explained. “When someone you once loved is hurting, the last thing you want is to add fuel to the fire.”
Behind closed doors, however, the pain ran deeper than fans could imagine. Friends close to the actor revealed that Justin struggled with feelings of guilt and isolation, often questioning whether his decision was the right one. The divorce coincided with the peak of his This Is Us fame, and the pressure of maintaining a polished image only made his private grief harder to bear. “He was always smiling on set, always professional,” one insider recalled. “But you could see it in his eyes—he was carrying something heavy.”
Despite the raw emotions, Hartley says the experience taught him invaluable lessons about resilience and honesty. “You have to sit with the pain,” he shared. “You can’t run from it, no matter how badly you want to. If you don’t face it, it will haunt you forever.”
That confrontation with heartbreak eventually paved the way for healing. Today, Justin has found happiness again with Sofia Pernas, whom he secretly married in 2021. He credits her with bringing light back into his life after years of feeling broken. “She reminded me that love doesn’t always end in pain,” he said with a small smile. “Sometimes it’s about finding the right person who sees all of you—the good, the bad, and the scars—and loves you anyway.”
Still, Hartley doesn’t dismiss his past. He acknowledges that his relationship with Chrishell shaped him in ways that no role ever could. “We shared real memories, and those don’t disappear,” he said. “I don’t regret loving her. I regret that it had to end the way it did.”
For fans, this rare glimpse into Justin’s heart has only deepened their admiration for him. On-screen, he’s the charming tracker chasing mysteries across America. Off-screen, he’s a man who has known heartbreak, endured public scrutiny, and emerged with a quiet strength. And perhaps that’s what makes him so compelling: he’s proof that even the most celebrated stars carry wounds that never fully heal.
