Shannen Doherty’s ex-husband Ashley Hamilton mourns her death: 'My guardian angel'

Shannen Doherty’s ex-husband Ashley Hamilton is mourning the death of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star.

“Shannen was not only my wife, she was my guardian angel,” Hamilton said in a statement to TODAY.com.

“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. My love and admiration for her lasted far longer than our short-lived marriage.”

Doherty died July 13 at the age of 53 after a struggle with breast cancer, prompting an outpouring of tributes for her. Hamilton, who is the son of George Hamilton and Alana Stewart, said her death also held a personal meaning to him.

“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 said.

“The world lost a free-spirited soul and my heart aches for her and for all those who loved her,” he added. “May she rest in peace.”

Hamilton was Doherty’s first husband. They were married in 1993, but she filed for divorce less than a year later in 1994. She would later marry Rick Salomon in 2002, but they annulled the marriage nine months later. Her third and final marriage was to Kurt Iswarienko in 2011, from whom she filed for divorce in 2023. She agreed to settle their divorce one day before she died.

Earlier this year, Doherty opened up about her troubled and turbulent marriage to Hamilton and the effect it had on her and her co-stars while she was still on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” ultimately playing in a role in her getting fired from the hit series.

“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,” she told “90210” co-star Jason Priestley on her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast in January.

“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.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com