Dean McDermott has credited his ex-wife Tori Spelling with getting him into treatment for addiction.
McDermott, 59, said that Spelling intervened during his decades-long struggle with alcohol, cocaine and opiates, and the former couple have since rebuilt their relationship into what he calls a model co-parenting partnership. The Canadian actor said they now regularly share dinner with their children, a routine that underscores how far they’ve come since their divorce.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better ex-wife,” McDermott said.
The actor revealed he hit rock bottom in recent years after repeatedly cycling through substances and watching himself destroy his life multiple times. Having been through treatment several times before, he reached a point where he no longer had the energy to rebuild what he had torn down again.
“You’re 56 years old and you’ve done it again. This is where you always end up. Your way didn’t work,” McDermott recalled telling himself before finally surrendering and asking for help.
McDermott credited the 12-step program, therapy and breathwork with transforming his recovery this time around. He said he now practices what he calls “active meditation,” which he explained helps him reconnect with himself and process emotions he had spent years suppressing through substance use.
Now working as a drug and alcohol counselor, McDermott has also become an advocate for recovery through Cure Addiction Now, a nonprofit co-founded by Nancy Davis and her late son, Jason. The organization focuses on finding new addiction treatments while breaking down the stigma surrounding the disease.
McDermott is scheduled to speak at the nonprofit’s upcoming fundraising gala in Beverly Hills on Nov. 9, where he will share his story with donors and supporters.
In his counseling work, McDermott facilitates recovery groups and counseling sessions, but he stresses that helping others cannot replace maintaining his own sobriety. He has also developed strong views about how parents should respond when their children struggle with addiction.
“Love them, support them and just be there for them when they’re ready to say, ‘Hey, I need help,'” McDermott noted, while warning against enabling destructive behavior.
With fentanyl making street drugs increasingly dangerous, McDermott delivered a stark warning based on his own experience and what he has seen in the recovery community: “One relapse could be your last.”
McDermott and Spelling’s relationship began in 2005 when they met on the set of the TV movie “Mind Over Murder.” They married in May 2006 and had five children together before announcing their separation in June 2023, with McDermott filing for divorce in March 2024 after 18 years of marriage. Their split came after years of public scrutiny of their relationship, including McDermott’s 2013 cheating scandal, which the couple addressed openly on their reality series “True Tori.”
McDermott’s transformation from patient to counselor represents a full-circle moment in his recovery narrative. He has described getting sober as the best decision he has ever made, and his work with Cure Addiction Now allows him to channel his experience into advocacy for systemic change in how addiction is treated and perceived.