• Shannen Doherty reflects on a turbulent 2023 marked by health and personal struggles, including her ongoing battle with cancer
• Despite the challenges, she feels she is starting to live the happiest version of herself, with a lighter and more positive outlook
• Doherty experienced several roadblocks this year, including the metastases of her cancer and discovering an alleged affair between her husband and another woman, which she described as a betrayal
Here is what happened:
Shannen Doherty is looking forward to a charming new year. After all, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum said 2023 was quite the “turbulent year” as she faced “some massive health struggles, some massive personal struggles, a lot of heartbreak and fear” amid her ongoing battle with cancer.
“But with all of that,” she noted on the Dec. 25 episode of her Let’s Be Clear podcast, “I was actually saying this to myself the other night, ‘God, I think I’m actually starting to live the happiest version of myself.'” The 52-year-old added, “Even though it’s been such a contentious year for me, for some reason it just feels it’s gotten a lot lighter lately and a lot more positive.” In fact, Doherty—who filed for divorce from husband Kurt Iswarienko in April after 11 years of marriage—said that her heart “is opening back up” these days.
Indeed, Doherty—who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, before sharing in 2020 that her illness had returned following a period of remission—experienced several roadblocks this year. The Charmed star revealed in July that the cancer had metastasized to her brain. By November, she said the stage four condition had spread to her bones as well.
“And just shortly before undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor, Doherty said she uncovered an alleged affair between Iswarienko and another woman. “I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over,” Doherty recalled on the Dec. 5 episode of her podcast, accusing Iswarienko of “carrying on an affair for two years.”
