Shannen Doherty Breaks Silence On Dating Fears Amid Stage 4 Cancer Battle

Shannen Doherty has doubts about finding a new partner with her plate full of drama with an estranged husband and a battle with stage 4 cancer. 

The "Charmed" star recently addressed the possibility of her dating again in a candid interview, revealing that she is more likely to remain single than leave someone heartbroken over her future absence.

Shannen Doherty has been battling the terminal disease since 2015 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer.

During an appearance on Kelly Ripa's "Let's Talk Off Camera" podcast, Doherty confessed that she is not rushing to form romantic relationships amid her battle with cancer. In her words:

"Listen, I think it's hard for somebody like me, in my personal opinion, because it's hard to go into dating someone when you know that they might have an expiration date."

Doherty described herself as a "very hard sell," noting that "most men" significantly struggle when it comes to handling "death and illness" compared to women. She also admitted to lacking confidence from her cancer treatments. The actress said:

"It's more companionship than anything else. Anyway, I'm a little self-conscious because I have so many scars from surgery that it's like, how do you explain that 'No, that isn't from giving birth, that's from reconstruction surgery.'"

Earlier in January, The Blast reported that Doherty had begun preparing for her death and addressed her final wishes on an episode of her "Let's Be Clear" podcast. She shared her thoughts on funerals, confessing:

"I'm horrible at funerals. I don't know if anybody is actually good at funerals, but I am the girl who, like, literally sobs. I can't handle it."

Given her perspective, Doherty revealed she wanted her memorial service to be less sad and more of a lively house party. She hoped to achieve a "morbid" yet "fun" theme with the help of her best friend and the executor of her will, Chris Cortazzo.

The same rule applied to the guest list, with the 53-year-old stressing that "There's a lot of people that I think would show up that I don't want there. I don't want them there because their reasons for showing up aren't necessarily the best reasons."

Doherty noted that her guest list wouldn't cater to fake friends, specifically the people who would show up at her funeral because "it's the politically correct thing to do, and they don't want to look bad." The actress continued:

"So I kinda want to take the pressure off them. I want my funeral to be like a love fest. I don't want people to be crying or privately thinking, 'Thank God that b— is dead now.'"

In response, her pal Cortazzo playfully requested a list of the people she wanted at her funeral, prompting Doherty to quip, "That's the shorter, that's the better list. I can't give you a list of who I don't want because that's way too long."

Doherty filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Kurt Iswarienko, in April 2023 after 11 years of marriage. Unfortunately, the duo's split has been far from amicable, with infidelity allegations and recent claims of shady plans in their court case.

Days earlier, The Blast reported that Doherty had accused Iswarienko of intentionally prolonging their divorce proceedings in hopes of her death. She claimed he failed to turn over his financial information despite multiple requests, with her attorney arguing:

"It is simply not right that Kurt be permitted to prolong our divorce in hopes that I die before he is required to pay me while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of more than 11 years."

Following Doherty's claims, her estranged husband's attorney, Katherine Heersema, refuted the allegations in a statement. The photographer's legal rep claimed the actress was responsible for the delayed divorce proceedings, noting:

"Kurt is not 'simply wait[ing] for Shannen to die.' He wants the best for Shannen, and he wants both of them to be able to put this case behind them and move forward."

Heersema claimed Iswarienko offered Doherty a settlement deal in October 2023; however, she rejected it. On the other hand, the actress stressed that she refused the agreement because it dodged the issue of her estranged husband's "earning capacity."