Chrishell Stause Was Almost Cast on ‘The Bachelorette’ Before She Married Justin Hartley
Hollywood is full of stories about people who almost landed roles that could have changed the course of their career. Chrishell Stause, for example, is known for being a soap opera actor and a real estate agent on the Netflix series Selling Sunset. However, fans might be surprised to learn that in another universe, Stause could have been a star on The Bachelorette as well.
An ABC exec wanted to cast Chrishell Stause on season 4 of ‘The Bachelorette’
Sometime after the third season of The Bachelorette, which aired in 2005, ABC started looking for a fresh face to be the next star of its franchise. As Us Weekly reported, ABC executive Robert Mills recently shared that Stause was in the running to be a bachelorette.
“She would never remember this. I’ve actually had lunch with Chrishell, this was about 10 or 11 years ago, to talk about being the Bachelorette,” Mills shared on Nick Viall’s podcast The Viall Files. “At that point we didn’t know who it was going to be, so we were looking for people and our casting director said, ‘We should meet with this girl Chrishell Stause, she’s amazing.’”
Stause was still acting on daytime soap opera at the time, where she played Amanda Dillon on All My Children. In response to Mills’ story, Stause tweeted, “Of course I remember this @Millsy11374. Funny how our worlds are so intertwined! @viallnicholas28 About to turn on #TheBachelorette”
ABC eventually decided to cast DeAnna Pappas as the bachelorette
Mills said he was “convinced” Stause would be a perfect fit for The Bachelorette, but ABC’s plans changed in 2007.
That year, viewers of The Bachelor saw Brad Womack reject the show’s two finalists, Jenni Croft and DeAnna Pappas. Pappas, in particular, was a fan favorite. Many viewers, including Ellen DeGeneres, rallied behind her, which led ABC to cast her as the bachelorette in 2008.
Chrishell Stause eventually married Justin Hartley
Of course, Stause was still able to find love and marriage without the help of The Bachelorette.
In fact, from 2006 to 2007, Stause was engaged to actor Matthew Morrison. They broke up because of Morrison’s alleged infidelity. She shared with Star in 2010, “I decided to break off our engagement because I believed he was seeing other people and just wasn’t ready to fully commit.”
By 2014, she had moved on to date actor Justin Hartley. They got married in 2017, but their relationship ended in 2019. As Stause claimed on Selling Sunset, Hartley blindsided her with divorce papers and let her know about their split over text.
“I’m just kind of in shock with it all,” Stause said on the show. “It’s just a lot all at once because everybody in the whole world knows. I love him so much. This was my best friend. Who do I talk to now?”
Is Chrishell Stause dating again?
Stause is currently busy competing on Dancing with the Stars, but it seems Stause could be ready to date again.
In September, she revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she has received DMs from potential beaus. Stause said, “That has been a nice surprise. There’s a few [people you might know], but I’m not going to tell you who… [I’ve responded] in a polite way.”
However, Stause shared that she has not taken things any further than that. In fact, Stause recently joked to Tamron Hall that she wouldn’t consider dating seriously until DWTS is over.
“I’m just waiting to get my dancer body on and then I’m gonna be like, ‘OK, I’m ready!” Stause said, as reported by the Daily Mail.
As for whether she would be interested in appearing on The Bachelorette in the future, Stause has said it is no longer “the right avenue for me.”
