Fans blame Stranger Things Season 5’s disappointing finale on Ross Duffer’s divorce from Leigh Janiak, sparking the viral “Divorce Gate” theory.
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As disappointing as Stranger Things Season 5 turned out to be, now fans have come up with a new theory to explain the reason why this latest season fell so flat among everyone: The Divorce Gate theory. Apparently, fans feel that show co-creator Ross Duffer’s split from his now-ex-wife Leigh Janiak is the “cornerstone reason” behind this final season of the hit Netflix show.
According to the theory shared by @thehungergamesteacher on Instagram,
I am confident that part of the problem with season 5 of Stranger Things is that Ross Duffer got a divorce. Her name is Leigh Janiak. She is also the director and screenwriter of Fear Street. This is good writing. She was able in seasons one through four to help write the show, and I’m just gonna say, if you’re looking for where did this fall off, I think that there’s a lot of reasons, but maybe this might be the cornerstone reason.
Continuing, the theorizer emphasized how she feels that Janiak might as well have been the “brains behind the operation” with Stranger Things, too, and things might have fallen apart with the Netflix series with Ross Duffer’s divorce from her in 2024. She said,
I think that maybe she’s the brains behind the operation. It was almost like making a recipe and leaving one ingredient out. There was just something missing for me, as someone who has watched this show for 10 years. Looking for foreshadowing and irony and all of these things to come back into play later, and then just not having that come to fruition.
For those unversed, Janiak is a director-screenwriter, best known for her directing work on the horror films Honeymoon (2014) and the Fear Street trilogy (2021). She has even directed some episodes of the TV series Scream, Outcast, Panic, and The Staircase, and all of her contributions to television were received well by fans. So this theory does seem plausible.
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Why Did Ross Duffer and Leigh Janiak Get Divorced?
In February 2024, it was reported that Leigh Janiak had filed for a divorce from Ross Duffer after nine years of marriage. According to the documents obtained by TMZ, she listed the date of separation as TBD, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. Additionally, she also sought spousal support, per the outlet.
The two had met more than a decade before, in 2006, at a Los Angeles production company where Duffer worked as an intern and Janiak as a producer’s assistant. Almost a decade later, they tied the knot in 2015 at Korakia Pensione, a resort in Palm Springs, California. The two do not have any children together (via Us Weekly).
The Duffer Brothers Previously Lied About Stranger Things Ending
Prior to this latest theory deeming Ross Duffer’s divorce as the reason behind Stranger Things Season 5 falling flat, the Duffer Brothers were accused of lying to the fans about the ending of the Netflix show.
During a red carpet interview with Capital Buzz at the London premiere of the final season of the series, the two confirmed to the fans that no fake endings of season 5 of the show were either scripted or filmed, as opposed to the word of mouth. However, leaked behind-the-scenes footage hinted that they were lying to the fans (see @byrhop’s tweet on X).
the duffers confirm there are no fake endings filmed pic.twitter.com/6V9VYeGwN7
— ris | sı̣ɹ (@byrhop) November 15, 2025
One of the many reasons that fans believe them to be misleading the fans is that Steve Harrington’s story thus far didn’t logically add up to the conclusion of the series. Plus, even Joe Keery himself commented on his character’s fate, telling ExtraTV that Harrington’s story will conclude in a way he was happy with, and the fans will be too.
What do you think about this story? Got something to say? Let us know in the comments below.
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