Things You Didn't Know About Tori Spelling's Odd Marriage

Former 90210 star Tori Spelling and her reality show husband, Dean McDermott, formerly of Canada's Chopped, have had an extremely tumultuous marriage. Their beginnings came from an illicit affair, and it's been a bumpy ride ever since. Plagued by rumors of bankruptcy, a second cheating scandal, and general reality TV woes, check out the things you didn't know about Spelling and McDermott's odd marriage—there sure is a lot of material to cover here.

Back in 2005, Spelling was married to Charlie Shanian, while McDermott was married to Mary Jo Eustace. When worlds collide, as you know they do, Spelling and McDermott's fate was to meet on the set of Lifetime's Mind Over Murder. According to SF Gate, Spelling admitted she knew her marriage to Shanian was over after sleeping with McDermott just hours after meeting him. Spelling said, "After it had happened I didn't feel any regrets and I thought, 'I'm madly in love with this man that I've just met... and this is forcing me to really look at my marriage."

She told People, "I went into the marriage with the best intentions, hopes, and dreams." "I feel that I've really disappointed people," she continued. "I've disappointed everyone who came to my wedding. I'm disappointed in myself," she admitted.

Eustace released a statement to the effect that she was embarrassed beyond belief. She told People, "[This is] humiliating beyond anything I've ever known." "Right now my family and I are just trying to move through this nightmare one day at a time, with the hope of maintaining some dignity and resolve." McDermott filed for divorce in September 2005, and his divorce was finalized in February 2006.

As for Shanian, he quietly slunk off with his tail wedged firmly between his legs. Shanian filed for divorce in October 2005, citing irreconcilable differences. He requested that the court block her from requesting spousal support, as well as pay his legal fees. The couple's divorce was finalized in April 2006, just two months after that of McDermott and Eustace.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Eustace wrote an article for Independent, where she detailed how cold McDermott was when he told her of his affair with Spelling. Eustace outlined an idyllic vacation in Palm Springs with her husband, their then-seven-year-old son, Jack, and newly adopted infant daughter, where McDermott—acting distant and spending much of his free time on his cell phone—dropped the bomb that he'd slept with Spelling and that his marriage to Eustace was over.

In an excerpt, Eustace wrote that she asked him what was wrong, and after pushing and receiving no positive response, she asked The Question: "have you met someone?" McDermott answered that he had—that it was Spelling—and that not only had he slept with her, but that they were "soul mates," and that she loved him "unconditionally." McDermott told Eustace that their son should meet Spelling as "soon as possible"—since she was going to be a big part of his life soon. Eustace admitted that McDermott advised her that he didn't love her anymore, and hadn't for a long time.

Eustace later published a book, "Divorce Sucks: What to do When Irreconcilable Differences, Lawyer Fees, and Your Ex's Hollywood Life Make You Miserable." Star alleges that Spelling didn't take the book's release well, as it contained sensitive details about both couples.

Though Spelling is Hollywood legend Aaron Spelling's daughter, she has money woes like the rest of us. TMZ has made various reports about the couple's dire financial straits, beginning with the family battle over Aaron's money. They reported in 2006 that after being essentially "disinherited" by her father, she would receive less than $1 million dollars upon his death—which was a lot less than what the family estate was worth at the time.

The same year, Tori began selling her personal items online in a bid to make money. In 2014, TMZ obtained a copy of an eviction notice said to be invoking the law to kick Tori and McDermott out of their rental. Both Tori and McDermott vehemently denied claims that they were being evicted; on the contrary—that they'd left upon their own volition. In the same year, McDermott was accused of stiffing those who helped out on his book, "The Gourmet Dad," an amount in excess of $60k, TMZ reported. The following July, the couple moved from their rental to another rental, which was half the size of the first. TMZ noted that this was their third rental home since 2011.

Early in 2016, things escalated—Tori was hit with a lawsuit for a $38k unpaid bill courtesy of American Express, and was later served paperwork in the form of a tax lien from the State of California which totaled over a quarter-million dollars. As of July 2016, the Feds came after Tori and husband for an amount purported to be around $707k.

