Dean McDermott made a quick return to social media to defend his estranged wife, Tori Spelling.
“I had to come out of my self imposed Instagram exile [to say] Tori Spelling, you did an amazing job [on Dancing With the Stars],” McDermott, 57, said in an Instagram video posted on Thursday, September 26, less than two weeks since he announced a break from the platform. “I am so proud of you. You put on two beautiful performances on Dancing With the Stars.”
McDermott praised Spelling’s commitment to the dancing competition. “I saw how hard you worked and I know the injuries that you had that you worked,” he said. “Your dedication and work ethic was amazing.”
“I actually thought Dancing With the Stars was a dance competition and not a popularity contest but this is not the first time I have been wrong,” he declared while writing the word “robbed” across the video. “The lesson that you taught our children and you exemplified is that you can do anything you put your mind to without parallel. What a beautiful message and I am so proud of you. You did a great job and I think you should still be on the show. That is just me, I am biased.”
Spelling, 51, and Pasha Pashkov, who danced a rumba to “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman, were among the two couples eliminated from DWTS alongside Anna Delvey and pro Ezra Sosa.
“It was truly an unbelievable journey and experience,” Spelling exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday. “Obviously, I felt like I was just starting, and I was seeing such a huge change in myself, physically and mentally [and] emotionally. I wanted to keep going, obviously, but I’m grateful I did it.”
Spelling was thrilled to have her and McDermott’s kids — Liam, 17, Stella, 16, Hattie, 12, Finn, 12, and Beau, 7 — in the crowd.
“Both weeks, having all five of my kids here in the audience was everything to me, because they’ve obviously been on this journey with me,” she added. “And they were fearful with me, alongside me, when I went into this. Like, ‘Are you going to get hurt? Are you going to be scared? Are you going to be able to do this? Oh, my God, what’s going to happen?'”
Spelling went on to share what she hoped her children learned from her experience.
“I came home, like, a better version of myself and a better mom every day, because … I was feeling so much personal growth and happiness and tapping into things,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I haven’t felt this happy in so long for something I’m doing for me.’ Because I think I gave up a huge part of myself somewhere along this journey called life, and now I tapped into that, so I’m going to keep doing me.”
She concluded: “I don’t know what that looks like, but I would love to [continue dancing]. I found something that really gives me joy, and I realized I’m good at it. … I made myself proud.”
McDermott’s public show of support for Spelling comes amid their ongoing divorce. The former couple weathered many ups and downs in the public eye since exchanging vows in 2006.
Us confirmed in March that Spelling filed divorce paperwork, which listed June 17, 2023, as their separation date. McDermott, who has been outspoken about his substance abuse issues, has since found love with Lily Calo after completing 40-day inpatient treatment before moving to a sober group home for men.
