The Transformation Of Tori Spelling's Son Liam From Birth To 17

Tori Spelling made a big splash in the 1990s pop culture zeitgeist after taking on the role of Donna Martin in the iconic teen drama "Beverly Hills, 90210," which was produced by her late father, renowned producer Aaron Spelling. By the time the show was over in 2000, Tori was grown and ready for the next stage of life. A mere four years later, she married actor-writer Charlie Shanian. But their whirlwind relationship ended in a messy divorce in 2005, just 15 months after they tied the knot. The reason for their shocking split soon became apparent, though. Sparks had been flying between her and her "Mind Over Murder" co-star Dean McDermott, who was also married when they met.

According to Spelling, "it was love at first sight. I fell so hard ... Then I noticed he had a wedding ring. And — oh, yeah — I had a husband too. [But] the following day when I woke up next to Dean, I had no regrets," she wrote in her 2009 memoir, "sTORI Telling" (via Us Weekly). After that, the rest was history. The couple married in 2006 in an intimate ceremony in Fiji, and started growing their family the following year. Spelling and McDermott's first-born son, Liam Aaron McDermott, immediately became the apple of his parents' eyes. Growing up in the spotlight, he's seemingly wanted for nothing, but let's take a closer look at what his childhood was really like. This is the transformation of Liam McDermott from birth to age 17.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott share five children; sons Liam, Finn and Beau, and daughters Stella and Hattie, along with Jack McDermott, Dean's son from a previous marriage. Tori and Dean welcomed their first child together in 2007, just a year after they tied the knot. Their son, Liam Aaron McDermott, was born under difficult circumstances that resulted in the "Saved By the Bell" alum having to have emergency surgery.

Thankfully, Liam arrived healthy, but the worry surrounding his birth did end up rallying a lot of support for Tori. Most unexpectedly, this came from her estranged mom, Candy Spelling, whom she famously feuded with after her father's death. They reportedly fell out over money, as Candy inherited most of Aaron's fortune. Not only was Candy there for her daughter at the hospital, but they'd been speaking regularly prior to Liam's birth after mutually choosing to reconcile.

While her relationship with her mom has been rocky, Tori always enjoyed a close relationship with her dad, Aaron, and chose to honor him by giving Liam the name "Liam Aaron." Speaking about the decision, Tori told Access (via Today): "I feel like I have been given such a gift having this little baby inside of me that it's kind of a part of him, so I know that he will be up there wishing us well and celebrating with us and this little one inside me."

As the daughter of a successful television and film producer, most of Tori Spelling's childhood involved being in the spotlight in some way. She even acted in some of her dad's projects as a teenager before "Beverly Hills, 90210." Similarly, Liam Aaron McDermott was also thrust into the spotlight from an early age because of his parents' success. But this wasn't as an actor. Instead, he appeared as himself in a number of Tori and Dean McDermott's reality projects.

The first of these was the show "Tori & Dean: Inn Love," which followed the couple as they attempted to transform a rental property in Fallbrook, California into a charming bed-and-breakfast. Liam was born while they were filming the first series, and soon the realities of both running a hospitality business and trying to raise a baby became apparent. After two seasons, they shifted the focus of their show away from the B&B and rebranded it as "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood." This chronicled the next stage in their life as they grew their family from three to four with the birth of Stella in 2008.

After the later season of "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood," which eventually concluded in 2012, the Spelling-McDermott clan briefly left Hollywood, but they didn't leave the spotlight. With Liam, Stella, Hattie, and baby Finn in tow, Tori and Dean headed to Dean's homeland, Ontario, Canada, for another reality series. "Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever" followed the family of six as they set out to "live and experience cottage country as they renovate a cottage," per IMDb.

Along with this string of reality show appearances during his early life, Liam was also spotted out and about at public events with his parents. As a baby, Liam was front and center at events like Tori's "sTORI Telling" book signing in 2008. Liam looked adorable, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt as Dean held him up for spectators at the event to see.

This ended up being the first of many public outings for Liam. Tori and Dean notably took Liam and his little sister Stella to big entertainment industry events like the Kids Choice Awards in 2016, when they were just 8 and 7, respectively. Liam showcased some of his personal style at the event as he posed alongside his family on the orange carpet wearing jeans, high-tops and a paint-splattered t-shirt.

Tori Spelling is incredibly proud of her kids and takes every opportunity to celebrate their achievements and major life milestones — especially their birthdays. Liam McDermott has enjoyed some epic birthday parties over the years.

His 9th birthday party in 2016 was particularly lavish. Liam celebrated the day in style with a huge gamer-themed backyard bash that was complete with his favorite burger truck, a tripled-tiered cake, and Mario Kart costumes. The theme for the party was "#LiamLevel9," words Liam also wore on shirt for the occasion.

Tori has shared details of some of her first-born's other birthday parties over the years, too, revealing she's gone all out for themes like Star Wars and Minecraft for Liam. Opening up about how she throws such epic parties, Tori said she lets her children take the lead. "I ask my kids simple questions. Like what theme they want and what colors they picture at the party and what activity they want to do with their friends. They might be small but kids have great fun imaginations!" she said on her ediTORIal blog (via Us Weekly).

Tori Spelling was feeling all the emotions when her son, Liam McDermott, made the leap from elementary school to middle school in 2019. At age 12, Liam closed the door on his primary education and, according to Spelling, he had some choice words to say about the occasion.