Financial woes indeed.

In June 2015, TMZ reported Spelling and McDermott held a massive yard sale featuring clothing, memorabilia, antiques, and home furnishings. Former 90210 costar Jason Priestley even admitted that Spelling sold off his wedding invitation to a fan/passerby. Priestly said, "I happened to be at home watching the local news one night, something I rarely got to do. [Spelling's] yard sale made the broadcast. I saw my very own wedding invitation on the screen." "Apparently, it had gone for five bucks, including a personal autograph by [Spelling]. She sold my wedding invitation to a stranger," he revealed. In a memoir, Priestley dished (via Radar Online) that his first encounter with his former flame's husband was less than savory:

"I walked over," the book read, "[and] extended my hand [to McDermott] and said, "Hi... Jason Priestley."

"[McDermott] stared down at my hand, then back up at my face," he said. "No handshake...nothing...'Well, [mutual friend] Tom Cavanagh speaks highly of you," he continued.

"Oh yeah?" McDermott was said to respond aggressively.

"Yeah," continued Priestley. "For some reason, he seems to think you're a nice guy."

Priestley claims that he "turned and left," and that he hasn't spoken to McDermott since.

Perhaps it could be jealousy – Spelling once revealed that she purportedly had a steamy relationship with Priestley off-screen during the filming of 90210. In an interview on Tori Spelling: Celebrity Lie Detector, Spelling admitted to having sex with two costars – Priestley being one of them. Priestley wasn't impressed by her candor, and took the beef to his Twitter account to make his peace with the inappropriate reveal.

He tweeted, "I'm not getting into this... It's nobody's business... Either way..."

Believe it or not, Spelling is an ordained minister who received her certification in 2007 from the Universal Life Church Ministers (ULC Ministers), and is featured on their website as part of "Hollywood's Hall of Famous ULC Ministers." Spelling announced the news on MySpace (via E! Online), and the joyous occasion was announced as she said, "I am now officially ordained. Yep, that's right...Reverend Tori Spelling! I did it last week online and my official certificate is in the mail. The first marriage she officiated was a same-sex couple by the names of Tony and Dex, who she "united in love," and that there "wasn't a dry eye" in the place.

She continued, and claimed that she was "so nervous," explaining: "This by far was my scariest moment simply because they had bestowed such an honor upon me and I didn't want to let them down." Spelling concluded (via Towleroad) that her main takeaway from the special day was that "love is pure and true; love knows no gender."

"I've found it," she professed, "Tony and Dex have found it, and I wish love to all that seek it. Don't ever let anyone tell you who to love. Only our hearts can dictate that."

In 2012, during Spelling's fourth pregnancy with son, Finn, she revealed to Us Weekly that she nearly died from gestational complications. She admitted that when she was midway through her pregnancy, she was diagnosed with placenta previa—a sometimes fatal condition that can result in hemorrhaging and child loss, as well as maternal death—and that throughout the rest of the pregnancy, she felt like she was walking on eggshells.

"I just remember thinking, I can't leave three children behind," she told the mag. Us reports that the condition was "caused by" conceiving a child just one month after giving birth.

McDermott also had his own near-death experience when he dumped a motorcycle he was riding in 2010. The accident that hospitalized him in 2010—an accident that both collapsed and punctured his lung and put him in intensive care—was his second motorcycling accident that year. People reported that Spelling said, "He's in a lot of pain. He's taking this as a sign and realizing family is too important to risk his life."

In late 2013, rumors swirled that McDermott had cheated on Spelling with a woman by the name of Emily Goodhand—a woman he purportedly met, while filming in Canada. Goodhand allegedly told Us that McDermott was in a "sexless marriage," and the two slept together one evening at a hotel in Toronto while McDermott was promoting Chopped: Canada.

