Reality TV star talks motherhood, growing up in the public eye and the new ‘90210′

Tori Spelling hasn’t strayed too far from the public eye. The daughter of famous producer Aaron Spelling achieved fame with her portrayal of Donna Martin on the iconic “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Spelling now stars in her own reality TV series, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” which chronicles her second marriage to Canadian-born actor Dean McDermott and the birth of her second child, daughter Stella. As of this writing, Spelling is set to appear in “90210,” a spin-off of the original series set to launch on The CW. MSN TV discussed with Tori the success of her reality show, life in the Hollywood spotlight and the future of Donna Martin’s character.

MSN TV: Congratulations on your new baby Stella. How’s the family adjusting to having a new female in the household?
Tori Spelling: We’re evened out now; it’s good. Liam’s adjusting to Stella, giving her little kisses now. You know, he wasn’t so sure about it all at first, but it’s all good now.

How are you finding the challenge of raising two kids?
It’s a little more work. The thing is, Liam is walking now, so it would have been a little more difficult to hold two babies all the time. But Stella’s relatively easy, though she’s not as easy as Liam was. Liam never cried. There was never a peep out of him. And when Stella wants her food, she wants it. But, you know what? Having two babies is not as much work as I thought it would be.

On TV, Liam seems like a little angel, just the perfect little baby.
He is.

Have your two kids taken on the personalities of their parents?
It’s hard to tell with Stella. She’s a little loud and very girly. When she wants something, she wants something. I think Liam is a lot like me. He kind of has my characteristics: He loves to make people laugh, and I think that’s something I’ve always liked to do. He’s pretty hilarious. I can’t say that he takes after me, because he’s funnier than I am.

Congratulations, too, on a successful season of “Tori & Dean.” Last week’s episode, which featured the birth of baby Stella, was the highest rated show ever for Oxygen. Why has the show caught on with so many viewers?
I can’t believe it. It’s actually rewarding, amazing and completely surprising. It’s our third season, you know, and the show did well in the past. But it wasn’t like a huge hit. And usually you figure by the third season if it the show hasn’t hit, you’ll go merrily along. And if some people like the show, then that’s as good as it gets. But this season, all of a sudden, the show totally takes off. It’s been a totally different response. We’ve always had some very loyal, great fans; literally every day now, I’m getting stopped by people who have seen the show, and that’s amazing. A lot of the time in the past, I would tell people, “My show’s on Oxygen.” And they would be like, “Oh, I don’t get Oxygen!” or “I’m relatively new to Oxygen.” And now, it’s like “Oxygen, Oxygen!” from them. It’s great.

Is there anything about this season that’s different from the past two seasons?
We’re back in L.A., and it’s now an hour-long format, which is a lot better. We’re still filming the same stuff; they still film our lives. But I think what people are really responding to is the length of the show. When the show was “Inn Love,” the format was a half-hour show. So, in order to fit that time constraint, we had to cut it up quite a bit. And this time, viewers get to really see the scenes play out in the way that reality happened. I think it’s brought viewers a lot deeper in to our relationship. It’s been great. I get to be myself, I get to be funny and I get to be with my family all day.

Clearly, though, one of the reasons why the show’s been a success is that viewers identify with you. Viewers first got to know you when you were younger and have followed you as you’ve grown up and faced the challenges of marriage, motherhood and a second marriage. How difficult is it to have a healthy relationship with your spouse, when so much of it is on TV? Doesn’t having that camera around all the time put some unneeded stress on your marriage?
Not at all. But, first of all, I’m really glad that you said that viewers relate to Tori Spelling. I’m like, “Wow! I never thought that that would happen.” People used to have such a weird perception of who I was. So it’s so nice to show them that, just because you live in Hollywood and just because you’re a celebrity, it doesn’t mean you just can’t be a normal girl, a normal mom and a normal wife. The show hasn’t put any stress on our relationship. It’s actually helped our relationship. I always tell people that working with your spouse is very individual. Some people can’t work together. Dean and I love spending every moment together, so it doesn’t bother us to be together 24 hours a day. For some people, that would drive them crazy, if a husband wasn’t able to go to his job and be away from his wife for a few hours. But for us, the show works. Also, we like watching the show as viewers . We’re like, “Oh! That was really cute. Look how cute Liam looks.” And I say to Dean, “You know, you’re a good husband. I like you on TV.”

