We Can’t Stop Thinking About the Story Behind Chrishell Stause’s First Name

Chrishell Stause has a pretty unique first name — but do you know the story of how she got it? The Selling Sunset star has had that name plastered all over the headlines for the past several weeks, thanks to her highly publicized split with now-ex-husband Justin Hartley, and the tale behind her first name is somehow stranger and simultaneously more mundane than you might have imagined.

First of all, Chrishell Stause isn’t actually her full legal name: she was born Terrina Chrishell Stause. That unusual middle name, though, has something of a quirky backstory. As she explains in season one of Selling Sunset, “Chrishell” was made up by her parents in tribute to the circumstances of her birth. Stause’s mother went into labor with her daughter at a Shell gas station, and an attendant named Chris helped her deliver the baby. In tribute to this unusual experience and the person who helped her through it, Stause’s mother combined “Chris” and “Shell” to create the middle name “Chrishell.”

Although her unusual name is the one that’s gotten the most attention in the past, Stause’s legal last name is currently what’s getting the most focus. When she married Hartley back in 2017, she legally added “Hartley” to her last name. According to People‘s report on the divorce court documents, Stause is asking for her maiden name to be legally restored as part of the ongoing divorce proceedings between the former couple.