Shannen Doherty says she learned of ex's alleged affair shortly before brain tumor surgery

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Shannen Doherty revealed on the debut of her "Let's Be Clear" podcast that she found out about ex Kurt Iswarienko's alleged infidelity shortly before surgery to remove a brain tumor.

"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," she said on Wednesday's episode.

Doherty and Iswarienko were married for 11 years before the actress filed for divorce in April. "Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted," her representative Leslie Sloane said in a statement at the time. "Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option."

USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Iswarienko.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" actress said Iswarienko "wanted to go" with her into surgery on her brain tumor, but she didn't allow him to. Instead, she was supported by her family and best friends. "I felt so betrayed. … 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," she said.

Shannen Doherty opened up about her husband Kurt Iswarienko's infedelity in her debut podcast episode.
Shannen Doherty opened up about her husband Kurt Iswarienko's infedelity in her debut podcast episode.

Doherty revealed on Instagram in June that cancer had spread to her brain amid her diagnosis with stage 4 breast cancer. She had the brain tumor surgically removed and underwent radiation.

The "Charmed" star admitted that she became "obsessed" with seeking out answers about her husband's affair after she found out, evening going to the depths of speaking with Iswarienko's "girlfriend of two years."

"If you share 14 years together and you cheated, doesn't that person deserve the absolute truth regardless of how much that hurts them?" she said.

Shannen Doherty wed photographer Kurt Iswarienko in 2011 and filed for divorce in April 2023.
Shannen Doherty wed photographer Kurt Iswarienko in 2011 and filed for divorce in April 2023.

Doherty added that she feels embarrassed over her track record with love. "I am horrified that I can't keep a relationship together. I think it is a reflection of me, but this one, I think, this one is on him," she said. "I've failed three times at marriage, but I still believe in love."

The actress was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994 and Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003.

Doherty said that while she does not "take responsibility for the demise of our marriage, I take responsibility for some of the issues in our marriage."

"I take responsibility not only because of how I was but because of how cancer impacted my marriage and how it impacted him the second time around," she said.

'I'm not done with life': Shannen Doherty shares update on stage 4 breast cancer

Doctors diagnosed Doherty with her first round of breast cancer in 2015. Several years after she announced that she was in remission, the actor revealed on "Good Morning America" in February 2020 that she had been privately living with cancer again for a year.

Cancer cells have now spread to her bones, Doherty recently shared with People magazine for her cover story, which went on newsstands Friday. "But we're on a really good regimen now, and it's working well for me," she said.

"I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to die," Doherty told People. "I'm not done with life. I’m not done with living. 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 not done."

She added, "My greatest memory's yet to come."

Contributing: KiMi Robinson

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shannen Doherty details ex's alleged affair amid brain surgery scare