Selling shock! Mary Fitzgerald and Romain Bonnet were totally thrown by Selling Sunset costar Jason Oppenheim‘s split from Chrishell Stause.
“I was surprised,” Mary, 40, told Us Weekly exclusively of the former couple during a joint interview with her husband, 28, on Thursday, February 3, noting that Jason, 44, is still “madly in love” with the Dancing With the Stars alum, 40. “It’s sad because I love them together.”
The Oppenheim Group cofounder and the soap opera actress went public with their romance in July 2021 during a group getaway with some of their Netflix castmates. By the end of the year, however, Us confirmed the pair called it quits.
At the time, Jason revealed that he and Chrishell “have different wants regarding a family,” writing via Instagram in December 2021, “While Chrishell and I are no longer together, we remain best friends we will always love and support one another. She was the most amazing girlfriend I’ve ever had, and it was the happiest and most fulfilling relationship of my life.”
The Kentucky native later confirmed that her desire to start a family was the reason for the pair’s split, noting in a social media statement of her own, “Men have the luxury of time that women don’t and that’s just the way it goes.”
She concluded: “And thank you Jason for the most incredible relationship and for consistently being honest with me even when it hurts.”
Mary, who previously dated the California native before marrying Romain in October 2019, told Us on Thursday that she was aware of Jason’s hesitation about becoming a father.
“I know that [Jason] was going back and forth because kids — to him — that’s something, I mean, he’s never wanted,” she said, adding that she was “shocked” to see him possibly reconsidering his stance. “I think he was trying to make sure, like, that [he had] an option if he was able to get himself on board with it. … [But] he just realized it’s not for him.”
Romain chimed in: “He loved [Chrishell] so much. … I think that, in his head, it was like, ‘Yeah, I think I could [have kids] because of the way I feel [about her].'”
The real estate agent noted that Jason “doesn’t do anything lightly,” and recalled him asking “strangers” about their kids “every place he would go” to get advice.
“I think, at the end of the day, he didn’t feel it was right,” Mary continued. “But they’re mutually OK with it. They’re still really good friends. And I think they would wish it would’ve worked out because they both love each other very, very much, but they just want different things as far as a family life.”
Chrishell, who finalized her divorce from Justin Hartley in January 2021, has been candid in the past about wanting to be a parent. She revealed last year that she was in the process of freezing her eggs, which Jason was “a little bit” involved in, according to Romain. As things began to get more serious, the reality of possibly having children sunk in.
“He never misled her, like, ‘OK, this is definitely happening,'” Mary clarified. “But they were putting it in place, and he was on board because, you know, of age. There’s a time limit on how long she’s got. … He’s not going to be ready in her timeframe. He wishes he could though.”
While Mary said her boss felt “heartbroken” over the pair’s disagreement, the France native told Us that he’d love to see the exes get on the same page.
“But at the end of the day, they split for the good of each other because he knew couldn’t give her what she wanted,” Romain said. “And she knew that he couldn’t give it to her. … So, even though they love [each other] so much, at the end of the day, they [couldn’t make it work].”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
