After five drama-filled seasons, "Selling Sunset" held its first-ever reunion special [1] for season five. One of the biggest topics this season has been Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim's relationship [2], but their December breakup [3] wasn't captured on camera, as it occurred after filming already wrapped. However, Oppenheim shed light on the couple's split during the reunion, which dropped May 6.
"I think there was a lot of love between us, and still is, and I still care about her very much."
When host Tan France asked if their romance was real, Oppenheim said, "I hesitate to answer that question . . . because I don't want to give it any credence. That's like asking me if the Earth is flat. It's a stupid question to me." Oppenheim elaborates on what he starts to refer to as a "meaningful relationship" before getting choked up in his response. His fellow castmates tried to console him with comforting words, as Chelsea Lazkani [4] pointed out, "I've never seen Jason sad."
"There's a lot of sadness and loss," Oppenheim said of the breakup. "I think watching the show made it more difficult. You know, brought it back up. It's been a few months, but I'm still going through stuff. I think there was a lot of love between us, and still is, and I still care about her very much. This has been a very difficult breakup."
"I still have as much love for her today as I did then," Oppenheim admitted. Stause said she was taken aback by the fact that he was still so upset.
"Obviously Jason is not one to show emotion very often, so that completely caught me off guard," she explained. "So that makes it very difficult when you still have feelings there. You know, it's easier to get over someone when they piss you off. So, in this case, it's just been a little more tough."
The episode also included unseen footage of Oppenheim and Mary Fitzgerald discussing the breakup. "Basically I went into this hoping that I would decide to have a baby with Chrishell," he said in the clip. "I felt like I was more likely than not going to want to have a kid. Because the situation is perfect. I'm with the woman I love. I get along with her. She makes me happy. I trust her. I respect her. I think she'd be an excellent mother. She's a dream."
But he confessed that the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't want to have kids. "I just felt like this is not the time in my life where I want to have a family," he explained.
"I feel like I f*cked it up. I feel a lot of guilt. Because we were happy, and I f*cked something up that was really good. And she's in pain, and I caused it," he said. Fitzgerald called her "the one that got away," and Oppenheim agreed and said she was "the love of my life."
Stause was emotional after watching the footage and said, "I do wish that he felt a little more comfortable having those conversations with me when you were feeling that, so it didn't feel so sudden."
Oppenheim admitted, "I didn't handle the breakup as well as I could have. I think I shut down a little emotionally to make it more easy on myself, and I should have been more vulnerable. I think right now, it's just, we've had some time to move on . . . seeing her upset on the show was difficult."
France asked Stause if she would take Oppenheim back if he changed his minds about kids. She said, "Because I just know that he's steadfast in his decision, I've not allowed my brain to go there."
Later in the episode, Stause revealed she is currently dating the Australian singer G Flip [6].