Putting up defenses. Tori Spelling opened up about dealing with criticism online amid rumors that her marriage to Dean McDermott is on the rocks.
“I’m human. So, you know, sometimes I fall down that rabbit hole, but it’s just about letting it go,” the 48-year-old actress told Fox News on Thursday, February 3, noting that it can be “hard to deal with” scrutiny on social media. “[I’m] like, ‘You know, it’s not about me.’ Ultimately, it’s about them and how they feel. They need it to tear people down.”
Spelling tries her best “not to read” negative comments, but she’s grown used to the attention from her decades in the spotlight. “I’ve been getting that since I was 16 since my career started, so, you know, I have pretty thick skin at this point,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum continued.
The most “mind-boggling” part of it all, however, is seeing the hate that “mostly come[s] from women, and sometimes moms.” Spelling shares five children — Liam, 14, Stella, 13, Hattie, 10, Finn, 9, and Beau, 4 — with McDermott, 55, and is no stranger to the parenting police.
“We talk so much about, you know, women support women, women build each other up, we got to be there for each other,” the California native said. “And when you see another female doing it to you, and especially a lot of them, they’re moms, and they’ll be shaming your kid.”
In February 2019, the Scary Movie 2 star got candid about how trolls treat her kids online, telling Us Weekly exclusively that “it’s not easy” to manage that type of negativity.
“I have dealt with it forever, but when they say things about your kids, you’re just like … ‘What?'” Spelling said at the time. “Everyone is so anti-bullying these days, but it feels like lately with celebrities, that doesn’t apply. You can say whatever you want about celebrities and their kids, their family, but you can’t say it anywhere else in any other profession.”
The Messyness cohost added: “Celebrities have feelings and then when you cross a line and you go after children … that is just wrong and shame on you.”
More recently, however, Spelling’s marriage has been caught in the crossfire of harsh comments. Fans began wondering whether the longtime couple, who tied the knot in 2006, were going through a rough patch when the True Tori alum confessed in June 2021 that the twosome were sleeping in different rooms. Four months later, the split speculation grew when Spelling was photographed outside of a lawyer’s office holding a notepad that read “assets,” “support” and “custody.”
An insider exclusively told Us that the “90210MG” podcast host felt “trapped” in her marriage, noting in October 2021 that she and McDermott “have tried counseling” and their kids “have no idea what’s going on.”
Spelling seemingly ditched her wedding ring during an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show one month later — and got visibly frustrated when questioned about her husband. “You know I’m not going to answer that,” she snapped at guest host Whitney Cummings.
Despite their rumored tension, the pair spent the holidays together, with a source telling Us the kids were “happy” to have their family “all under one roof” for Christmas.
“That’s what mattered the most to Tori and Dean, was making sure their kids had a nice holiday at home together,” the insider said in December 2021.
