Last week Star Magazine ran a story about Shannen Doherty’s history of dating taken men and breaking up their marriage. Doherty’s latest boyfriend, a photographer she met during a photoshoot last summer, was married when he hooked up with her. The guy’s mother-in-law told Star “Shannen broke up a marriage and that’s all I’m going to say!”
Shannen also broke up “Nip/Tuck” hottie and her “Charmed” co-star Julian McMahon’s marriage to Brooke Burns with a much-talked about affair in 2001. McMahon and Burns had a one year-old daughter at the time.
Now there are allegations that Doherty helped hasten the end of her former “Little House on The Prairie” co-star Melissa Gilbert’s first marriage to Bo Brinkman. Gilbert has a new memoir coming out called
Prairie Tale, and Star Magazine has advance details that Gilbert dishes on Brinkman’s one night stand with Shannen. The sad part that Star fails to mention is that Shannen was a teenager when she slept with Brinkman and may not have even been of legal age. It’s hard to tell with the vague timeline they’re giving, but she wasn’t 20 yet. Gilbert claims that Doherty seduced her husband because she looked up to her and wanted to be like her:
Shannen was just 11 when she was cast as Melissa’s niece Jenny for Little House’s final season. She immediately glommed onto Melissa, the show’s biggest star, according to the insider.
“Melissa tells of how Shannen was in awe of her. She’d follow her all around the set and even gushed how she wanted to be like her when she grew up.”
Five years after the show ended, Melissa married Bo – Dennis Quaid’s cousin – following a whirlwind eight-week romance…
But the marriage was soon in trouble and it was during a counseling session that Bo admitted he’d slept with Shannen, says the publishing insider.
“Melissa implies in the book that it was Shannen who sought Bo out, purely because she wanted to be like Melissa,” the insider says.
Just as the marriage was falling apart, Melissa bumped into Shannen – who was then only 20 – at an awards ceremony and told her she knew of the secret night of passion with her husband.
“Melissa writes that Shannen just looked her straight in the eye, smirked and made a snide comment.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition, June 1, 2009]
Melissa was married to Bo Brinkman from 1988 to 1992. Shannen was 17 in 1988, so she wasn’t of legal age until the next year. Even if she sought out Gilbert’s husband he has no excuse for taking the bait, especially from a barely-legal teenage girl! This sadly became a pattern for Doherty, though, and now she’s taken up with yet another married man.
Gilbert has sort-of admitted that she makes this claim in her book. She just found out yesterday that the news was out about the big bombshell in her book. Here’s the timeline from her official twitter account.
From user HBTracey: @melissaEgilbert Star spoils your book. Did SD really sleep with Bo? How old was she?
From melissaEgilbert: @HBTracey Star spoils your book- Star magazine?!?
From melissaEgilbert: @HBTracey Star Mag. Chelsea Handler revealed on last night’s show.- Crap
[From Melissa Gilbert’s twitter]
No word from Melissa on how old Doherty was when she slept with her first husband. I guess we’ll have to wait for the book for that.
Melissa Gilbert is shown on 3/25/09. Shannen Doherty is shown on 1/10/09 and 3/8/09. Credit: WENN.com
Melissa Gilbert has always whined about all of her relationships: Rob Lowe cheating on her,(TV Guide article for Gosh Sakes!) Bo Brinkman and the man she is married to now, Bruce something or other, broke up with her briefly while they were engaged and then they got back together and got married. She must not have very good taste in men. Women like Shannen Doherty are a dime a dozen always waiting to make a conquest. Melissa Gilbert needs to hold that ex of hers totally accountable if Shannen was underage.
Age of consent varies from 16-18 depending on the state, but I know in my state it’s never enforced, even if a pregancy happens. http://www.livestrong.com/article/12483-age-consensual-sex/
Anyway, SD is yet another pathetic woman with psych issues who thinks that screwing another woman’s husband will validate her worth as a woman. And yeah, Bo is responsible too, but we all know women get judged more harshly than men, even for something as simple as having gray hair or a wrinkle. At my age, I just accept what I can’t change…
All this underage stuff gets a little crazy when you’re talking about someone who is 17-ish & older. Sorry, but it really does. My best friend & her husband started dating when she was 14 & he was 20. They’ve been married 24 years and have 2 sons, ages 19 and 16. My own parents had a 6 year age difference as well and were married 55 years until, actually, death did part them. It’s really strange to think that today either of those two couples would be breaking the law. It’s not just strange, it’s ridiculous.
whine whine whine. anything to stay relevant. this is really a stretch.
