From car crashes to credit card debt,
Tori Spelling has seen more than her fair share of drama on and off screen.
While Tori Spelling was the young star of "Beverly Hills, 90210," her life behind the
scenes was more stressful than fans might have guessed. For a few of the years she was filming,
she dated actor Nick Savalas, son of star Telly Savalas. She would later
describe that time as a "nightmare". She explained to Entertainment Weekly,
Spelling's parents were reportedly very concerned about how this relationship was affecting their
conflict-averse daughter. In response to the accusations, Savalas told the outlet,,
After her "90210" co-star Luke Perry died in 2019, Spelling said that he had been there
for her in her time of need. Spelling posted a tribute to Perry on his birthday in 2021, saying,
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
In her book "Stori Telling," Tori Spelling dug into her complicated relationship with
her mother. The TV star looked back on moments from her childhood that shaped her self-image,
including the time Candy Spelling told her she'd be better off with a nose
job. That mother-daughter relationship only became more difficult as the years went by,
and the pair didn't reach out to one another the day Tori's father died. Candy elaborated
on her relationship with her Tori in a 2009 interview with People, saying,
The matriarch of the Spelling family also shared that she hadn't yet met Tori and
Dean's second child. While discussing the feud on ABC News in 2008, Tori stated,
In recent years, however, Tori has said that their relationship is improving. As the "90210"
alum revealed on a 2022 episode of Jeff Lewis' SiriusXM show, they started to make amends
after "Million Dollar Listing" star Josh Flagg invited Tori over for a dinner at Candy's house.
"We had a good relationship but it's like next level right now.”
"Great, so you guys are close."
Tori Spelling received a bombshell shortly after the difficult birth of her second son.
In December 2013, Us Weekly broke the news that Dean McDermott had cheated on her while promoting
"Chopped Canada" in Toronto. Spelling later reflected that this might have been inevitable,
given how they got together. On her reality show, "True Tori," Spelling
admitted to a friend that she and her husband met while they were both in other marriages.
"Now that this has happened to me, I know a lot of people are like, 'Well, karma's a b----.'"
Dean McDermott told ET Canada that he found it hurtful to be targeted by the
media over his infidelity. The reality star insisted,
He also admitted that it was his fault,
rather than a reflection of anything Tori had done. McDermott said,
Years later, a source would tell People that Spelling
still struggled with trusting McDermott following his affair.
Tori Spelling's problems with spending have become notorious over the years.
As ET reported in 2016, American Express sued the actor for $38,000. That same year,
she and her husband also got in trouble with the state of California when they
failed to pay nearly $260,000 in taxes. In her memoir "Spelling It Like It Is,"
Spelling explained how her impulsive real estate decisions had sabotaged her family's finances,
In a 2008 interview with ABC News, Spelling blamed
her privileged upbringing as the daughter of an incredibly successful producer. She explained,
The Hollywood princess had a rude awakening when "Beverly Hills, 90210" was canceled in 2000 and
she fell into credit card debt for the first time. Spelling didn't want to ask her father for a loan,
however. The actor declared that she would rather file for bankruptcy.
"I hated the perception people would put on me about being Aaron Spelling's daughter."
Tori Spelling's father, producer Aaron Spelling,
died in 2006 at the age of 83. His publicist confirmed that he
had been experiencing complications from a stroke. Tori wrote in an Instagram tribute,
The media was quick to notice when Tori received a surprisingly small payout in her dad's will:
out of his estimated $600 million fortune, she was left with just $800,000.
"We can get rid of all that stuff."
"But why do we have to? My dad wouldn't have wanted this."
Candy Spelling, who received most of the inheritance, told The New York Times that
Tori's shopping habit was the reason she wasn't trusted with more money. Tori later recalled
having a difficult conversation with her dad over lunch and asking him about her inheritance. She
admitted to ABC News that Aaron had reassured her that she would be fine with less than a million.
When Tori Spelling was pregnant in 2011, she was in a car accident that involved a particularly
persistent cameraman. The actor had been dropping off her two children at the time and ended up
crashing into a wall at their school while trying to escape. She tweeted about the event afterward,
explaining that the photographer continued trying to get photos, even after the accident.
Following the incident, she headed to the doctor to make sure she and the baby were
okay. A spokesperson for Spelling told People magazine after the news broke,
A friend also clarified the order of events, telling People that Spelling's car had been
closely followed into the school's driveway and that she hit the wall while trying to reverse
away from the photographer. The car and the wall sustained minor damage, the friend reported.
Fans were concerned when Tori Spelling posted a vague update about her health
after being hospitalized in 2014. Per E! News, she wrote,
She added that it was important to have friends there during the tough times, writing,
E! News had reported that she was temporarily placed in quarantine during her hospital stay,
sparking rumors that she'd been exposed to the Ebola virus. Dean McDermott shut
down that speculation entirely in an interview with ET Canada, however. He also hinted that
the demands of shooting their reality show could have been the cause of Spelling's illness, saying,
In 2018, Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott had several brushes with the law in one week. As
TMZ reported, the cops were called out to their Los Angeles home two nights in a row. The first
call happened after Spelling mistakenly thought McDermott letting himself into the
home one evening was an intruder trying to get into the house. The following evening,
McDermott called authorities after he suspected that his wife was having a mental health crisis.
A week later, McDermott called the cops again after Spelling left the house with one of their
kids. TMZ reported that he was worried about her mental health and wanted the police to perform a
welfare check. Police cars quickly tracked Spelling down to her doctor's office, where
both the actor and her child were found to be perfectly safe. A close source told People at the
time that Spelling was going through a difficult time raising her five young kids, saying,
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott's relationship has faced some difficult
obstacles over the years. In 2021, fans began to speculate that they might have
split for good after Spelling was spotted without her wedding ring and McDermott was
conspicuously absent from their family's Christmas photos. Insider sources told Us
Weekly that the couple was considering a trial separation and suggested they would only stay
together for the kids. Expressing sympathy for their situation, one source shared,
Spelling added fuel to the speculation in 2021 when she told SiriusXM's Jeff Lewis that
they weren't sharing a bed. She revealed that four of her children and three dogs
had started regularly staying in her bed when McDermott left for six months on a work shoot.
As of Fall 2022, Spelling and McDermott are still married. According to People,
the two were even spotted out together that September..