Ian Ziering mourns Shannen Doherty on the first anniversary of her death

Ian Ziering has spoken out for the first time about the death of his longtime friend and Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty, who passed away from cancer in July 2024.

In a deeply personal Instagram post shared on the first anniversary of her death, Ziering admitted that her loss shook him in ways he didn’t expect — and explained why he waited so long to say anything publicly.

“When she died a year ago, I didn’t post anything,” the 61-year-old actor wrote on an Instagram post. “And yes, some people criticized that. To them I say: grief isn’t a performance. It’s personal. Let people grieve how they grieve.”

Ian Ziering said he was blindsided by Doherty’s passing despite knowing about her illness:

“That’s why her passing hit me like a freight train. I was shocked. I truly believed she was going to pull off one more miracle,” he noted.

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A decade of defiance: “Cancer picked the wrong woman”

Ian Ziering looked back on Doherty’s long battle with breast cancer, which began in 2015. Even though her diagnosis was serious, her attitude was anything but defeated:

“Most of the updates sounded less like ‘Shannen’s fighting cancer’ and more like ‘cancer picked the wrong woman,’” he wrote. “That was her way—strong, defiant, take-no-prisoners tough.”

He remembered how, even in her final years, Doherty never lost the spark that defined her both on screen and off:

“Every time I saw her during those years, she was still Shan—fierce, funny, full of life,” Ziering recalled. “She had that same fire no matter what.”

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From wild beginnings to a lasting bond

Ian Ziering didn’t shy away from addressing the complicated early years of their friendship on 90210, which aired from 1990 to 2000:

“We clashed now and then in the early years—two strong personalities will do that—but we always had respect,” he wrote. “I was the wisecracking comic relief; she was the beautiful chaos… the girl who could trash a hotel room and make the tabloids love her for it. (Stop laughing, Shan. You know it’s true.)”

As time passed, he said, their relationship evolved into something much deeper:

“We mellowed. Grew up. Understood what we’d been part of and what we each brought to the table,” he shared.

One of his favorite memories? When Doherty and Jennie Garth surprised him during a trip to Las Vegas:

“God, we laughed so hard. It was one of those nights that stays with you.”

Ian Ziering concluded his tribute with a final note to his late friend:

“So, my dear Shannen—I think of you often. Your grit. Your fire. Your kind heart that so few really got to see. I still carry all of it with me. Rest easy, Shan. ❤️”