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Shannen Doherty realized her husband had an affair the day she had brain surgery

In her podcast, Doherty revealed that her brain surgery coincided with her learning of her husband’s infidelity.


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
DECEMBER 7, 2023 11:53 AM EST

Shannen Doherty has experienced some difficult things in life. In her podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” the “Beverly Hills, 90210” actress revealed that she learned that her husband was having an affair the day of her brain surgery.

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Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko

Doherty was married to her third husband, Kurt Iswarienko, while undergoing cancer treatment. The two were together for 14 years and divorced after she learned he’d been having an affair for two years. “I had brain surgery, which was the most frightening thing I have ever been through in my entire life,” she said of the procedure. "I didn’t think I was going to make it. I was positive that I was gonna die, and the best-case scenario in my head if I didn’t die was that I would lose the ability to walk or to talk."

"I went into that surgery early in the morning, and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years.” Doherty revealed that Iswarienko wanted to accompany her and support her during the procedure, but that she couldn’t allow it. “I couldn't go into that surgery with him there. I felt so betrayed,” she said.

“At the end of the day, I just felt so incredibly unloved by someone I was with for 14 years, by someone I loved with all my heart.”

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In April of this year, Doherty announced that she’d filed for divorce from Iswarienko

Shannen Doherty’s battle with cancer

Shannen Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. While the cancer went into remission a couple of years later, in 2020, she learned she had metastatic cancer, which has been spreading. Last month, she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her bones. “I’m not done with living," said Doherty to PEOPLE Magazine. "I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not — I’m not done."