New 'Stranger Things' Theory Emerges Amid Disappointment Over Final Season — Divorce Gate
- - New 'Stranger Things' Theory Emerges Amid Disappointment Over Final Season — Divorce Gate
Olivia KlimekJanuary 13, 2026 at 3:27 AM
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The final season of Stranger Things was one of the most highly anticipated seasons of television in 2025. Unfortunately, it left fans deeply disappointed. To cope, die-hard fans took to social media to theorize alternate endings, hopeful that the final season was a "fake-out" designed to trick viewers and that the show would air a new episode revealing the real ending in the new year.
With the slow realization that the popular theory, Conformity Gate, would never come to fruition, a new theory has emerged—one with seemingly more credibility. The theory? Divorce Gate.
The theory centers on the idea that the brilliant writing present in the first four seasons was largely the work of Ross Duffer's ex-wife, Leigh Janiak. Janiak is an American screenwriter and director, as well as the creator of the Fear Street franchise. The pair were together from December 2015 to February 2024.
While Janiak does not have an official writing credit on Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things, fans theorize that she significantly aided the brothers in the writing process. Fans speculate this due to the striking similarities between the Fear Streetmovies and the earlier seasons of Stranger Things. The two franchises showcase similar writing tones and rich character dynamics—qualities that fans believe were notably lacking in the final season of Stranger Things, which was coincidentally written after the couple’s divorce.
Leigh Janiak attends the Los Angeles premiere of Fear Street Part 3: 1666 on July 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Netflix
This theory gained significant traction online after the Stranger Things behind-the-scenes documentary aired on Jan. 12. The documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, is a feature-length film that details the filming process of the recent season. While intended as a farewell gift from the Duffer brothers, it has majorly backfired, only giving fans more ammunition for Divorce Gate.
Some of the most shocking pieces of information given in the documentary reveal that while filming Vol. 1 of the season, the ending wasn't even written. This sharply negates what was said by the Duffers on the press tour, which was that the ending had been planned from the very beginning.
Another clip, which was heavily frowned upon by fans, allegedly shows "ChatGPT," an AI software, open in the tabs of Matt Duffer's computer while the script was open on Google Docs. Fans believe this would explain the steep decline in quality dialogue during the season, amplifying the theory that Janiak was the brains behind the operation prior to the divorce.
On the Stranger ThingsInstagram, fans are not happy, taking to the comments to air their grievances.
View this post on Instagram
"the chatgpt tabs, ignoring the suggestion for monsters in the abyss, the filming episodes before they have even been fully written, and producing the series without the ending being written. the casts faces at half of the script. an absolute joke."
"At this point, I'm not even mad anymore. I'm just so freaking sad and disappointed."
Related: The Internet Reacts To Confirmation That 'Stranger Things' Conformity Gate Is Dead
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
