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From a mansion with 126 rooms to living in a van: this is Tori Spelling's life now.

When we think of Tori Spelling, her iconic portrayal of West Beverly High’s lovable Donna Martin, immediately comes to mind.

Along with Jennie Garth and Shannon Doherty, Spelling defined a generation in the '90s series Beverly Hills 90210, spawning a wave of rich kid teen dramas.

Off screen, Spelling was loaded too. 

As the daughter of the show’s creator Aaron Spelling, who was also responsible for huge hits such as Dynasty and Melrose Place, she was afforded the luxury of growing up in a 56,000-square-foot mansion, complete with 126 rooms. Yes, you read that right.

In 2022, on her 90210MG podcast she admitted that her and her brother, Randy, only inhabited a few rooms in the house, because most of it was off limits, or simply too big to navigate.

Tori Spelling with her parents. Image: Getty. 

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“Walking that house just, phew. Just taking that elevator up to the second floor was like too much to handle,” she recalled.

“We literally as a family, spent the time in the kitchen, my mum's office that we all congregated in and our bedrooms. And that was it," she explained, adding that the home also featured two gift wrapping rooms, one of which was specifically used at Christmas time, plus a bowling alley, and even a room to house her mother Candy’s doll collection.

"Was it fancy? Yes. It didn't feel homey. But it didn't feel like a hotel. It was warm. As warm as a 56,000-square-foot house could be,” she admitted.

It's a far cry from the actor's current housing situation. Spelling has most recently been living in a campervan with her five children after they discovered an "extreme" black mould problem in their home, according to Page Six

Prior to this, Spelling and her kids were living in a $100-per-night motel for a short while, in an effort to escape the health hazard that was making the whole family sick.

Image: Getty.

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Thanks to her dad, Tori was one of the original Hollywood nepo babies, landing her part in Beverly Hills 90210 at aged just 17. She starred in it for its entire 10-year run, from 1990 to 2000. 

Following that Spelling had small parts in TV series' and movies, before landing a role in Mind Over Murder in 2005 that would change her life forever. Despite at the time being married to writer-actor, Charlie Shanian, Spelling quickly fell for her co-star Dean McDermott, who was also married. 

Her divorce from Shanian was swift, and after Spelling married McDermott, they scored their own reality shows, Tori and Dean: Inn Love, and Home Sweet Hollywood.

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Shortly after their union, Aaron Spelling died from a stoke in 2006 aged 82, leaving behind a staggering $500 million.

In the meantime, Spelling's relationship with her mother Candy was under strain. The Spellings had not agreed with their daughter's decision to divorce, and after her husband's death, Candy Spelling placed a lot of blame on her daughter. 

“My daughter one day decided that she wasn’t speaking to my husband, myself and my son, and that’s how it’s continued for the last, oh gosh, four or five years,” Candy told 94.7 WMAS-FM’s Kellogg Krew in 2009.

“And it was sad. That’s what killed my husband, actually. He just didn’t want to live after that. He [had] just done everything he could possibly do for his daughter, and she wanted no part of him once he couldn’t do anything for her.”

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's entertainment podcast. Article continues below.


As a result, of the family fallout, Tori Spelling missed out on a decent slice of her father’s pie. She received just $800,000USD from his $500 million estate.

Spelling and McDermott went on to have five children: Liam, now 16, Stella, 15, Hattie, 14, Finn, 10 and Beau, six. 

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Via their reality series, audiences were privy to the couple going through hard times. McDermott had an affair, and the couple struggled financially. 

“I am not great with money, and I know a lot of people read a lot of stuff about my financial things going on,” Spelling confessed on her Kin web series.

“I had a business manager since I was 18 years old, so I never handled any of my money. Everything, everything, went to them, so unfortunately, I never quite learned about money. Now raising kids of my own, I'm like, that is so important.”

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Fast forward to 2022, and Spelling was able to make amends with her mother.

“I feel like life is too short and we forget that,” she told Entertainment Tonight, after sharing a snap of the heartwarming reunion on Instagram.

Spelling captioned that post, “One thing I’ve learned recently… life is short. So, hold those near and dear to you as close as you can. I love you with all my heart Mommy.”

The reunion came at the perfect time, because soon after, Spelling announced she was ending her 18-year marriage.

In a since deleted post, McDermott wrote, "It's with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways, and start a new journey of our own," he wrote, alongside a photo of the exes and their kids.

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"We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through this difficult time," he continued. "We ask that you all respect our privacy as we take this time to surround our family with love and work our way through this. Thank you all for your support and kindness."

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So, what's next for Spelling? The star hasn't addressed the split herself, but she has been busy promoting her new home collection with QVC, which she created alongside her 90210 BFF, Jennie, all while living out of a hotel while the home she and her kids shared with Dean gets treated for a severe mould infestation.

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