Tori Spelling is going through a 'tough' period — a timeline of her troubles
It should be a happy day for Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott. Friday marks their son Beau’s first birthday, but a year after gushing about their restored relationship, the couple is reportedly battling to save their marriage.
On Thursday morning, officers responded to a disturbance call at the family home. According to Entertainment Tonight, the issue involved a “female” with a possible “mental illness.” Apparently, Spelling called the police on Wednesday night because she thought there was an intruder, but it ended up being her husband. Police told People the situation ended up being a “domestic incident” and that “no crime” was committed.
“The last year has been really tough on Tori. She has a ton of pressure and stress, with the kids, work and her marriage,” an insider tells the magazine. “She internalizes a lot of her anxiety, and she knows it’s not healthy for her. Of course she’s going to get to a breaking point eventually. … Tori and Dean have their ups and downs, but they love each other, and family is most important to both of them.”
Entertainment Tonight also reports they are under a huge financial strain and that the marriage “has suffered tremendously.” The outlet claims McDermott even left the family home for a few days for a “break,” which is why when he returned on Wednesday night, Spelling thought there was a break-in.
It hasn’t been a smooth marriage for the couple, who share five children: Liam, 10; Stella, 9; Hattie, 6; Finn, 5; and Beau, 1.
Spelling, 44, and McDermott, 51, met in July 2005 while filming the Lifetime TV movie Mind Over Murder. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star revealed they had sex the first night they met. The only problem? They were both married to other people at the time. Spelling was with writer Charlie Shanian, and McDermott was married to actress Mary Jo Eustace. They both left their respective partners and wed on May 7, 2006.
Absent from the nuptials were Tori’s parents, Aaron and Candy Spelling. Just one month after the wedding, her father — the famed producer behind TV hits like Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Dynasty, and Charlie’s Angels — passed away, and it quickly became clear there was a deep estrangement. The first time McDermott met Tori’s mom was at Aaron’s funeral. There was also the fact that Tori infamously inherited only $800,000 of her father’s estimated $600 million estate.
In an interview with the New York Times, Candy said her daughter didn’t have the discipline to have a large inheritance. “She would close a store and drop $50,000 to $60,000,” she said. “I never did anything like that. She just went crazy.”
Tori said she was “disappointed” with the figure and admitted to having expensive taste. “It’s no mystery why I have money problems,” she said in her 2013 book Spelling It Like It Is. “I grew up rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. I never knew anything else. Even when I try to embrace a simpler lifestyle, I can’t seem to let go of my expensive tastes. Even when my tastes aren’t fancy, they’re still costly. I moved houses to simplify my life, but lost almost a million dollars along the way.”
In Spelling It Like It Is, the actress also chalked up her and McDermott’s “precarious financial situation” to bad real estate investments (she called her real estate obsession “compulsive”) and medical bills. Spelling had complications during her fourth pregnancy that led to her spending 10 weeks in the hospital and four months on bed rest.
After enduring nine massive bleeds — and one very close call, she told Us Weekly — Spelling safely welcomed son Finn in 2012. However, three weeks after giving birth she underwent surgery again after her C-section scars burst open.
Still, the couple’s toughest battle had yet to come. In December 2013, Us Weekly reported that McDermott cheated on Spelling with a 28-year-old woman while he was promoting his gig as host of Chopped Canada. To save his marriage, McDermott revealed he had a sex addiction and checked into rehab “to address some health and personal issues.”
With their relationship and finances in crisis, the couple figured one might help the other. They agreed to film a docu-series for VH1 chronicling their life after rehab and the affair. When True Tori premiered in April 2014, Spelling was hospitalized for nearly a week for undisclosed reasons.
On the show, Spelling was candid about both issues. “I’m overwhelmed with life,” she told McDermott in one episode. “I just feel so responsible for so many people, and I can’t do it — the responsibilities of having to take care of so many people financially. … I know people look at me and they’re like, ‘Oh, poor you.’ Like, ‘Boohoo, you have so many problems, we live paycheck to paycheck!’ After this [show] I have no f***ing idea if work’s going to come in. Like, how am I going to support my family in six months? Look at the life we’re leading. … My dad wouldn’t have wanted this.”
Spelling got pregnant again in 2016, and their money troubles didn’t ease up. That same year, American Express sued the actress turned reality star for an unpaid bill of nearly $38,000. It was also revealed they owed $259,108.23 for unpaid taxes. In October, the couple was hit by another lawsuit from American Express, for the $87,595.55 balance on one of their cards. The court also came after McDermott for failure to pay child support to ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace (they share one older son). National Bank also sued the pair for $200,000 debt.
At this point, Tori and her mom had reconciled, and Candy exclaimed she was footing most of the couple’s bills. “I’ve been helping her out. I’ve been paying all her bills now, except I’m not paying extras like that,” she stated. “I’m not paying any back payments — just for the house, and the kids’ schools, and their food.” She added her daughter’s financial woes were rooted in “extravagance, I guess.”
Tori and her husband have clearly weathered more than a few storms during their nearly 12-year marriage. However, after welcoming Beau last year, Spelling told People that even during the cheating scandal, she “never for a moment” wanted to end things.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Divorce him! Why is she staying with him? That is weak,’” she said. “But my gut instincts just shut it all out, and I said, ‘I love this man. If there is a way to work it out, I want to try to do that. Rebuilding our marriage took time. … And now, having a new baby, it makes sense. It’s like a new baby in a new relationship.”
Neither Tori nor McDermott have commented regarding this week’s incident. It remains to be seen whether this is just another bump in the road.
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