Chrishell Stause Is 'Trying Really Hard to Be Positive' Since Split from Jason Oppenheim: Source

"She feels like life has kicked her down quite a few times these past years, and that's been a hard feeling," a source tells PEOPLE

Chrishell Stause is trying to keep her head up following her split from Jason Oppenheim.

The Selling Sunset stars announced earlier this month that they had called it quits just five months after going public with their relationship. A source tells PEOPLE that Stause, 40, is still struggling with the breakup, though she is "trying really hard to be positive."

"She's upset still. She feels like life has kicked her down quite a few times these past years, and that's been a hard feeling," the insider says. "She wants marriage and a family, so the fact that the journey hasn't gone as planned has made her feel like life hasn't always been fair to her. It's like a cycle of happiness, curve ball, happiness, curve ball."

Stause is "a positive human by nature and always strives to see the best in people," the source says, adding: "Despite the public breakups and divorce, she won't let that stop her from living her life and going after what she wants."

As she works through her current obstacles, the source concludes that the "bright side" of the situation is that the celebrity real estate agent will enter the new year "with a blank slate and a refreshed mindset."

Jason Oppenheim and Chrishell Stause. Axelle/Bauer-griffin/Filmmagic

Both Stause and Oppenheim have spoken out since the news broke that they'd gone their separate ways, assuring their followers that they remain on good terms.

"While Chrishell and I are no longer together, we remain best friends and we will always love and support one another," Oppenheim wrote on his Instagram Story. "She was the most amazing girlfriend I've ever had, and it was the happiest and most fulfilling relationship of my life."

He added that he and Stause "have different wants regarding a family," but they "continue to have the utmost respect for one another."

"Chrishell is an exceptional human being and loving her and having her in my life is one of the best things that has ever happened to me," he concluded.

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Stause also spoke openly about the decision to end the relationship due to their "ideas for family ultimately not being aligned" in a post of her own.

Chrishell Stause/Instagram

"Jason was and is my best friend," she wrote, adding that "the amount of respect and love we have for each other will not change going forward."

"Men have the luxury of time that women don't and that's just the way it goes," she continued. "All of that being said, navigating this public terrain is difficult and I am just trying my best...I very much hope to one day have a family and decisions I make at this point are with that goal in mind."

She ended her post by thanking her followers for their support, as well as thanking Oppenheim for "the most incredible relationship and for consistently being honest with me even when it hurts."

Stause was previously married to This Is Us star Justin Hartley, whom she wed in 2017 after four years of dating. Hartley abruptly filed for divorce in 2019, ending the couple's marriage over text, according to Stause. Their divorce was finalized in February, PEOPLE confirmed.