Tragic Secrets Shannen Doherty Took to the Grave: Bullying, Betrayal and Bitter Divorces

Setting the Record Straight

Shannen Doherty did not hold back. During the December 17 episode of her new podcast, "Let’s Be Clear," the actress revealed the truth about her much-talked-about departure from the hit series Charmed after three seasons in 2001, confessing that despite initially claiming she’d left the show of her own volition, she’d actually been fired. (Doherty's guest, fellow Charmed alum Holly Marie Combs , claimed their costar Alyssa Milano had pressured producers into giving Doherty the boot.)

Reasoned Doherty, “One can’t keep telling the same story over and over and over again, when it’s not the truth.”

She was more than ready to keep speaking her truth.

The 53-year-old — who started battling stage IV b----- cancer in 2015 — was on a mission to set the record straight, and the former child star opened up like never before about her decades-long Hollywood career, her widely publicized behind-the-scenes feuds and the devastating end of her 11-year marriage to her third husband , photographer Kurt Iswarienko , in April 2023. And she did not care if she ruffled feathers along the way.

“Shannen knows her truth and she’s not afraid to tell it,” a source previously told Star . “At this point, she has nothing to lose. There have been so many lies said about her over the years that she wants to correct — and if that means settling some old scores in the process, so be it.”

Bad Reputation

After getting her start as a kid on such shows as Little House on the Prairie , landing the coveted role of transplanted Midwestern teen Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990 was a dream come true for Doherty. But the drama between her and her costars — including Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling — soon took center stage.

“It always seemed that Tori and Jennie were ganging up on Shannen ,” said the source.

At one point, things were so bad that Doherty and Garth nearly exchanged blows on set.

“I got in her face,” Garth recalled of the fight — during which their male costars had to physically hold them both back — in a 2019 interview, adding, “We’re just both strong Aries women. We don’t back down — no matter what.”

Yet Doherty bore the brunt of bad publicity , earning a rep as a “bad girl” who was demanding on set; she was fired from the series after four seasons.

“Shannen isn’t saying she was an angel, but she was treated horribly by a lot of people and unfairly painted as a mean girl and difficult to work with,” said the source, noting that the actress was relieved when Garth appeared to take some accountability years later. “Shannen may have been intense, but she wasn’t the only one to blame for the tension on set. By talking about their near-physical altercation, Jennie was admitting she was just as much to blame.”

Indeed, the entire cast was in over their heads.

“It was too much to handle for all of them, to get famous so fast and be thrown into the spotlight at that age,” said the source. “Tori and Shannen and Brian [Austin Green] couldn’t go to a club without making headlines. They just wanted to be teenagers.”

When the cast reunited for the BH90210 revival series in 2019, Doherty quickly shut down talk that she was once again causing friction , saying, “Being a part of TV history is an honor but it also comes with some massive backlash. One of the reasons I hesitated to say yes was for this c--- … there is zero truth to it.”

Butting Heads

History seemed to repeat itself during Doherty's time playing the eldest of three witchy sisters on The CW’s Charmed . After leaving the show in 2001, she hinted that her costars had become petty while she was there to do her job.

“There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work,” she told an interviewer. “You know, I’m 30 years old, and I don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.”

More than 20 years later, Doherty was not beating around the bush. During her two-part conversation with Combs on "Let’s Be Clear," she accused Milano of coming between the old friends .

“[She] caused like this sort of weird divide between the two of us that then continued throughout Season 2 where I think I cried every single night of Season 2,” Doherty said. ( Charmed went on to run for eight seasons, with Rose McGowan taking Doherty's place.)

Combs went further, claiming that Milano told producers “it’s [Shannen] or me” and threatened to sue “over a hostile workplace environment.” (Milano's mom, Lin , denied that she and her daughter caused tension on set .)

Doherty still resented her lingering troublemaker reputation.

“People have not always been kind to Shannen,” said the source. “She’s always been honest and forthright, and clearly other people have had a problem with that.”

Totally Heartbroken

Her costars were not the only ones targeted by her truth bombs. Eight months after announcing her divorce from Iswarienko, Doherty clarified what really happened between the pair, claiming that, in January, just as she was about to undergo brain surgery to remove a tumor, she discovered her husband was in the midst of a two-year affair. It was one of her darkest hours .

“I couldn’t go into that surgery with him there,” she said on the debut episode of "Let’s Be Clear." “I felt so betrayed.”

A few days after her revelation, the actress shared a post on Instagram claiming a friend of Iswarienko's had gone to TMZ to report that the couple had been in an open marriage, and that she’d been aware of the affair .

“This is an absolute lie,” Doherty clapped back.

Despite the humiliation, she was unwilling to let her ex off the hook in any way.

“Kurt abandoned her when she needed him the most,” the source previously said. “She’s not going to let him off easy.”

She was focused on the people she trusted most as she continued her health battle and said her goodbyes to loved ones. (In June, Doherty announced her cancer had spread to her bones. )

“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she said. Added the source, “She just want[ed] to say her piece and get everything out there while there [was] still time.”