Meh, you can’t “break” a marriage, the man has to be willing. Hugh Jackman could crawl through my window tonight (yeah, right!) and I wouldn’t cheat on my husband. It’s called not being a dirtbag!
Of course, that’s still a bummer for Gilbert and I can’t believe Doherty was such a bitch when confronted about it. As if we needed any more reason to avoid Brenda Walsh…
“My best friend & her husband started dating when she was 14 & he was 20.”
Why would a 20 year old man want a 14 year old child? That’s sick. No, that’s beyond sick; that’s downright disgusting. If I tried to date a 20 year old when I was 14, my dad would have killed him (and rightly so).
There’s nothing wrong with a 6 year age different between adults. I’m 44 and my husband is 51. But we were both in our 20’s when we got together.
barnesir: No matter what you think, the fact remains that theirs is one successful union of two people who love each other and have weathered many a storm together. I don’t believe either of their two sons would agree with your hasty little condemnation of people you know nothing about.
Like we didn’t know about Shannon Doherty? It does take two to tangle – and these guys knew what kind of person she was before they decided to do the nasty – so play on playa.
Oh, and i wouldn’t put it pass her – but rumors had it she was dating Julian McMahon to mess with her co-star Alysa Maliano – since Julian McMahon was her TV BF at the time.
barnsir: only one of my parents was what you’d consider a legal adult when they were married. People do not mature emotionally as early as they used to, and that is a fact as far as I’m concerned.
what happened to Gilbert’s face?
that’s some bad plastic surgery.
It is called ageing
yes it takes 2, but predator homewreckers are so selfish and really disgusting.
i don’t care if this book (Prairie Tale) is just a way for Melissa Gilbert to stay relevant or whatever — i think it’s good to say it plain: Shannon Doherty is a serial pursuer of taken/married men.
have some sense, people. Adultery is not OK. in fact, it’s considered sinful in most religions. doesn’t anyone stand up for anything moral or good anymore in this country?
Shannon clearly has issues. She’s in and out of so many men and failed relationships and continues a path of destruction for everyone and she’s also a terrible actress.
I’m glad Melissa is calling her out as little hussy that she is.
I am baffled as to how Doherty pulls any of these guys – she really is not too great looking, thanks to her inability to apply makeup, and her body is nothing to brag about either.
Gilbert’s face looks suspiciously like it has had a few too many little procedures – her mouth looks wierd.
p.s. it’s “it takes two to TANGO”, not “tangle”. Sorry, I have a problem with the butchering of innocent cliches. lol
Thanks for the “tango” correction. It bothered me too!!!
I think some (really stupid) men have a tendency to gravitate to really nasty bitchy women (Doherty is a perfect example of a perpetually nasty bitchy woman). Go figure
I love Melissa Gilbert. I always have. Is it just me or is she starting to take on a faint Melissa Rivers look?
“I don’t believe either of their two sons would agree with your hasty little condemnation of people you know nothing about.”
But I do, based on what you posted. If what you said is true, then he was an adult man and she was a barely pubescent child. That is just sick. It just is. That is why it is illegal. Just because he later went on to marry her doesn’t make it right that he got involved with her when she was still a child.
barneslr my grandparents were 13 and 26 when they were married and were also married 55 years! Times were different then, don’t be such a hater!
Not being a hater, but I just cannot support adults dating children. It’s just wrong. It is. That’s why it’s a crime.
“All this underage stuff gets a little crazy when you’re talking about someone who is 17-ish & older. Sorry, but it really does”.
“My best friend & her husband started dating when she was 14 & he was 20. They’ve been married 24 years and have 2 sons, ages 19 and 16.
SORRY, lol. It seems extremely illogical to be able to say what you said in the beginning, to go on to mention your 14 yr old friend and their children as if to say “See, it’s not that bad”, “They’re married now and they have two children, lol”.
According to your statement concerning someone 17 and older you thought it was a little bit crazy to suggest that it was wrong, but you have no problem with a 14yr old marrying a 20 yr old ?.
I think it’s time you either told your friend what you really think of her relationship or just admit that you don’t have a problem at all with adults, dating or marrying children. If not to the rest of the people on this site at least to yourself, if you haven’t already.
“barneslr my grandparents were 13 and 26 when they were married and were also married 55 years”
Let;s not lose site of the fact that IT’S ILLEGAL, lol.
Your talking about your grandparents for god sake.
Why does it sound to me as if those of you defending this would have no problem doing the same.
As “you” said “Times were different then”. Don’t get caught up in romanticizing something that is “now known” to be psychologically (stunted or retarded psychological growth)and sometimes physically damaging (often times physical abuse is involved and in some cases actual damage to the female genitalia by her “partner”. yes it happens ) to the younger person involved, whether male or female.
