Shannen Doherty’s ex-husband Ashley Hamilton breaks silence on her death from breast cancer at age 53, calls star ‘my guardian angel’

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Shannen Doherty’s ex-husband Ashley Hamilton has broken his silence over her death from breast cancer at the age of 53.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star died Saturday, July 13 after a nine-year battle with the disease.

Hamilton, who was married to the star from 1993 to 1994, told TMZ: “Shannen was not only my wife, she was my guardian angel.”

“Even though things don’t always go as we hope, she has been by my side during some of my darkest times.

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

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“Watching her fight this horrible disease with such stoicism has been an inspiration to many, but even more so to me, as a cancer survivor,” he added.

Ashley told the outlet that he regrets not reaching out to Shannen while she was battling cancer.

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

It should be noted that while Hamilton’s struggles with alcohol, drugs, anorexia and bulimia have been well documented, there is virtually no mention of cancer in his public history.

Before her death, the Heather star opened up about her “horrible” marriage to Hamilton in an interview with her 90210 castmate Jason Priestley on his podcast Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.

“I was in a really horrible marriage, and there were things going on in that marriage that made it really hard for me to be on time for work,” she revealed, while acknowledging that her tardiness had a knock-on effect on the cast and crew, who ended up working even longer days than expected.

“And I know this has become a very big deal to the rest of you, as it should be.”

At the time, Hamilton, 49, was a drug addict and Shannen said there were times she was afraid to leave her house for fear he would go buy drugs.

“It wasn’t anyone’s responsibility but mine, but I wish someone had sat me down and looked at me and said, ‘Look, the end result is this, you’re going to be fired and none of us are prepared to take that any longer,'” she said.

Shannen also dealt with another ex before she died: Kurt Iswarienko. She agreed to finalize her divorce with him just one day before his tragic death.

According to multiple reports, the Charmed star signed a spousal support waiver on July 12. Doherty died the following day after a battle with breast cancer.

In addition, Doherty agreed to a “dissolution by default or without contest” of the marriage.

The ruling indicates that Doherty and his ex finalized their divorce without court intervention.