Spelling claimed she was celebrating the holidays with her children at a Christmas event when the hookup occurred, but didn't break her silence about McDermott's indiscretions until April 2014. In her first interview since confirming the infidelity, Spelling told Us, "[McDermott] was my soulmate, but he completely broke my heart. It makes you not trust anything that's happened in your relationship." She told People that finding out was like "an icepick" through her head.

McDermott's ex-wife, Eustace, believed that the entire ordeal was a publicity stunt. In an exclusive interview with Radar Online, Eustace said, "It just seemed like it was not true. It was just pretty hilarious, because apparently what I heard was that the press was so bad for [Goodhand], she had to leave Toronto and go to Paris and start a life all over again. Which made no sense to me." She continued: "And you know those mistresses. When they come out of the woodwork, they get a vodka deal or something happens. They leverage it. It just made absolutely no sense."

Spelling and McDermott eventually moved on from the scandal, and began to repair their relationship, but not before the drama was carried out on national television via True Tori.

After the dust settled on the affair, Eustace claimed that she firmly believed McDermott would have cheated on Spelling, regardless of whether or not it was true that Goodhand participated in the illicit relationship. During an episode of Spelling's reality show True Tori (via E! News), Eustace revealed, "It would have been somebody else. I think he was really determined."

True Tori was an absolute disaster, showcasing both McDermott and Spelling at their worst. They fought, they cried, they screamed... and things only seemed to get better after the show ran its course and was cancelled. After the show, Spelling claimed that she "felt guilty" about putting her cheating husband through reality television, and told Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter, "We just had a conversation yesterday. My hours are so crazy. He woke me up, and he said, 'I've been thinking...'"

"He was like, 'I feel like I've been unemployed,'" referencing his stint on True Tori. She continued, "If he's gotten such a bad rap with the reality thing, I feel like I tied him into that world, and I feel guilty. All of a sudden, he became Mr. Tori Spelling, and it makes me sad because I don't know what would have happened for him [otherwise]."

2014 was an extremely rough year for the couple, financial issues notwithstanding. In January of that year, McDermott checked himself into rehab. The statement from McDermott read, "I am truly sorry for the mistakes I have made and for the pain I've caused my family." He continued, "I take full responsibility for my actions and have voluntarily checked myself into a treatment center to address some health and personal issues," he continued. "I am grateful to be getting the help I need so I can become the husband and father my family deserves."

In April 2014, after McDermott completed his stint in rehab, he admitted on a previously-recorded episode of True Tori that he had once contemplated suicide. During a therapy session on the show (via E! Online), McDermott opened up in a big way. He said, "Well, we're sitting here in the room where I had [a] breakdown. And I've been looking at that crack in the window, and I remember looking at that crack that day, and while we were waiting for the EMTs, I was thinking, 'I've got a window of opportunity here'—no pun intended—'to kick that out, because it's already broken, and just dive out.' I didn't do it," he said. "But I mention that to show how far I had gone down the rabbit hole, and that the only way out was for me to leave this earth." He continued, "I sit here today, looking at it, and I know I will not take my life. My life means a lot to me right now, where it didn't for so many, so many years."

"My life means something today and my life means something because I'm getting the help I need and I'm surrounded by love and support. For the longest time I didn't deserve it, and now I'm just getting a little glimmer that I do deserve it. And that's what's gonna keep me alive. I'm trying to beat that into my head that on some level I do deserve it. I know I don't deserve to die; I deserve to live," he proclaimed.

In October 2014, Spelling herself was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown under the guise of an "Ebola scare." Sources told TMZ that the hospitalization was directly stress-related, and had nothing to do with Ebola.

In a February 2016 interview with Khloe Kardashian's Kocktails With Khloe, Spelling admitted that the road hadn't been easy, but that it's been worth it. Spelling reiterated that the cheating scandal and subsequent fallout "changed everything for the better," and that they "worked really hard to gain that trust back." Spelling stated that they have "more of an open communication and relationship together" than they've ever had before. Spelling and McDermott appear to be enjoying their second chance together, and especially because they've been through the wringer so hard, who can blame them for it?