Justin Hartley Talks Meeting Wife Sofia Pernas While with Chrishell Stause: 'I Wasn't Available'

Timing is everything for Justin Hartley and Sofia Pernas.

During a recent interview with Haute Living, Hartley recalled first meeting his now-wife while he was still in a relationship with ex Chrishell Stause. The This Is Us star, 44, and Pernas, 32, were on The Young and the Restless from 2015 to 2016, but didn't embark on their romance until years later.

"You meet in different capacities. We didn't work together that closely, and we didn't work together that long," Hartley said. "I knew that she was very kind and very nice. I liked being around her. But I was in a different place in my life. I wasn't available."

Hartley continued, "Timing has a lot to do with that. I'm very lucky to not only have found 'the one,' but I found her when she was available and the timing was right."

Hartley wed Selling Sunset star Stause in 2017 and filed for divorce two years later, in November 2019. The former couple settled their divorce and had a judge sign off on the documents on Feb. 8, PEOPLE confirmed at the time.

Hartley began dating Pernas in 2020, but didn't make their relationship public until New Year's Eve.

They got married earlier this year in a private ceremony. "We got married in March," Hartley told Haute Living.

PEOPLE confirmed their nuptials in May after Hartley and Pernas made their red carpet debut at the 2021 MTV Movie Awards.

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Today, Hartley said they "are so happy" together after re-meeting when he was available.

"It's incredible when you're not forcing things," he told Haute Living. "It doesn't have to be that hard. You just meet the right person and you just go, 'Oh, this is amazing. It's just so wonderful!' You're so attracted and so attached to this person. You just love this person so much."

"Even though we've only been married a few months, it's hard to remember what it was like without her. When I re-met her, I just knew," he continued. "It's so interesting about the human heart and human mind. It's not a codependency; I'm just at peace with myself. I feel loved and I feel appreciated. I know she feels the same way. We just have a really great relationship and a really terrific family. It's healthy and it's wonderful."

Hartley added that "everything is easier with her in my life."