Shannen Doherty’s first husband, Ashley Hamilton, paid tribute to the late actress after her death at age 53.
“Shannen was not only my wife, she was my guardian angel,” the 49-year-old actor and comedian said in a statement to The Post on Tuesday.
Doherty married Hamilton, the son of actors George Hamilton and Alana Collins, in October 1993. They got divorced in 1994.
“Even though things don’t always work out the way we hope they will, she stood by my side during some of my darkest times,” Hamilton continued. “My love and admiration for her lasted far longer than our short-lived marriage.”
“Watching her battle that horrific disease with such stoicism was inspiring to many, but even more so to me since I am a cancer survivor,” he went on. “Another painful reminder of how short life truly is. I regret I never reached out during her courageous battle, opting instead to give her grace and space.”
Hamilton added: “The world lost a free-spirited soul and my heart aches for her and for all those who loved her. May she rest in peace.”
Doherty lost her battle with stage 4 breast cancer on Saturday.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, said Doherty “was surrounded by her loved ones” when she passed away.
Doherty’s mom, Rosa Doherty, also paid tribute to the late actress on Monday.
“She is my beautiful girl and my heart,” Rosa said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Our family wants to thank everyone who has shown love and support for our Shannen throughout her life. We are truly appreciative.”
Doherty was married three times.
Following her divorce from Hamilton, she married poker player Rick Salomon in 2002. However, their marriage was annulled just nine months later.
Doherty later married photographer Kurt Iswarienko in 2011. She filed for divorce from Iswarienko in April 2023 following allegations that he cheated on her, which he denied. She agreed to finalize their divorce the day before she died.
The “Charmed” alum talked about her marriage to Hamilton in January on her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast. She told her guest, former “90210” co-star Jason Priestley, that the “horrible” relationship led to her being fired from the show after Season 4.
“Towards my last season, I was in a really horrible marriage and there were things transpiring in that marriage that made it very hard for me to consistently be on time for work,” Doherty said on the podcast.
“And I know that that became a very big problem for the rest of you, because as it should be, because if everybody else is on time and you’re waiting for one person, it sucks.”
“It wasn’t anybody’s responsibility but mine,” Doherty added.
She also said she wished she was more “transparent” with the cast and crew that her dad was sick and Hamilton was battling a serious drug problem, which became “all-consuming” for her.
“I didn’t even want to leave the house because I was scared that [Hamilton] would go and get drugs,” the actress explained.
Hamilton opened up about his drug problems to PEOPLE in 2016 and said his dad helped him through it.
“I had some really hard times. But my dad never gave up on me no matter what,” the “Lost in Africa” actor said.
