Tori Spelling is putting her and estranged husband Dean McDermott’s five kids first after his bombshell claims about the demise of their relationship.
“The interview took Tori off guard,” a source exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly of Spelling, 50. “It was a lot of personal information about their family. Tori’s been very protective of the kids, given Dean’s rages and outburst.”
McDermott, 57, broke his silence on his divorce from the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum in a candid Daily Mail interview, which was published earlier this month. In the sit-down, McDermott alleged that his alcohol-induced outbursts were the primary reason for the split. (McDermott first announced his separation from Spelling in June in a since-deleted Instagram post.)
“Alcohol made me feel good enough. I started feeling good enough until it got to a point where it didn’t — it ended up in isolation,” he told the Daily Mail. “It ended up with me drinking a fifth of tequila every night, seven days a week and a handful of [prescription medications] by myself with a beautiful family in the other room.”
At Spelling’s urging, McDermott decided to seek treatment for substance abuse issues. He is now living in a sober men’s group home. The insider tells Us that Spelling is “proud” of her estranged spouse for getting the help he needed.
A second source adds that “no one really knew” how bad McDermott’s alcoholism battle had gotten. “Dean was so deep into his addiction,” the insider says.
McDermott told the Daily Mail that he had mixed alcohol and Ambien pills on the day he posted his divorce statement “in the hopes that [he] would not wake up.”
Amid his treatment, McDermott has claimed that he hasn’t seen his five children with Spelling — sons Liam, 16, Finn, 10, and Beau, 6, and daughters Stella, 15, and Hattie, 11 — since his rehab stay. (McDermott also shares son Jack, 25, with ex-wife Mary Jo Eustace.)
Spelling has not publicly addressed McDermott’s claims, with the first source noting that there is no chance of a potential reconciliation.
“Dean and Tori tried,” the insider adds. “Ultimately, they just want each other to be happy.”
McDermott is currently dating Lily Calo, while Spelling has moved on with Ryan Cramer.
For more on Spelling and McDermott’s relationship, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
