Tori Spelling is fighting for her family. In light of Star magazine's latest cover — in which the tabloid claims the actress is on the brink of divorcing husband Dean McDermott, the father of her four children — the Beverly Hills, 90210 star penned an open letter on Thursday, Feb. 28.
"This time I had to comment because this time I'm answering not as a celebrity but as a mom," Spelling, 39, explained. Though she typically ignores what's written about her, Spelling's 5-year-old son, Liam, happened to see the magazine cover in a local supermarket checkout line. "His proudest achievement so far in his young life is that he is learning to read," Spelling wrote. "Until now, when that pride turned to sorrow thanks to Star magazine."
Spelling continued, "He first spotted me on the cover, then Dad, and then a picture of himself and his three younger siblings. He was able to read two things out loud, the word DIVORCE (which he proudly sounded out) and the caption above his picture which read 'Who will get the kids?' He became terrified."
"I had to hurry him and his confused 4-year-old sister Stella out of the grocery store and into our car. By the time he was fastening himself into his car seat he was asking, 'Why is someone getting us? Where are you and Dad going?' He was anxiously biting his lower lip and his big blue eyes were filled with tears. My heart sank," the Mistle-Tones star wrote. "How would I explain to my children that what these three writers who have never even met us but who claim to know the ins and outs of our relationship and have proudly put their names on this article are flat out writing lies?"
The Oxygen reality star (and daughter of the late television producer Aaron Spelling) noted that "it's been almost 24 years since I became a public figure" and said she's grown accustomed to seeing her name in headlines. "I've built up a pretty thick skin to the lies and trash talking at this point," Spelling wrote. "But my children are another story. Keep them out of it!"
"Driving home I repeatedly told my children, 'That magazine doesn't know us. Daddy and I are very happy and in love. There will be no divorce and all of us will remain together as a family,'" Spelling said. "I'm lucky my two oldest are only 5 and 4 and couldn't read the fine details of the article where horrific claims were made against my husband, their Dad."
Spelling — also mom to daughter Hattie, 16 months, and son Finn, 7 months — pleaded with the tabloid magazine to leave her husband alone. "He has stood by me during the good times and held my hand through the darkest moments of my life. I'm so blessed to have him as my partner in life and love and he is the best father to our four children," she said of McDermott, 46. "I'm aware that all that matters is that we know our truth. It's just sad that our actual happiness would probably be deemed boring to Star magazine."