Sharing details of the moment on social media, Spelling revealed that her son had given a speech at his elementary school graduation. "One of the proudest days of my life as a mom this past week ... graduation!" she wrote alongside a picture of Liam posing with his siblings and holding his graduation certificate on Instagram. "He said goodbye to 6th grade and his school. His speech blew everyone away. He started at this school as a tiny little blonde babe and has grown into a kind, clever, smart, resilient, driven, funny, and amazing young man. So proud of his journey and can't wait to watch him as he continues to blossom and move [through] the next chapter of his life," she gushed.

Although Spelling didn't reveal the details of what Liam's speech said, it's obvious she's incredibly proud of the words he shared to mark the milestone. Dean McDermott also shared his pride about his son's achievement, posting more pictures from the ceremony on his own Instagram page.

Liam Aaron McDermott's elementary school graduation also marked a new chapter for the youngster as he moved away from some trouble at school. In a candid Instagram post, Tori Spelling opened up to share that her kids, Liam and Stella, were being bullied. Sadly, some of this came from the teachers who were supposed to protect him at elementary school. Detailing the things Liam had to deal with, she wrote: "[Liam] graduated last year from Encino but not without the principal telling us he was 'unmotivated' and lazy. Poor guy thought from [the] way he was treated by her that he was 'stupid.' Beyond not the case. He is a hilarious, smart, outgoing, and a creative, kind guy!"

After dealing with that, Liam was very excited about the prospect of moving up to middle school and starting fresh, but sadly, it wasn't the picture-perfect experience when he got there, either. Liam was badly bullied during his first year at his new school. According to Spelling, it was so bad that it caused him to be physically ill. "He was bullied to the point that he developed severe emotional based headaches and stomach aches ... He continued to be bullied so bad we had to leave," she revealed. Liam ended up finishing out his middle school education at a different school before moving on to high school.

As the son of two Hollywood celebs, Liam McDermott is in the public eye more than most kids. And along with bullying at school, he's sadly been subjected to a barrage of hateful comments online, too. Many of these comments have been about his weight and body image, with Dean revealing on his podcast, "Daddy Issues," that his son had been called "obese" by some commenters.

He explained (via ET) that criticism came after Tori Spelling shared a post on social media about the kind of snacks they would have as a family. But after seeing the comments the post received, Liam was left questioning his body image. Dean was then forced into having a tough conversation as he had to help his son understand that he's a healthy child and doesn't need to be concerned with his weight — or with strangers online who feel the need to make hurtful comments.

"I took him aside, and I said, 'Look, you know what? People are going to say horrible things. We're in the spotlight, Mom and Dad. People know who you are, and people are going to say nasty things. So, you can fire back at them, or you can stop and think and send them some love,'" Dean added, recalling his response to Liam.

In the face of the bullying and hate that Liam McDermott has been subjected to, both in person and online, Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott always encouraged him to be himself. In an ediTORIal blog post, Spelling said that her priority is always to make sure her kids feel comfortable being open and expressing who they are and what they need, with her and Dean always there to support them. "When you see life created and watch it learn and appreciate the small things, it really puts things into perspective for you. Being a mom gives me the chance to relive things through Liam's eyes and appreciate things that I never took the time to appreciate," she wrote (via E!).

This has led to Liam feeling comfortable experimenting with his appearance and expressing himself through changing hair colors, which he has shown off on Instagram. He also attended Pride celebrations in 2022 with his dad and half-brother, Jack McDermott, who is gay. Dean posted some snaps of their celebration on Instagram, showing that the family tries to embrace inclusivity on all fronts. Dean also took the time to promote his supporting role in the LGBTQIA+ movie "My Fake Boyfriend."

From the image they presented to the world, it seems like the most important part of Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott's parenting style was always being a united front to support their kids. However, their family dynamic irrevocably changed in June 2023 when Dean announced that the couple were officially separating from each other. "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 wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via People).

The couple previously weathered a few periods of instability in their marriage, including Dean's cheating scandal, years before they decided to call it quits. The decision for Dean to then move out of their family home was no doubt very hard on their five kids. While Liam hasn't publicly addressed the split, Dean's Instagram post confirmed the former couple are prioritizing co-parenting and supporting their kids. "We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through this difficult time," he said.

Liam McDermott's 2023 took another turn for the worse when his mom revealed that he needed to have an emergency operation on his foot following an accident. Alongside sharing a picture of Liam in a hospital bed on her Instagram Story, Tori Spelling admitted that they were both very nervous as they awaited the surgery. Remaining positive, Spelling added, "proud of your bravery @liammcdermott___ and things can only get better after this" (via People).

Spelling didn't go into details about the accident initially, but in a follow-up post revealed that the injury occurred at home after Liam accidentally fell down the stairs. After weeks of waiting and hoping, Liam's foot wasn't getting any better. He needed surgery because his "navicular accessory fractured bone in [the] right foot needed to be removed and then [the] tendon reattached to his main bone with a metal hook rod" (via The List). Happily, Spelling revealed that the operation was a success and Liam has since been seen back on his feet.

Liam Aaron McDermott is growing up very quickly. He turned 17 on March 13, 2024. But while Liam is looking at the future and the exciting times ahead, his mom, Tori Spelling, is reminiscing about years gone by. To celebrate her son's big birthday, Spelling posted a touching video tribute to him on Instagram, sharing a look at dozens of pictures of his childhood. Liam is smiling happily and laughing in the slideshow of the pictures, which included family shots and selfies with his mom.

Alongside the video, Spelling wrote a sweet birthday message to her first-born telling him to always be himself. In another birthday tribute to Liam on her Instagram Story, Spelling praised the special relationship she has with her son. "Happy 17th birthday to the first love of my life to grow inside me. I love you @liammcdermott___," she wrote (via People).