The Truth About Shannen Doherty's Relationship With 90210 Costar Tori Spelling

"Beverly Hills, 90210" stars Shannen Doherty and Tori Spelling had a well-known feud — but what was really going on behind closed doors with these ultimate '90s it-girls? It seems that their relationship was much more complicated than a simple rivalry between leading ladies.

Doherty left the beloved series in 1994 after its fourth season, and rumors swirled that her feud with Spelling was the culprit. In 2019, Spelling visited the "Daddy Issues" podcast and explained her perspective on the rumors. "We were really close on the show," she said, adding, "She was one of my best friends. And then when she left the show, there [were] all these press things that came out, like, this rivalry, and it was never with us. But the press makes what they want" (via USA Today). Spelling recalls that she hoped the rumors would fizzle out on their own. "You don't want to say anything because you're told ... 'Say nothing, and it will go away!' But it kind of lives on whenever a story comes out. It doesn't really go away," she explained. She called Doherty "great," noting that she "saw her recently. She's an awesome person." 

Despite there being no hard feelings, Spelling noted that the pair were no longer friends. She explained then that this was "not for any reason" in particular. That same year, the actors reunited for the "Beverly Hills, 90210" reboot "BH90210." In 2024, however, we got some more intel about what had gone down.

In April 2024, Tori Spelling joined Shannen Doherty on her "Let's Be Clear" podcast and the actors discussed that, while they were close while on "Beverly Hills, 90210," their friendship did ultimately fall apart — just not in the way the media portrayed it. 

"One minute, we were friends, and then one minute we weren't," Doherty recalled. The pair discussed a trip that they took together in the 2000s with their then-partners, which ended up being a "pivotal moment" for their friendship, after which they "started drifting apart." Spelling called her then-boyfriend "abusive," and Doherty said, "I specifically remember looking at you and saying, 'You have to end it with him, or I'm going to actually kill him. Like, I can't stand by and watch this."

While that may have been a breaking point for Doherty, it seemed difficult for the stars to even pinpoint exactly what it was that caused their friendship to change. Before that happened, Doherty says that the former castmates were "like sisters, like best friends. We were always together." While they took a detour in the interim, it is clear that the stars were able to come back together again after their falling out.

Less than three months after reuniting with Tori Spelling on her podcast, Shannen Doherty died in July 2024 at the age of 53 after years of living with cancer. In a statement that was shared with People, Doherty's publicist confirmed news of her death, writing, "On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease." She added, "The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace." 

Doherty's former "Beverly Hills, 90210" cast members all began sharing their responses as they grieved the loss of their friend. In particular, Spelling's heart-wrenching response showed that she was left nearly speechless by the loss. On July 14, she took to her Instagram story and posted a selfie with her and Doherty. On the image, Spelling wrote, "I don't have outward words yet...but WE knew and that's what matters," per Page Six. While the friends' relationship was clearly complicated, it's easy to see just how much love they had for each other and that their friendship had been mended by the time of Doherty's passing.