The 'Charmed' alum says she felt 'so betrayed' and 'so incredibly unloved' by her husband of 11 years, Kurt Iswarienko, after finding out his alleged infidelity before the surgery.
- Dec 7, 2023
AceShowbiz - Shannen Doherty shunned Kurt Iswarienko's companion during her brain surgery after learning of his affair. The actress has just revealed that she found out her ex cheated on her before she went into surgery to remove a brain tumor earlier this year.
"I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over," the 52-year-old said in the first episode of her new podcast "Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty". "That my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years."
The former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star said her ex-husband wanted to be beside her leading up to the operation, but she wouldn't allow it. "He wanted to go, I couldn't go into that surgery with him there. I felt so betrayed," she admitted.
Shannen further opened up about her feelings of her ex-husband's betrayal, "At the end of the day, I just felt so incredibly unloved by someone I was with for 14 years, by someone I loved with all my heart."
Thankfully, Shannen still received support from her mom, brother and best friends through the operation. "Just to have to go through all of that while trying to figure out if you're going to get a f**king divorce and trying to get to the truth of that," she added.
The "Charmed" alum said she then became "obsessed" with finding out the truth of her photographer husband's infidelity "through conversations, expecting someone to be honest with me." She explained, "If you share 14 years together and you cheated, doesn't that person deserve the absolute truth regardless of how much that hurts them?" She said that she even "spoke to the girlfriend of two years that he cheated on me with."
"It was embarrassing," she continued. "I am horrified that I can't keep a relationship together. I think it is a reflection me, but this one I think this one is on him. I've failed three times at marriage, but I still believe in love."
Shannen was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994 and Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003. She underwent surgery and radiation on her brain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in January, the same month she and Kurt separated. The couple cited "irreconcilable differences" in their divorce filing.
Recently, the "Fortress" actress revealed that her cancer that spread to her bones. Still, she isn't giving up in finding new love. In an interview with PEOPLE conducted before Thanksgiving, she shared her hope to meet somebody "soon."
"I was not ready at all before three weeks ago. And something happens," she said. "I have closure and I can move on in a really healthy way." She added, "I don't think I'm going to be single forever. I have to love myself and reckon with the past, really, before I can move forward, and now I'm pretty sure I'll meet somebody, hopefully soon."
