Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott fight over custody of their kids as divorce turns contentious

August 2024 · 3 minute read

Dean McDermott is fighting his estranged wife Tori Spelling's request for full custody of their five children. 

The former couple were married for 18 years but called time on their relationship in 2023. While they have appeared to remain on good terms, their divorce has hit a roadblock after Tori bid for sole custody in her divorce filing. 

The former couple share five children: Liam, 17, Stella, 15, Hattie, 12, Finn, 11, and Beau, seven. 

On Monday, Dean submitted his legal documents, pushing back on Tori's request and asked for joint physical and legal custody instead, according to court papers obtained by Page Six. 

The star also requested spousal support and petitioned the court to terminate spousal support for Tori. They both asked the other party to cover their respective attorneys' fees. 

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Tori and Dean cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split, but in Tori's filing, she listed the date of separation as June 17, 2023, while Dean had July 7, 2023. 

The alum filed for divorce on March 29, 2024 – nine months after she and Dean announced their split. 

In her filing, she too asked for spousal support and requested to terminate spousal support for Dean. 

Dean announced that he and Tori were going their separate ways last June with a statement on Instagram. 

He penned: "It’s with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways, and start a new journey of our own. 

"We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through this difficult time." 

He added: "We ask that you all respect our privacy as we take this time to surround our family with love and work our way through this. Thank you all for your support and kindness." 

However, in April, Tori confessed on her misSpelling podcast that she had wanted to file for divorce for "like… 15 years". She admitted that after they started having children, their "relationship was never the same". 

She added: "Everything became focused on the kids and I kind of left him in a way. And I get it. It doesn’t excuse his behavior and everything he did. 

"We always say, ‘Hey, it made it 18 years. It shouldn’t have made it 18 years. And I think he would say the same thing if he and I had a real heart-to-heart. It would have been over a lot sooner." 

Tori then explained the reason she had held back from filing for so long was an effort to "protect" Dean from hurt, as well as their five children together. 

Dean agreed that their split was long overdue, saying in April: "I'm doing good. It's been a long time coming but T and I are good."

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