A Look At Tori Spelling And Dean McDermott's History Of Legal Trouble
Husband and wife Dean McDermott and Tori Spelling are back in the headlines following a now-deleted Instagram post by McDermott wherein he announced that he and Spelling were calling it quits. "It's with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways, and start a new journey of our own," he penned in part on June 17, along with two photos of the couple and their children.
While many questioned the authenticity of the statement, especially after he deleted it, a source told People that McDermott was "100 percent serious" about pulling the plug on the marriage. "[Dean] 100 percent wants to get out of the marriage. He took down the post because Tori didn't want him to keep it up. But he's packing his bags and is 100 percent serious about it," the insider claimed. "He can't take it anymore. He told her he's done." YIKES.
Alas, it appears McDermott and Spelling's marital issues are just the tip of the iceberg regarding their laundry list of problems. As it turns out, they have some legal troubles as well...
Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott's marriage has been plagued with lawsuits and tax liens
As the Notorious B.I.G. once waxed poetic, "Mo' money, mo' problems" — and it appears actor and mother of five Tori Spelling would tend to agree. While she is known for being the daughter of the late ultra-wealthy film and TV producer Aaron Spelling, managing finances hasn't always been Spelling's strong suit.
In January 2016, TMZ reported that American Express had sued Spelling in an effort to obtain a whopping $37,981.97 that the credit card company alleged she owed them. But that's not all. TMZ also reported in December 2016 that City National hit Spelling and her hubby Dean McDermott with a lawsuit, claiming that the couple had stopped making payments on a $400,000 loan they took out in 2012. On top of that, the bank alleged that Spelling overdrew her account to the tune of $17,000. And in January 2023, The U.S. Sun reported that despite paying off over $87,000 in credit card debt, Spelling still owed a staggering $1,308,442 in state and federal taxes.
But as we all know, the first step to resolving any problem is first admitting you have one, and Spelling has never shied away from her lack of financial acumen.
Tori Spelling says she was never taught how to handle her money
In 2019, during an episode of her web series aptly titled "Tori Tried and True," Tori Spelling got candid about her inability to manage money and even hinted at her financial and legal troubles. "I am not great with money, and I know a lot of people read a lot of stuff about my financial things going on," she confessed. "I had a business manager since I was 18 years old, so I never handled any of my money. Everything, everything, went to them, so unfortunately, I never quite learned about money," she explained. Sadly, according to Spelling, because she was never taught how to deal with money, it spilled over into her adult life.
Spelling was adamant, however, that she wanted things to be different for her own kids. "That's something that's really important for me to do as I'm learning myself now in my forties," she explained. "I really want my kids to know that before they move out on their own," she declared.