Shannen Doherty Believes Her Late Father is Part of The Reason For Her Choice In Men

Celebrity By TooFab Staff |
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"I was so scared that the most important man in my life was not going to be there, that there was parts of me that sort of shut down as I got older," the Beverly Hills 90210 alum -- who has been married three times -- explains.

Shannen Doherty is reflecting on her late father and the impact he had on her romantic relationships.

The 53-year-old released a new episode of her podcast Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty entitled "Let's Talk About Dads... with Shannen Doherty" which dropped on Father's Day.

The Charmed alum opened up about the "feelings of abandonment" she felt watching her father John Thomas Doherty Jr. suffer through various illnesses landing him in the hospital a number of times.

"I think watching him go in and out of the hospital and the fear that I constantly felt of, 'is this going to be the last time I see him? Is he going to die? Is he not going to come out of the hospital?'" Doherty explained.

"But it wasn't like he was doing that to me. It was more that I was projecting that onto myself because I was so scared that the most important man in my life was not going to be there, that there was parts of me that sort of shut down as I got older," Doherty clarified, explaining how that affected the kinds of men she chose to be with.

"And I think I definitely, we've discussed this before, you guys, where I chose men that were not like my dad, that were not that kind and that gracious and that great."

The actress has been married three times, most recently to photographer Kurt Iswarienko.

In April 2023, the actress filed for divorce from Iswarienko after 11 years of marriage. On the inaugural episode of her new podcast, Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, in December of the same year, Doherty revealed she found out about her estranged husband's alleged affair just as she was about to go into surgery to remove a brain tumor.

The Our House star, who has battled breast cancer on and off over the years, said it was then she realized that her 11-year-marriage -- her third -- to Iswarienko was "essentially over."

"I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years," Doherty shared. "To not go in that surgery, even though, being very clear, he wanted to go, I couldn't go into that surgery with him there. I felt so betrayed."

She continued, "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."

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, who was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994, and Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003, maintained that she's hopeful she'll meet somebody "soon."

"I don't think I'm going to be single forever," Doherty stated on her podcast. "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."

Listen to more of Doherty's latest episode below.