Dean McDermott responded to Tori Spelling’s divorce filing by submitting his own legal documents on Monday.
The 57-year-old actor opposed his estranged wife’s bid for sole custody of their children and instead requested joint physical and legal custody, according to court papers obtained by Page Six.
The former couple share five children together: Liam, 17, Stella, 15, Hattie, 12, Finn, 11, and Beau, seven.
Dean also sought spousal support for himself while petitioning the court to end Tori’s spousal support, mirroring her initial request.
Both sides are also asking the other party to cover their respective attorneys’ fees.
Dean McDermott responded to Tori Spelling ‘s divorce filing by submitting his own legal documents; seen in 2019
The 57-year-old actor opposed his estranged wife’s bid for sole custody of their children and instead requested joint physical and legal custody, according to court papers obtained by Page Six; seen in 2019
The former couple share five children together: Liam, 17, Stella, 15, Hattie, 12, Finn, 11, and Beau, seven
Dean’s court filing comes a few weeks after Tori revealed the reasons behind her decision to prolong their marriage.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 50 — who admitted her heart has not been broken since ‘first love’ Brian Austin Green — explained that preconceived notions about her character hindered her ability to move forward before ultimately filing for divorce in March after 18 years of marriage.
‘One of my biggest fears, and this perhaps did make me stay longer, is I feel like in our world it’s difficult to be with a man and have him not feel emasculated,’ the star told Shannen Doherty during the latest episode of her misSpelling podcast.
‘Not by our doing, but by who we are and have been labeled by society,’ she continued. ‘We’re not just women who make money, we’re women that have power, we’re women that have fame, I don’t know any different. I feel guilty.’
Tori then shared her concerns about meeting a future partner, expressing uncertainty and vulnerability.
‘Like, how am I ever gonna be with a man and he doesn’t feel like less than me just because of my status?’ she told Shannen.
Despite staying in her marriage past its expiration point, Tori said she is on friendly terms with Dean and his new girlfriend Lily Calo.
The actress said she now enjoys family meals with the new love birds.
‘I like Lily a lot. It’s not bad. It’s just you know, it’s different. Right?’ the star said of the gatherings on a recent episode of her podcast misSPELLING.
‘We’re co-parenting very well right now,’ she added.
Dean also sought spousal support for himself while petitioning the court to end Tori’s spousal support, mirroring her initial request; Tori and Dean in 2018
Dean’s court filing comes a few weeks after Tori revealed the reasons behind her decision to prolong their marriage
Tori also recounted the explosive fight between her and Dean that led to their split, during which the actress smashed a baked potato on the floor.
The actress said she and Dean started arguing after returning home from a day on set in June 2023.
Dean allegedly made a dig at her that ‘he knew would really be hurtful to hear.’
The actress didn’t disclose Dean’s exact words, but recalled that his remark deeply affected her — to the extent that she angrily smashed a loaded baked potato she had been preparing onto the kitchen floor.
‘This guttural scream came out of me,’ Tori recalled. ‘It wasn’t even like a sexy scream, like running in a horror film. It was beast-like. It wasn’t pretty at all.’
‘And I was like, ‘F*** you!’ And I took my most prized possession in that moment, my baked potato. It was loaded to perfection, and I smashed it on the ground.’
After her outburst, a wave of regret washed over Spelling. She retreated to a bedroom, reflecting that she and Dean had been sleeping apart for approximately three years by then, a decision she attributed to him.
A ‘fired up’ Dean began pounding on the locked door before gaining entry to the bedroom through an outdoor entrance that Tori had overlooked securing.
‘So he came in and he was very, very upset. And he said, “I want a divorce. This is over.” And I said, “OK. Great. OK.”‘
‘One of my biggest fears, and this perhaps did make me stay longer, is I feel like in our world it’s difficult to be with a man and have him not feel emasculated,’ the star said
‘Not by our doing, but by who we are and have been labeled by society,’ she continued. ‘We’re not just women who make money, we’re women that have power, we’re women that have fame, I don’t know any different. I feel guilty.’; seen in 2006
On that very day, Tori recalled, Dean publicly announced their divorce via an Instagram post, which she only became aware of when her 15-year-old daughter informed her about it.
She added: ‘I felt like this giant rock had been lifted off my chest. I could breathe deeply, and I was like, “Oh my God. He said it, so now I’m free” . . . he did it, and now I can move on. He’s put it out there, Let’s go. Yes. I needed this.'”I couldn’t do it myself.’
Dean deleted the post the next morning, but by then, news of the split had gone viral. The couple ‘just went on as if nothing happened.’
Last month, on the same day Tori Spelling recorded her podcast’s debut episode, she made a surprise call to Dean McDermott on air to inform him about filing for divorce.
A day later, Dean broke his silence on the divorce filing, saying he and Tori were ‘all good.’
The former couple met on the set of the TV movie Mind Over Murder in 2005.
There was an instant connection, although both were already married.
‘We had this very, quick, passionate falling in love period,’ the actress said on her podcast, describing it as a ‘fast and furious romance.’
She praised Dean for letting her be herself. ‘I just remember I could show him me.’
Continuing, she explained, ‘It wasn’t like, the cute like, giggly, “this is what people want me to be.” I was able to be like, loud and like ugh, body-type of Tori. I could have like, I could have a fowl mouth,’ she claimed.
‘I’m not just Donna Martin, the perfect good girl. I could have some bad girl in me and it was okay. And he liked all those sides and he liked how smart I was and accepted me.’
In May 2006, Tori and Dean tied the knot.
‘Like, how am I ever gonna be with a man and he doesn’t feel like less than me just because of my status?’ she added
‘Every guy that I’ve ever been in a relationship with, I always say, “There’s a lot s***that goes along with me.” I’m sorry, there’s the Tori Spelling of it all.’; Dean seen in 2018
In her divorce filing, the influencer asked for sole physical custody of their five minor children and joint legal custody, seen in 2019
In a scoop revealed by DailyMail.com in October, it was disclosed that Dean had embarked on a new relationship with Lily, a 34-year-old account manager. He has since relocated to live with her.
Not to be overshadowed, shortly after images of Dean with his new partner surfaced, Tori was spotted out on a date with her CEO friend, Ryan Cramera.
However, despite these developments, Dean expressed his enduring love for Tori and shared no regrets about their shared past in a candid interview with DailyMail.com.
He said: ‘It was a total fairytale. I mean, it was a beautiful love story. Love at first sight and getting married in the most beautiful way possible.’
In the interview, Dean described how their marriage imploded as he and Tori grew apart – with their problems made worse by his addiction to booze and prescription drugs.
‘All Tori’s ever done to this day is want me to be happy and healthy and I inflicted a lot of damage and pain on that woman,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘I’m taking accountability for that today. And it’s the biggest amend that I’m ever going to have to make.’
