Shannen Doherty agreed to settle her divorce with ex-husband Kurt Iswarienko in the days leading up to her death. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the actress signed a filing to waive spousal support on July 12, just one day before she passed away. She also agreed to a “default or uncontested dissolution” of their marriage, indicating they had mutually finalized their divorce proceedings outside of court.
“The parties have entered into a written agreement regarding their property and their marriage or domestic partnership rights, including support, the original of which is being or has been submitted to the court,” the documents state. Iswarienko signed the document the following day, July 13, the same day Doherty died at age 53.
The actress’s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed the news to PEOPLE on July 14.
“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,” Sloane said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.
“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,” Sloane added.
Last year, Doherty opened up to PEOPLE about her cancer journey. Initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, she went into remission from 2017 until 2019, when the cancer returned as metastatic stage 4 cancer.
“When you ask yourself, ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I stage 4?’, that leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life,” she explained to PEOPLE in November.
“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she said. “I’m just not — I’m not done.”
Despite her diagnosis, Doherty remained determined to keep going. In the months leading up to her death, the Charmed alum candidly discussed her life—past, present, and future—on her podcast, Let’s Be Clear, both in solo episodes and with guests.
“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work,” she told PEOPLE. “They put you out to pasture at a very early age—‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not. We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
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Doherty and Iswarienko tied the knot in October 2011. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star filed for divorce in April 2023 after 11 years of marriage, with her rep telling PEOPLE at the time, “Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted.” She “felt she was left with no other option,” her rep added.
Prior to Doherty’s death, the two had been involved in a contentious divorce battle, with Doherty alleging in documents earlier this month that Iswarienko was “permitted to prolong our divorce in hopes that I die before he is required to pay me [spousal support].”
Iswarienko’s lawyer disputed this claim, stating that he had offered a settlement deal in October 2023, proving he wanted to find a resolution, but Doherty denied it.
“Kurt is not ‘simply wait[ing] for Shannen to die,’” attorney Katherine Heersema stated at the time. “He wants the best for Shannen and he wants both of them to be able to put this case behind them and move forward.”