Shannen Doherty calls divorce ‘exhausting’ after alleging her ex hopes she dies 'before he is required to pay’

Shannen Doherty is responding to the headlines about her divorce proceedings between the actor and her ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko.

Doherty, whose breast cancer has metastasized in her brain and bones, spoke on the June 23 episode of her "Let’s Be Crystal Clear" podcast to address the media coverage of a declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 14, alleging he was “intentionally” delaying their settlement “in hopes that I will not survive the divorce proceedings.”

"We all know I’m going through divorce. We all know it’s not the most pleasant thing," she said on her podcast. "I have refused to look and literally until when I was going to record this podcast, and it just was like, 'Oh, my God.' There’s so many different nuances that people will never understand, and to take something just from a brief so that you can break a story is super annoying to me."

“I don’t understand why people find it so fascinating — boredom, wanting to make money off of a story — whatever it is, I can tell you that it’s really hurtful, and unfortunately there was no way for me to do it more privately," she added. "It is what it is."

Doherty added she may not be ready to talk about what happened between her and Iswarienko until after the divorce — if at all.

"That's been exhausting, because obviously a divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone," she said. "I did love my husband, and when you get so hurt by their actions, you just feel betrayed and like a sucker."

Doherty, 53, filed court documents on June 21 requesting spousal support, payment for her attorney’s fees and an additional contribution to her accounting fees and costs.

"Our assets are neither difficult to characterize nor divide. Our divorce should not be complicated," attorneys for Doherty wrote in the declaration, obtained by NBC News. "It is abundantly clear to me that Kurt is intentionally delaying settlement in hopes that I will not survive the divorce proceedings."

Doherty has not worked since 2022, and her income in 2024 so far has been $25,732,90, according to the declaration.

The 53-year-old receives the majority of her income through residuals from "Charmed," but she learned the TV show will not be shown on any major streaming platform after June 30, meaning her income will "dramatically decrease," her attorneys wrote.

Doherty wrote she has tried to resolve the matter with Iswarienko through their attorneys "to no avail."

"This is largely due to Kurt’s utter failure to voluntarily produce any information regarding his income or his work, despite his repeated promises to do so," she wrote. "His overt efforts to delay our divorce — by promising to willingly provide information and then failing to do so until served with formal discovery — have caused me tremendous stress and aggravation during an already difficult time. I would like the peace of mind to focus on my health, and no longer wish to engage in Kurt’s sadistic push and pull game."

Doherty added: "It is simply not right that Kurt be permitted to prolong our divorce in hopes that I die before he is required to pay me while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of more than 11 years."

Attorneys for Iswarienko did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

Doherty filed for divorce from her husband of 11 years Kurt Iswarienko in April 2023.

“Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted. Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option,” Doherty’s rep, Leslie Sloane, told TODAY.com in a statement in 2023, adding Iswarienko’s agent is “intimately involved” with the divorce.

On April 21, 2023 Doherty seemingly talked about her personal relationships with people online when she shared a cryptic post on Instagram.

It said, “The only people who deserve to be in your life are the ones who treat you with love, kindness and total respect.”

Doherty’s friend Sarah Michelle Gellar commented, “I guess you will be in my life forever then.”

Doherty and Iswarienko married in 2011. Four years later, the “Charmed” star learned she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 before it went into remission in 2017. In early 2020, Doherty announced it had returned, as stage 4 cancer.

“I feel like I have a responsibility in my more public life, which I separate from my acting life … to talk about cancer and perhaps educate people more and let people know that people with stage 4 are very much alive and very active,” she told People in 2021.

“My husband says that you would never know that I have cancer,” Doherty added. “I never really complain. I don’t really talk about it. It’s part of life at this point.”

Doherty also talked about her battle with breast cancer at ‘90s Con in March. While attending a panel with her “Charmed” co-stars, Doherty said she was feeling great, according to People.

The “Heathers” star was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994, and Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003.

Doherty and Iswarienko don’t share any kids together.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com