Shannen Doherty seeks spousal support from ex-husband amid heartbreaking cancer battle and 'decrease' in financials

The Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed alum split from photographer Kurt Iswarienko last year


shannen doherty cancer update© Getty Images
June 20, 2024

Shannen Doherty has a tough road ahead of her, and she is asking her estranged husband for support.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress, 53, has been battling cancer for the last several years — she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 — and last year, she also announced her divorce from husband Kurt Iswarienko.

Now, as the former couple go through their divorce proceedings, the Charmed actress has filed a request for spousal support from the photographer, 50.

Shannen Doherty Talks About Her Challenges Over the Past Year

Per People, according to paperwork filed on June 14 in Los Angeles, Shannen is requesting that Kurt pay her $15,434 per month, including, retroactively, for the month of June, as well as to contribute $9,100 to cover her attorney's fees and costs.

The filing comes just as Cha​rmed, the 1998 fantasy drama she starred in for the first three of its eight seasons, is reportedly set to leave streaming services later this month, which Shannen claims will "dramatically decrease" her income as her residuals take a hit.

"Today, virtually all of the income I earn is residual income from work that I performed prior to marriage," she stated in her filing, noting that because of her "recurrent health issues," she has been unable to work and has "no future employment prospects."

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Shannen and Kurt in 2016

Moreover, she emphasized that her inability to work will eventually lead to losing her SAG union membership, and therefore her health insurance.

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"Although Kurt's income is substantially more than mine, he has not made any temporary spousal support payments and has made no contributions to my attorneys' or accounting fees and costs since the time our divorce action was filed," Shannen further claimed in her filing.

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The actress starred as Prue on Charmed with Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Comb

"Kurt has similarly refused to produce basic information about his 2023 income," she added, maintaining: "I know the value of his photography business because he consulted me on a regular basis and my help was invaluable."

MORE: Shannen Doherty's former 90210 co-star shares message for her as she talks funeral amid cancer battle

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Shannen has been candid about the ups and downs of her cancer battle

Shannen and Kurt first started dating in 2008, and married in 2011. In a statement to the Associated Press when the divorce was announced, her publicist Leslie Sloane shared: "Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted," but added: "Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option."

MORE: Shannen Doherty details 'whopper of a year' after brain cancer and divorce after 'betrayal'

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She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015

In a separate statement to Page Six, the veteran Hollywood publicist also said: "You can contact Kurt's agent, Collier Grimm at PICTUREKID, as she is intimately involved."

After Shannen's 2015 breast cancer diagnosis, in 2016, she shared that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and she had to undergo eight rounds of chemotherapy and radiation as a result. Though she went into remission in 2017, just one year later, she told the Associated Press that her tumor markers had become "elevated." Two years later in 2020, she announced during an appearance on Good Morning America that her cancer had returned as stage four breast cancer, meaning it had spread to other parts of her body beyond the original source of the tumor.

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