Kelly Ripa revealed that she had been ‘crushed’ over her last conversation with Shannen Doherty shortly before her death on July 13.
The TV personality, 53 – who was joined by the late actress on her Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast in June – opened up to Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday about the emotional discussion the pair had during the episode.
Ripa explained that over the years, she had tried to set the Beverly Hills, 90210 star up with people that she knew.
‘I always had an idea in my mind as to who might be a good match with Shannen,’ Kelly stated. ‘But the last conversation, she actually said to me, “I’m kind of a tough sell because I don’t have a lot of time left.”‘
‘So that, I think, is what I took away, that I was crushed that she seemed to know that her time was very, very limited.’
Kelly Ripa, 53, revealed that she had been ‘crushed’ over her last conversation with Shannen Doherty shortly before her death on July 13
Ripa – who is known for hosting Live With Kelly And Mark – expressed, ‘I will say, she was telling me about her treatments and it was so brutal and painful.’
‘It sounds very glib but the fact she’s no longer in pain – physical pain – provides everyone that knew and loved her with a little peace.’
Doherty was first diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2015, and two years later, went into remission.
However, in 2019, the cancer had returned and she went public with her metastatic stage four diagnosis the following year. In 2023, Shannen gave the heartbreaking update that the cancer had spread to her brain.
Kelly then opened up about Doherty’s passing at the age of 53 and told ET, ‘It was just painful because we’re the same age.’
‘We grew up together, and I always thought she got the rawest deal of anyone in show business. I still believe that. I stand by that.’
At the time of her death, Shannen’s publicist Leslie Sloane released a statement to People which read: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty.’
‘On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease.’
‘So that, I think, is what I took away, that I was crushed that she seemed to know that her time was very, very limited,’ Kelly expressed; seen in March in Hollywood
Ripa – who is known for hosting Live With Kelly And Mark – expressed, ‘I will say, she was telling me about her treatments and it was so brutal and painful’
‘The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.’
Ripa also paid tribute to Doherty on Live With Kelly And Mark upon hearing the news of the star’s death, per Decider.
‘She had just been on our show. She had just been on the podcast,’ the TV personality reflected alongside her husband, Mark Consuelos.
‘She is just a courageous, courageous woman. A girl’s girl. You know, if you didn’t know her, you felt like you did, and she was just a special person. One of one. And I’m so sad to lose her.’
Kelly later recalled a humorous moment shared between the two of them. ‘She said something very funny to me during the podcast.’
‘She was saying, the worst part is that people come up to her and tell her about their family members that died from what she had.’
‘In an attempt to…because people want to relate. They want to relate to you in some way. The knowing that she was on borrowed time and people constantly reminding her that their mother died of what she had,’ Kelly continued.
Ripa added that she, ‘found this very funny card and I sent it to her because it said, “When life hands you lemons, I promise not to tell you about how my mother died of lemons.”‘
Ripa also paid tribute to Doherty on Live With Kelly And Mark upon hearing the news of the star’s death, per Decider
‘And I was like, “This is the card! This is the moment,”‘ the mother-of-three added.
‘Sometimes when you find these cards and you’re like, “One day I’m going to send this to someone, and it’s going to put a smile on their face.” And it did. It made her laugh so much.’
During the June 25 episode of Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, Doherty had talked about dating when having an ‘expiration date.’
‘I think it’s hard for somebody like me in my personal opinion, because it’s hard to go into dating someone when you know that they might have an expiration date,’ the actress said at the time.
‘I think that and I don’t think men handle death and illness, most men, I don’t want to generalize and say all men, but they don’t handle any of that as well as women do, so I think I’m a very hard sell.’
At the time, she had also given an update on her cancer battle and said, ‘It’s kind of like being a guinea pig on a wheel.’
During the June 25 episode of Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast , Doherty had talked about dating when having an ‘expiration date’; seen in 2019 in Beverly Hills
‘You know, you just keep on spinning the wheel and you hope that your protocol lasts a really long time and you get the most out of it.’
Shannen added, ‘But inevitably, a protocol will stop working and then you have to move on to the next, and then when you move on to the next, there’s a whole other new set of things that you deal with.’
In regards to treatment, the Charmed actress expressed to Ripa that it was, ‘probably one of the harder ones physically.’
Following the news of her death, other tributes poured in as fans and celebrities mourned the loss, such as close pal Sarah Michelle Gellar as well as Doherty’s former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars including Brian Austin Green and Jennie Garth.
