The passing of Shannen Doherty has brought up serious questions about her on-going divorce.
Doherty filed for divorce from Kurt in April 2023 after 11 years of marriage, but the proceedings have been dragged out.
Before her death, Shannen was clear that she knew her ex, Kurt Iswarienko, “prolonged” the decision of a divorce settlement for selfish reasons.
Now, we’ve come to find out that despite her passing, Shannen perhaps had some peace before leaving this world.
It seems she managed to finally file for an official divorce one day before her death.
Shannen Doherty’s Divorce
The actress was diagnosed in 2020 with stage 4 cancer. Though she fought a good fight, she ultimately succumbed to her illness in July 2024, passing away at the age of 53.
For the better part of the last year of her life, she found herself in a legal war with her once loving husband, photographer Kurt Iswarienko.
The pair split in 2023, but divorce process was slow. There was a constant back and forth about spousal support, both for him and for her. It seemed that a divorce settlement could not be reached.
And then, by some miracle, the day before she passed away, the pair put the matter to bed.
In a court filing submitted and signed by Shannen on Friday, July 12, the TV star submitted to the court that she and her ex were proceeding with their divorce as uncontested, and they were jointly filing a declaration for default of dissolution of their marriage.
A Difficult Divorce Settlement
While the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum had been candid about her struggles with her illness, she was also unafraid to go in depth about her divorce from Kurt Iswarienko.
In court documents obtained by multiple celebrity gossip outlets in June 2024, Doherty claimed she had NOT been granted access to the financial records regarding Iswarienko’s archive of photography work… ultimately slowing down the process of her receiving spousal support.
She had a theory behind why, too.
“It is simply not right that Kurt be permitted to prolong our divorce in hopes that I die before he is required to pay me while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of more than 11 years,” Doherty states in the legal papers.
The 53-year-old asked for $15,434 a month from her former spouse.
She wrote that residuals from her role on the show Charmed are declining, while she’s also lost her SAG health insurance because she’s been unable to act amid her health struggles.
Shannen Doherty’s Divorce Got Bitter
An attorney for Iswarienko countered Doherty’s allegations at the time, saying her client offered his ex a settlement in October 2023, but Doherty turned it down.
The star, meanwhile, is also accused Iswarienko of living an extravagant lifestyle while she had no access to funds, their airplane or their marital vacation home in the state of Texas.
“Kurt has been utilizing the airplane, spending thousands of dollars at medical spas, jewelry stores, Gucci, and on flights… while simultaneously claiming he has insufficient funds with which to support me,” the filing reads.
The Divorce Settlement After Shannen’s Death
As to where things go from here, that remains unclear. Information about Shannen’s will has not been made public, but from the filing, we know that both sides has given up their rights to spousal support.
What that means for Shannen’s ex going forward remains unclear.
In one of her last podcasts before her death, Shannen explained how awful the breakup had truly been for her.
“That’s been exhausting, because a divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone,” she said. “I did love my husband, and when you get so hurt by their actions, you just feel betrayed and like a sucker.”
When Shannen announced her divorce in 2023, her rep explained to E! News that the decision was born out of necessity, saying:
“Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted. Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option.”
The actress later accused her ex-husband of having an affair.
Let’s hope they ended things on good terms all around.
