Shannen Doherty was hit with two stones in one night.
Actress and cancer advocate Doherty is opening up about her hardships on the launch episode of her new podcast, Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, where she shared how she went into brain surgery right after discovering that her 11-year marriage was ending after her husband cheated on her.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress explained, “I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years,” adding, “To not go in that surgery, even though, being very clear, he wanted to go, I couldn’t go into that surgery with him there. I felt so betrayed.”
The 52-year-old actress disclosed that her husband Iswarienko(whom she filed for divorce this April) had been cheating on her for several months. She stated, “At the end of the day, I just felt so incredibly unloved by someone I was with for 14 years, by someone I loved with all my heart,” adding, “Just to have to go through all of that while trying to figure out if you’re going to get a f—- divorce and trying to get to the truth of that.”
According to reports gathered by People, Doherty has received over eight years of cancer treatments, where she underwent surgery and radiation on her brain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in January, the same month she and Iswarienko separated. The couple cited “irreconcilable differences” in their divorce filing.
She carried on about the affair, stating that she was becoming “obsessed” with finding out the truth behind the cheating “through conversations, expecting someone to be honest with me.” She said, “If you share 14 years and you cheated, doesn’t that person deserve the absolute truth regardless of how much that hurts them?” adding that she also engaged in a conversation with the girl her husband cheated with.
She continued in tandem with that, stating, “It was embarrassing,” adding, “I am horrified that I can’t keep a relationship together. I [thought] it is a reflection on me, but this one I think this one is on him. I’ve failed three times at marriage, but I still believe in love.” (Doherty was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994 and Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003.)
She further states, “I also take some responsibility for the demise of our marriage — actually, that’s not true. Let me rephrase that, I do not take responsibility for the demise of our marriage, I take responsibility for some of the issues in our marriage,” adding, “I take responsibility not only because of how I was but because of how cancer impacted my marriage and how it impacted him the second time around.”
Thereafter, she went on to reveal that she couldn’t walk away from her husband of 11 years despite the infidelity, explaining, “I was so confused and I was also on steroids and a lot of stuff from brain surgery because they didn’t want my brain to swell,” adding, “And honestly, it’s still really hard. Yes I made the decision to file for divorce, but I have a lot of memories with this person.”
In a PEOPLE cover interview, the actress opened up saying she was perceptive to love and chooses to still embrace it. She stated, “I don’t think I’m going to be single forever,” adding, “I have to love myself and reckon with the past, really, before I can move forward, and now I’m pretty sure I’ll meet somebody — hopefully soon.”
In other news, Doherty also opened up about her cancer spreading to her bones. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 before revealing in February 2020 that she had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. In June, she revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain as well.