Tori Spelling had an “outward reaction” when her longtime friend Shannen Doherty died.
During an interview for the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast on Tuesday, the Beverly Hills, 90210 actress recounted how she couldn’t stop crying when she learned her former co-star had passed away at the age of 53 in 2024 after a battle with cancer.
“I had more of an emotional, outward reaction when Shan passed than my own father,” she said. “When she passed, it was this thing – and maybe it’s because we’re getting older, and it’s kind of a you start to think of your own mortality and what’s going to happen. And it’s like, ‘Wait, friends my age are passing and this can happen.’ That was a hard one. It was a hard one.”
However, Tori explained that she grieved differently when her dad, legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, died at the age of 83 in 2006.
“I was younger then – I mean it was 20 years ago. I think I had every feeling so repressed. I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings,” the 53-year-old continued.
At the time of her dad’s death, Tori felt she had to “just go on”.
“(Aaron) was everything to me,” she smiled, describing herself as a “daddy’s girl”.
“He’s still my hero… and I think about him every single day in my life,” the reality TV personality shared.
In addition, Tori noted that she felt as if she needed to put on a “strong front” when fellow Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Luke Perry died suddenly at the age of 52 in 2019.
“When Luke passed, I was still in my mode of like, ‘Go on, go on,'” the mother-of-five remembered. “It was only like when Shan passed, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t stop crying.’ And this is so un-me. But I also like grew up thinking crying was a sign of weakness.”
