Kelly Ripa Details 'Painful' Last Conversation With Shannen Doherty: 'She Got the Rawest Deal'
Kelly Ripa is reflecting on her final conversation with Shannen Doherty. While speaking with Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Tuesday, Ripa said that she was "constantly" trying to set Doherty up with people, and recalled a comment the actress made in their final interview that still sticks with her. Ripa, who interviewed Doherty on her podcast, Let's Talk Off Camera, just weeks before the Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed star died in July following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, said she always had an "idea" in mid of who might be a "good match" with Doherty. "But the last conversation, she actually said to me, 'I'm kind of a tough sell because I don't have a lot of time left,'" Ripa said, adding that the comment left her feeling "crushed." "So that, I think, is what I took away, that I was crushed that she seemed to know that her time was very, very limited," she continued. Doherty was single at the time of her death, having just signed documents to settle her divorce from ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko, the day before she died, after separating from Iswarieknko in January 2023. "I will say, she was telling me about her treatments and it was so brutal and painful. It sounds very glib but the fact she's no longer in pain -- physical pain -- provides everyone that knew and loved her with a little peace," the Live With Kelly and Mark star added. Ripa also opened up about how she's been coping with Doherty death and why it has been so difficult for her to process. "It was just painful because we're the same age, we grew up together, and I always thought she got the rawest deal of anyone in show business," Ripa said. "I still believe that. I stand by that." While she didn't elaborate on that comment, Doherty was fired from both Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed at the height of each show's success. In January, on her own podcast, Let's Be Clear, Doherty recalled some of the things in her personal life that impacted her career at that time, like her "horrible" and short-lived marriage to Ashley Hamilton in 1993 while filming 90210. Doherty acknowledged that the drama at home resulted in her being late to work, which translated into a big problem for her costars, who would have to wait for her and would end up working longer hours. "It wasn't anybody's responsibility but mine, but I certainly wish that I had been sort of sat down and sort of looked at and said, 'Listen, the end result is going to be this, you are going to get fired because none of us are willing to put up with it anymore,'" she said of the show's producers. "'And I understand that you have an issue in your personal life, but that also can't bleed into work, you also have to get your s--t together.'" Doherty died at the age of 53 on July 13 after battling stage IV breast cancer for several years. Her publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the news in a statement to TMZ that read: "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease. The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."
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"It was just painful because we're the same age, we grew up together, and I always thought she got the rawest deal of anyone in show business," Ripa said while reflecting on Doherty's death.
Kelly Ripa is reflecting on her final conversation with Shannen Doherty.
While speaking with Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Tuesday, Ripa said that she was "constantly" trying to set Doherty up with people, and recalled a comment the actress made in their final interview that still sticks with her.
Ripa, who interviewed Doherty on her podcast, Let's Talk Off Camera, just weeks before the Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed star died in July following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, said she always had an "idea" in mid of who might be a "good match" with Doherty.
"But the last conversation, she actually said to me, 'I'm kind of a tough sell because I don't have a lot of time left,'" Ripa said, adding that the comment left her feeling "crushed."
"So that, I think, is what I took away, that I was crushed that she seemed to know that her time was very, very limited," she continued.
Doherty was single at the time of her death, having just signed documents to settle her divorce from ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko, the day before she died, after separating from Iswarieknko in January 2023.
"I will say, she was telling me about her treatments and it was so brutal and painful. It sounds very glib but the fact she's no longer in pain -- physical pain -- provides everyone that knew and loved her with a little peace," the Live With Kelly and Mark star added.
Ripa also opened up about how she's been coping with Doherty death and why it has been so difficult for her to process.
"It was just painful because we're the same age, we grew up together, and I always thought she got the rawest deal of anyone in show business," Ripa said. "I still believe that. I stand by that."
While she didn't elaborate on that comment, Doherty was fired from both Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed at the height of each show's success.
In January, on her own podcast, Let's Be Clear, Doherty recalled some of the things in her personal life that impacted her career at that time, like her "horrible" and short-lived marriage to Ashley Hamilton in 1993 while filming 90210.
Doherty acknowledged that the drama at home resulted in her being late to work, which translated into a big problem for her costars, who would have to wait for her and would end up working longer hours.
"It wasn't anybody's responsibility but mine, but I certainly wish that I had been sort of sat down and sort of looked at and said, 'Listen, the end result is going to be this, you are going to get fired because none of us are willing to put up with it anymore,'" she said of the show's producers. "'And I understand that you have an issue in your personal life, but that also can't bleed into work, you also have to get your s--t together.'"
Doherty died at the age of 53 on July 13 after battling stage IV breast cancer for several years.
Her publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the news in a statement to TMZ that read: "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease. The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."
