Hours after the death of Shannen Doherty was announced, her friend Tara Furiani called out out the late actress’ estranged husband Kurt Iswarienko for their ongoing divorce amid the Charmed star’s lengthy battle with cancer.
“I’m really sad and upset about my friend Shannen’s death … Because of the divorce she was going through at the time,” Furiani, a business consultant who runs a business called Not the HR Lady, shared via LinkedIn on Sunday, July 14. “She had stage 4 breast cancer that has metastasized to numerous parts of her body, death was inevitable and she knew that… made peace with that.”
Furiani continued: “But, her pain and suffering in the months preceding it didn’t have to be so profound if her husband was just a decent human being. Could have just displayed a little humanity to his dying wife.”
Doherty “lost everything” throughout her cancer battle and divorce, according to Furiani. “Her husband was dragging his feet with income discovery in court, in an effort to delay a judgment or payment, until she died (where it would now be moot). She believed this is what he was doing and she said as much, publicly, just a month ago.”
Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed to Us Weekly on Sunday that the actress had died at age 53. Prior to her passing, Doherty was open with fans about her cancer battle — and her divorce.
Us confirmed in October 2011 that the actress had married Iswarienko after three years together. In April 2023, Doherty filed for divorce, claiming that Iswarienko was unfaithful in their marriage.
Doherty accused Iswarienko of “intentionally delaying settlement in hopes that I will not survive the divorce proceedings,” in court documents filed this past June. She also requested a monthly spousal support payment retroactive to June 1, 2024.
“Although Kurt’s income is substantially more than mine, he has not made any temporary spousal support payments and has made no contributions to my attorneys’ or accounting fees and costs since the time our divorce action was filed,” the filing read, in part. Doherty also claimed that Iswarienko was “spending thousands of dollars” while she has “been unable to work, incurring exorbitant medical expenses not covered by insurance to undergo experimental treatments in hopes of prolonging my life.”
In Furiani’s statement on Sunday, she declared that “life is so hard,” before bringing her statement back to Doherty’s death.
“Life is extra hard with cancer and without the support you thought you’d have. If you have the opportunity to be a decent person, take it. You have no idea what people are dealing with and going through,” she concluded. “Oh, and ladies… please get screened. We shouldn’t be losing people anymore to this. Early detection is critical.”
