Justin Hartley Does Photo Shoot Without His Wedding Ring After Filing for Divorce From Chrishell Stause

Is he putting the past behind him? Justin Hartley filed for divorce from his wife of two years, Days of Our Lives actress Chrishell Hartley (née Stause), on November 22, and was spotted doing a photo shoot without his wedding ring on December 5, according to photos obtained by The Daily Mail. The This Is Us actor walked among trees wearing a brown jacket, a dark blue shirt, green pants and brown leather shoes in the shot, and very noticeably did not sport his usual bling for the project.

Justin, 42, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split and listed July 8 as the date of separation on the divorce documents In Touch reviewed. However, the now ex-couple hosted a viewing party for Justin’s former costar and Chrishell’s friend Melissa Claire Egan on November 16 — just one week before Justin filed for divorce. So, what happened?

The fact that the duo was hosting events together could have suggested things were ending civilly between Justin and Chrishell, 38, and that they were still friendly with each other. However, on Monday, December 2, the soap opera star posted a cryptic quote on her Instagram amid the split that definitely raised some eyebrows. “It’s hard to watch people change right in front of you. But it’s even harder remembering who they used to be. – Nishan Panwar,” Chrishell captioned the post.

The two actors began dating in early 2014 but decided to call it quits after five years together. Just one week before his filing, Justin was seen wearing his ring at a Golden Globes party in photos Chrishell shared. The former couple looked happy in those shots, and not like a pair of people ready to end their marriage.

This will be the second divorce for Justin who was previously married to Lindsay Korman. They were married from 2004 to 2012, and share a daughter: Isabella Justice Hartley, who is now 15. Justin and Lindsay seem to keep things amicable and coparent Isabella, which is hopefully a good sign for how he and Chrishell will be able to handle their relationship post-divorce.

Do you think Justin chose not to wear his ring just for the purposes of the photo shoot, or is this a deliberate choice he’ll make from now on?