Shannen Doherty is delving into the influence her late father had on her romantic relationships.
In an episode of her podcast "Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty," released on Father’s Day, June 16, the 'Charmed' alum shared personal insights on how her father, John Thomas Doherty Jr., affected her choices in men.
Reflecting on her father's various health issues before his death in 2010, Doherty, 53, candidly discussed the emotional turmoil she experienced.
"I think watching him go in and out of the hospital and the fear that I constantly felt of, is this going to be the last time I see him? Is he going to die? Is he not going to come out of the hospital?” Doherty explained. This fear, she said, led to "feelings of abandonment."
Doherty admitted that this uncertainty caused her to project her fears inwardly. “It was more that I was projecting that onto myself because I was so scared that the most important man in my life was not going to be there, that there were parts of me that sort of shut down as I got older,” she said.
“And I think I definitely, we've discussed this before, you guys, where I chose men that were not like my dad, that were not that kind and that gracious and that great.”
The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star has been married three times. Her ex-husband Rick Salomon, whom she married in 2002 and annulled in 2003, recently appeared on her podcast.
During their conversation, the former couple humorously recalled the brevity of their marriage. “I think we got married in 2002, January. I just looked it up. I would never have any idea otherwise,” Doherty said.
“And we got annulled in May 2003. So technically we don’t have to call each other ex-wife and ex-husband because we got annulled, but we still do.”
In another episode in April, Doherty’s ex-fiancé Rob Weiss joined her. During this conversation, Doherty expressed her desire to honor her late father with a tattoo, but she couldn't due to her Stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis, which posed a risk of infection.
Weiss kept the tone light, joking, “It was never my intention to take you to some like, alley tattoo parlor.”
Doherty concluded her Father's Day episode by acknowledging the impact of her father's illness on her relationship choices. “I chose men that it wouldn't necessarily break my heart if they dumped me and left me, that I would survive and be okay and probably move on pretty quickly.
“There's only a few that mattered to me, and they know who they are, so do you guys,” she said.
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