Divorce gate explained as people blame this Stranger Things theory for the unsatisfying finale

Just when it felt like the Stranger Things fandom might finally be ready to move on, a brand-new theory has taken over Twitter. Move aside conformity gate, divorce gate theory has entered the Stranger Things universe.

After the huge disappointment over the Stranger Things finale, and then the release of the behind-the-scenes documentary One Last Adventure, people have been scrambling for explanations. And, naturally, the internet has decided it has found one.

So, what actually is divorce gate?

the way divorce gate is actually real

— char (@yourstrulivia) January 11, 2026

In simple terms, Divorce Gate is a theory claiming that the quality of Stranger Things dropped after Ross Duffer’s divorce from filmmaker Leigh Janiak.

Ross Duffer and Leigh Janiak were married from 2015 until 2024, and during that time, many people believe the show was at its creative peak. Janiak is a well-known director and screenwriter in her own right and is best known for creating and directing Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy.

There’s a popular internet idea that men often have a “glow up” when they’re in a happy relationship, better style, better energy, better confidence.

Divorce Gate flips that on its head. Some people think that Ross Duffer had a “reverse glow up” after his divorce, not physically, but creatively. In their view, something that once felt sharp and carefully planned suddenly felt rushed and unfocused.

Obviously this is all just rumours and nothing has been confirmed. Leigh Janiak does not have official writing credits on Stranger Things. And no one involved with the show has suggested that personal events directly affected the final season.

So why was the finale so bad?

via Netflix

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This is where the Stranger Things doc really comes into play. In One Last Adventure, Matt Duffer openly admits that the production didn’t go exactly to plan. “We went into production without having a finished script for the finale,” Matt explained.

The documentary also revealed that episode eight began filming before the script had even been written. Many people on Twitter are now saying the season was kind of doomed from that point on.

Matt also acknowledged just how high the stakes were. “That was scary because we wanted to get it right. It was the most important script of the season,” he said.

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