A Chapter Closes: Tori Spelling, Dean McDermott and the End of an Era

Well, here we are. After what felt like an eternity under the public gaze, and honestly, a fair few years of speculation, the curtain has finally fallen on Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott’s marriage. It’s official: their divorce has been settled, a definitive end to nearly eighteen years of a very, very public journey.

And what does that “settled” really mean? For one, it means they’re hashing out the nitty-gritty details. Spelling, ever the pragmatist, has indeed requested spousal support from McDermott. But that’s not all; she’s also looking for child support for their five children – Liam, Stella, Hattie, Finn, and Beau. You know, the practical stuff that comes with untangling two lives.

Dean, for his part, isn’t sitting idly by. He's reportedly seeking joint legal and physical custody of their kids, which, when you think about it, makes perfect sense. These are his children too, after all. It’s a move that suggests a desire for continued, active involvement in their lives, despite the dissolution of his and Tori’s union. A new chapter, but not a clean break from fatherhood, you could say.

The formal filing, if you recall, only came through in March, though their separation had been hinted at, then openly discussed, for quite some time. Eighteen years, folks. And the reason cited? The always-vague, yet universally understood, “irreconcilable differences.” It’s a phrase that often masks a multitude of complex, human experiences, doesn’t it?

McDermott actually beat Spelling to the punch, announcing their split back in June of 2023, via a now-deleted Instagram post. But it was Tori who eventually took the legal plunge, filing on March 29, 2024. And, honestly, she wasn't shy about it. She even dedicated an episode of her podcast, “misSPELLING,” to discussing the very act of filing. Talk about bringing fans into the fold.

Oh, and there was one particular detail that really stuck out. On her podcast, Spelling shared that Dean was, understandably, a bit miffed about the specific date she chose to file. Why? Because, rather ironically, it happened to be their eighteenth wedding anniversary. A bittersweet, almost poetic, end to a relationship that once began with such promise. Life, it seems, has a strange way of coming full circle.