In case you missed the monumental news in the annals of celebrity breakups, Tori Spelling ended her long-beleaguered marriage to Dean McDermott by filing for divorce last month.
Now, the former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star is recounting the big fight that finally prompted the couple to call it quits after 18 years of an eventful marriage — which included five children, a public breakdown, a reported sex tape, at least one incident of infidelity, as well as ongoing reports of substance abuse, financial insolvency, tensions with her massively wealthy mother, reality TV appearances and brazen efforts to get freebies.
But speaking on the second episode of her new podcast, “MisSPELLING, Spelling also described how a “loaded baked potato” came in handy as she needed a way to vent her anger during their final marital showdown, according to People.
Spelling said she and her sometime-actor husband had spent the day on a shoot with her “90210” co-star Jennie Garth, People reported. But when they got home, they began arguing and trading insults. Spelling said McDermott threw a dig at her that was especially “hurtful to hear.”
She would not reveal the insult but she said it really struck a nerve — so much so that she “smashed” a baked potato she had been making on the kitchen floor in anger, according to People.
“This guttural scream came out of me,” she said. “It was beast-like. It wasn’t pretty at all.”
Tori Spelling Dean McDermott and family attend the premiere of LD Entertainment’s “Dog Days” at Westfield Century City on August 5, 2018 in Century City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Spelling also didn’t say what the potato was “loaded” with, but typically people make such potatoes with bacon bits, sour cream, cheese, maybe vegetables.
But after destroying her meal, Spelling said she locked herself in their home’s primary bedroom, according to People. That’s the room where Spelling said she slept, while it has previously been reported that the two slept in separate bedrooms.
But a “fired up” McDermott started “banging” on the locked bedroom door. When she didn’t open it, she said he came around to a side door, which she had not locked.
“So he came in and he was very, very upset,” Spelling said. ” And he said, ‘I want a divorce. This is over.’ And I said, ‘Okay. Great. Okay.’”
Spelling said McDermott had “threatened” divorce “one million times” before, People reported. But this time, McDermott showed he meant it by going on Instagram a few moments later to say that he and his wife had decided to go their separate ways.
“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 on June 17, 2023.
Spelling said on her podcast that she didn’t see the post until their 15-year-old daughter Stella spotted it, according to People. “My daughter found it first and said, ‘Mom, dad just posted on social media that you guys are getting a divorce,’” Spelling said.
When Spelling first looked at the post, she said she had a reaction that surprised her: relief.
“I’m not kidding you guys, I felt like this giant rock had been lifted off my chest,” Spelling said on her podcast, according to People. “I could breathe deeply, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. He said it, so now I’m free.’ Like, ‘Everything has started, and this, I couldn’t do it. And he did it, and now I can move on. He’s put it out there, Let’s go. Yes. I needed this.’ You know? Like, I couldn’t do it myself.”
While Spelling felt newly “free,” she said she quickly realized that her daughter was upset.
“Estella started crying, and she said, ‘No, mom. You’re acting like this is a good thing,’” Spelling said on her podcast. “And I was like, ‘No, no no, but I’m just saying,’ and she’s like, ‘Do you know how embarrassing my friends have to read this?’ And then I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And I felt so shamed again. And I was like, ‘Oh, no. I didn’t think of it that way. I was just like, I’m free.’ And she was like, “He needs to take this down.’”
Anyone who has followed the many ways that Spelling and McDermott have embarrassed themselves over the years might wonder why their daughter was particularly upset by this news. For example, the couple’s relationship started when they worked together on a 2005 TV movie — and both were married to other people.
In November, McDermott went to the Daily Mail to detail the troubles in their marriage, including Spelling’s desire to keep a pig and multiple dogs in their bedroom and how their issues “just got worse because we stopped sleeping in the same room.” The actor, who has struggled with alcohol and drug abuse for decades, spent the summer in rehab.
But, as Spelling said, when said she reached out to McDermott, she said he didn’t understand their daughter’s concerns.
“He was like, ‘You don’t understand. It’s been a long time coming,” Spelling said on her podcast. He said, “You know, mom and I are gonna co-parent everything.”
“And she’s like, ‘Dad, you’re not understanding. It’s not about that,” Spelling recalled on her podcast. The girl said, “You guys can get a divorce. You should, but you just put it out there publicly before we’ve dealt with it. That shouldn’t be the case.”
Finally, McDermott realized that his announcement was premature and took it down, Spelling said. He subsequently went to rehab, while she and their five children packed up and moved out of the house and “never went back.” In addition to Stella, the couple share Liam, 17, Hattie, 12, Finn, 11, and Beau, 7.
Spelling officially filed for divorce last month, citing irreconcilable differences. A few minutes after filing the paperwork, she also began recording the debut episode of her podcast, the Los Angeles Times reported. The episode began with Spelling leaving McDermott a voice message asking him to call her back.
Later in the podcast, she shared a recording of her side of the conversation when McDermott returned her call and apparently argued about why she should be the one to get to file first.