Tori Spelling Reveals Why 'Co-Parenting' Works with Dean McDermott: 'You Need Both Worlds'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: courtesy tori spelling

Tori Spellinghas learned a lot as a mom of five.The@Home with Toristar is in the thick of back-to-school season with her five kids — Beau, 5, Finn and Hattie, both 10, Stella, 14, and Liam, 15 — and is grateful for the open dialogue they share.Speaking with PEOPLE about her experience as a migraine sufferer and her partnership with Nurtec ODT as well as managing stress with a big family, Spelling admits she had to learn how to get in tune with her own feelings.“Growing up. I didn’t know how to communicate my feelings. I wasn’t good at it,” she explains.“I’m a Taurus. I never really talked about me. I felt like I kept it all inside and that weighs on you, the stress and anxiety over keeping things inside. It manifests not just mentally and emotionally, but into physical ailments eventually.“The actress and host of90210MGsays that her experience juggling these tough subjects as a working mom has made her grateful for the partnership between herself and husbandDean McDermott.“Co-parenting, Dean and I definitely have different parenting strategies. I’m kind of the feelings mom and he’s more procedural,” she explains.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic"He’s really great at timing and planning. I’m not good with that. You need both of those to make it work. You really do need that to be a complete human. You need both worlds,” she adds.Vowing to “do it different” with her own kids, Spelling found that she “stepped out of my comfort zone.““My kids, they’ll probably say, ‘Oh, Mom asks too much about our feelings.’ That’s okay,” she shares. “I am constantly checking in and saying, ‘Okay, what’s up? What are your worries? Let’s talk about it.’ “"‘I can’t predict the unknown, but let’s talk about what scenarios could happen and talk about it.’ And then when they come back from school, we do a recap,” she explains.Tori Spelling/InstagramSpelling tells PEOPLE she prefers to bring her kids together to do the things they love and talk to them during that time.“We love to bake and cook in our family and DIY. That’s our happy place. I always say that I’m a DIYer at heart and my kids came out of utero DIYing,” she jokes.“And while we’re doing that and making family dinners I work in slowly, ‘Hey, how is this? How is this?’ And you get so many more answers when they don’t feel like you’re sitting them down and asking them directly.“Courtesy Nights Of The JackWhen it comes to her experience with migraines, Spelling explains she doesn’t want the migraines or her treatment to get in the way of her life as a busy working mom.“I got my first migraine just over 20 years ago, and I got it on the set ofBeverly Hills, 90210. It’s a day I’ll never forget because it really changed my life forever,” Spelling says.“It’s been a long journey. In the past, I couldn’t find medications or treatments that really worked. Then about two years ago, I found Nurtec ODT, and it really it works for me. It’s something I can carry around, it’s dissolvable.“She adds, “I take it and in an hour it takes my migraine away and I can go back to being present as a mom and in my work life.”

Tori Spellinghas learned a lot as a mom of five.

The@Home with Toristar is in the thick of back-to-school season with her five kids — Beau, 5, Finn and Hattie, both 10, Stella, 14, and Liam, 15 — and is grateful for the open dialogue they share.

Speaking with PEOPLE about her experience as a migraine sufferer and her partnership with Nurtec ODT as well as managing stress with a big family, Spelling admits she had to learn how to get in tune with her own feelings.

“Growing up. I didn’t know how to communicate my feelings. I wasn’t good at it,” she explains.

“I’m a Taurus. I never really talked about me. I felt like I kept it all inside and that weighs on you, the stress and anxiety over keeping things inside. It manifests not just mentally and emotionally, but into physical ailments eventually.”

The actress and host of90210MGsays that her experience juggling these tough subjects as a working mom has made her grateful for the partnership between herself and husbandDean McDermott.

“Co-parenting, Dean and I definitely have different parenting strategies. I’m kind of the feelings mom and he’s more procedural,” she explains.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

“He’s really great at timing and planning. I’m not good with that. You need both of those to make it work. You really do need that to be a complete human. You need both worlds,” she adds.

Vowing to “do it different” with her own kids, Spelling found that she “stepped out of my comfort zone.”

“My kids, they’ll probably say, ‘Oh, Mom asks too much about our feelings.’ That’s okay,” she shares. “I am constantly checking in and saying, ‘Okay, what’s up? What are your worries? Let’s talk about it.’ "

“‘I can’t predict the unknown, but let’s talk about what scenarios could happen and talk about it.’ And then when they come back from school, we do a recap,” she explains.

Tori Spelling/Instagram

Spelling tells PEOPLE she prefers to bring her kids together to do the things they love and talk to them during that time.

“We love to bake and cook in our family and DIY. That’s our happy place. I always say that I’m a DIYer at heart and my kids came out of utero DIYing,” she jokes.

“And while we’re doing that and making family dinners I work in slowly, ‘Hey, how is this? How is this?’ And you get so many more answers when they don’t feel like you’re sitting them down and asking them directly.”

Courtesy Nights Of The Jack

When it comes to her experience with migraines, Spelling explains she doesn’t want the migraines or her treatment to get in the way of her life as a busy working mom.

“I got my first migraine just over 20 years ago, and I got it on the set ofBeverly Hills, 90210. It’s a day I’ll never forget because it really changed my life forever,” Spelling says.

“It’s been a long journey. In the past, I couldn’t find medications or treatments that really worked. Then about two years ago, I found Nurtec ODT, and it really it works for me. It’s something I can carry around, it’s dissolvable.”

She adds, “I take it and in an hour it takes my migraine away and I can go back to being present as a mom and in my work life.”

source: people.com