Shannen’s still hot. The prairie dog’s still not.
My parents started dating when she was 15 and he was 22. They were madly in love for over 50 years until he died.
My grandpa was 30 when he married my 17 year old grandmother after courting her for a year. Times WERE different then, AND they were happily married until his death, but I still find the fact that a 29 year old man was dating a 16 year old creepy and wrong…no matter the outcome.
I’m not sure I understand why Melissa would even bring this up, in a book or anywhere else. After all, the whole world was already in agreement that Shannen Doherty is a psychotic skank. And as Ggirl pointed out, psychotic skanks are a dime a dozen.
It seems the problem here is with the (supposedly) mature men who for whatever reason cannot say no to a teenaged tart. Maybe Melissa should thank Shannen for helping her discover this fatal flaw in her man sooner rather than later . . .
why is melissa writing this book anyway, who cares about her.this is her way of making a quick buck by telling everyone the poor me story. she would get a job like the rest of us.shannen has loyal fans all over the world unlike her.
eeeek though, Shannen was NEVER “hot”, just a hot dysfunctional mess. She always looked to me like a person who refused to hire a stylist, thinking she had the knack herself. Which she doesn’t. And her arms are unattractive.
Huh? We’re talking 8 years ago? C’mon ladies think of something else to get and keep your pusses in print. At least they didn’t go as far as Brooke Shields. What’s with all the mid-life revelations?
Is Shannen the one with one eye lower than the other…maybe a roving eye…
i hope shannen sues the star magazine for really this time!
I’ve been a big LHOTP fan since 1974 (I’m 39). Melissa was very cute on the show- especially from ages 16-18 when she was married to Almanzo. Then the last year, she got a very bad nose job. Then she started plucking her eyebrows, dyed her hair a thousand different shades of hideous ORANGE. She got a Double D boobjob that is HUGE on her small fram (5’2″). She’s had several facelifts the past 5 years due to heavy smoking and alcohol abuse that she’s admitted to in her new book.
Shannen looked very pretty the 3rd season of 90210 (think when Donna and Brenda went to Paris). Then when Senior Year of HS came, she got the chunti eyebrows, scary black leather, and Brenda’s and Shannen’s attitude completely changed. She looked wild and scary during 90210 College Freshman year. She’s had a HUGE boob job (like Melissa Gilbert), a lot of plastic surgery and injections (like Melissa Gilbert). Check out the porno she made called Blindfold!
Gilbert is now changing the account. Supposedly the so called “affair” did not happen until after Gilbert and Brinkman broke up. Hmmm, I think the whole story is a lie. Gilbert’s career is all but over and this book was a last gasp at any relevancy. She picked Doherty because they were on the show together and because she was an easy target. It’s sad, an pathetic, Gilbert would stoop to lying about someone in a manner that is so hurtful just to save her own career.
I must admit – if I was married to Melissa Gilbert I’d cheat with Shannen Doherty. Shannen wouldn’t have much trouble seducing me.
I think Shannen should punish Melissa for writing things about her in the book by stealing every man Melissa loves from now on.
wow. whos to say that a 14 and 20 year old wouldnt date? one of my good friends was 13 when she started dating her 16 year old boyfriend, and now shes 18 and there still together. its been known to happen. im with Shannen, ive always been a fan of hers.
It takes two to tango. Women do not break up marriages. Unless, she held a gun to the man’s head and forced him to have an affair with her, he is just as guilty. If not more so, because he is hurting his wife. He broke up his own marriage.
I liked Melissa in LHOTP. But, afterward she changed. With her nose job, breast implants, red hair and tight clothing she just came across as chicken dressed up as pheasant. She is not a classically beautiful woman, but she was trying to make herself glamorous and sexy. She seemed to be trying much too hard to be something she wasn’t and I found it…annoying. So if Shannon was emulating her then it explains Shannon’s behavior ( but not Shannon’s thing for married men). Maybe I’m just being a snarky bitch. Does anyone else feel the same way??
Melissa Gilbert has to be the center of attention! She hasn’t done herself any favours as she looks maxed out with plastic surgery,always bitching about another female celeb( insanely jealous) and I sure don’t believe anything she says. I’ve heard she is bossy, arrogant and has to have her own way or else.Too bad; she was such a good child actor.
Oh give me a break! Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner had been at each other for years even when she was married to Bo Brinkman, so don’t give me that boo-hoo garbage about Shannen Doherty breaking up that marriage because it was on it’s way out before it began!!