There’s something that happens after a reality show becomes popular: Its stars, whether previously unknown or already famous, become so scrutinized that their every move is documented online by tabloid headlines as well as their own social media posts (and, sometimes, headlines about their own social media posts). So, did we all enter Selling Sunset Season 5 knowing that Chrishell Stause and Jason Oppenheim were dating and that it would likely be a main storyline on the series? Yes, considering the couple announced their relationship via Instagram post in July 2021, even before the premiere of Season 4. Did we also know that said relationship would run its course in just five months? Also yes, thanks to mutually respectful statements that they’d parted ways in December of the same year.

But despite knowing the length of the couple’s courtship, there is plenty more information to glean about what went on behind the scenes (or, rather, behind the headlines). Because we know you’re curious too, we put together a timeline of the couple’s relationship — with as many ebbs and flows as the housing market.

July 2021

Chrishell and Jason announced their relationship via a splashy Instagram gallery of an idyllic European trip, which Chrishell captioned “The JLo effect.” (This was around the time the original Bennifer, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, got back together after her public split from Alex Rodriguez.) They’re not necessarily the most PDA-filled pics, but the two realtors are clearly glowing while on vacation in Italy with their friends.

We learn in the Season 5 premiere that they planned the vacation as a big friend group before they got together romantically (a big group dinner in Greece is also documented in the episode, with Mary and Romain, Amanza and Brett and his girlfriend all present). “I feel like it’’s the first time I’ve really been my full self and I don’t have to change anything,” Chrishell says in a confessional. “I guess it’s what they say — sometimes what you’re looking for can be right in front of you.”

We also learn that co-star Mary — who also dated Jason about six years earlier — and Jason’s twin brother, Brett, were both co-conspirators in hiding the relationship not only from the public but from some of their colleagues as well. “We just wanted to figure out what it was before we invited everyone’s opinions on it,” Chrishell explained.

August 2021

Back in the office after vacation, Chrishell dishes on her relationship with her colleagues. “We’re very in love,” she says, though both Mary and Amanza voice concerns about how their longtime friend Jason handles commitment (as in, he often... doesn’t and splits when things get a little too permanent-seeming). They’re hoping for the best, though, and Chrishell tells Emma that she’s cautiously optimistic about where things are headed but “for now, things are going really well.”

On the public-facing side of things, Chrishell and Jason made their red carpet debut at the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel adventure starring Chrishell’s client and Season 4 star Simu Liu. And the former soap star’s beef with fellow realtor Christine continued via Christine’s tabloid interviews about the relationship. This month was also when Chrishell and the rest of the Selling Sunset ladies gathered to celebrate Heather’s bridal shower. (The party — and Christine’s massive, celebratory flower arrangement in lieu of attendance — are also documented in detail on the show.)

November 2021

Before Season 4 launched on November 24, Chrishell made sure viewers knew that her relationship wouldn’t be chronicled in this particular installment of Selling Sunset. The series is shot months in advance — as evidenced by Season 5 premiering several months after the couple’s eventual breakup — and the relationship was playing out in real time. People continued to spot Chrishell and Jason around Los Angeles, including a volunteer date at the Los Angeles Mission around Thanksgiving.

Behind the scenes, though, things were heating up: On the show, we learn that Chrishell is the first serious girlfriend Jason had ever introduced to his mother, who was convinced the couple would get married — he actually makes plans now, and he never has before. More important than the marriage conversation is the kid conversation: While Jason had never seriously considered having children before, Chrishell knows she wants to be a mom and is taking steps to make sure that happens. In a heart-to-heart with Mary over some wine in Episode 7, a beaming Chrishell confesses just how happy she is feeling in her new relationship. Jason even teases the other girls in the office by announcing that he’d bought Chrishell a ring. (It was a beautiful ring, but not the ring.)

Jason Talks About Having Kids With Chrishell | Selling Sunset S5E10The future of their relationship hangs in the balance.

December 2021

Chrishell and Jason continue to have deep conversations about their relationship on the show, including about how much smack Christine has been talking about them in the press. Jason doesn’t mind as much if Christine’s talking about them personally, but he does mind if it starts to affect the business.

In one cuddly session in Episode 8, the duo discusses their fertility and whether her egg freezing procedure was successful. He knows he loves her and she’ll be a “sensational mom,” but he’s worried about whether he’d be a good father and has been having hours-long conversations with his own parents about the prospect.

“I didn’t have the most ideal childhood,” Chrishell says, and she’s glad to be in a situation where she knows she can give a child a good life. She’s being honest with herself, and if Jason decides he doesn’t want to be a father, she doesn’t think their relationship can continue. In the final episodes of Season 5, Chrishell is increasingly open with her colleagues about how she’s focused on finding a partner to commit to raising a child together, and Jason says he’s very seriously considering it — enough to move forward with fertilizing embryos.

But in an emotional conversation with Emma toward the end of the Season 5 finale, Chrishell breaks the news that Jason has decided he ultimately does not want kids — which means that despite still being very much in love with each other, she and Jason split up. The news made its way to the tabloids just before Christmas 2021.

Chrishell Tells Emma Why She and Jason Broke Up | Selling Sunset S5E10Where do they go from here?