What’s great about the show, I think, is that both you and Dean seem to be really honest about your relationship in front of the camera. That is, you both aren’t afraid to let America see when you argue or disagree about something, no matter how big or small. At the same time, what’s remarkable is that the two of you have an incredible ability to walk away from every difficult conversation with a smile and a laugh. There’s always an element of humor in every interaction you have together. What have you learned about dealing with the rough patches in a marriage? What’s the most important thing young couples need to work on?
Communication. Literally, before I met Dean, I spent close to 32 years not knowing how to communicate. And that was hard on my life, hard on relationships and friendships. When I met Dean, I knew that was something that I had an issue with — communication. And I thought, “I’m not going to make that mistake. I’ve finally found my true love. I’m going to talk about everything.” I said to Dean when we first met, “We’re going to make a pact to talk about everything. Even if it’s bad, I just want to talk about it.” So, we never go to bed mad; we always talk about stuff. And we’ve kept that pact from the day we met. I really think that’s the strength of our relationship. Now Dean tells me, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you used to not communicate.” Now, I’m like overly communicative. If something bothers me, I’m like, “La La La La!” But it all helps.

As someone who’s grown up in the public eye — largely because of your name — and as someone who continues to put herself out there, do you find it difficult to find moments of true privacy? Are there things you don’t want to share with your fans?
Not really. Obviously, the cameras aren’t around us 24 hours a day. It’s not like they are filming us in our bathroom or anything. So it’s not like one of those television shows where there’s a camera in every room. People probably think that with a series like this there are probably cameras everywhere. We have a very small crew; it’s only three guys who have literally become family now. They’re like Liam’s uncles at this point. When I made this decision to do a reality show, I wanted to do a family reality show. You know, there are “trainwreck” reality shows out there and competition reality shows. I wanted to show what it was really like to be a family and a couple. Dean and I made the decision to show everything, warts and all, bad and good. I remember the first time I saw myself on a reality show, “Oh my god, I look horrible.” I was freaking out a little bit, because, you know, as an actor, you’re used to having hours of makeup and having beautiful lighting. That’s why everyone looks like a goddess on TV and in the movies. But this is reality TV. There’s no makeup crew. If I want makeup, I put some of my own makeup on in the morning. And there’s no lighting. So I had to get used to that. And then I thought, “What am I doing? This is reality TV. This is the real me. They either like it or they don’t.” I quickly got used to it. And I had to really get used to it! I had two pregnancies on TV. Oy! There are times when you really don’t feel good. But as far as private moments, outside of being in our house, we don’t get a private moment anyway. I had Stella in a BabyBjorn this morning, and I tried to take her walking. And then, all of a sudden, the paparazzi starts coming down the block. You’re like,” Ugh! I just want it to be normal so I can go out walking with my baby!” So it’s hard.

One of the most poignant moments from this season was when you and Dean traveled to the Bay Area and met up with your Uncle Dan, brother of your father Aaron Spelling. That visit really allowed you to reflect on your family life. How difficult has it been to deal with your family issues on the show and in the public?
Like everything else in my life, there’s so much written about my family anyway. And usually it’s not the real stuff; it’s not true. So for me to talk about my family on the show, honestly, it feels good. I’m just being honest. Here’s the deal: Everyone has family issues. Everyone has great relationships in your family. And everyone has not-so-great relationships. That’s just life. And my relationships are made public, and sometimes not in a great way. So I like when I can talk about it on the show. And besides, it was great to bond with Uncle Danny. It’s funny because I get e-mails from him all the time where he says, “I’m a local celebrity now!” It’s so cute. He’s amazing. I was glad we had that time to go down there and glad that the show got to see it.

Speaking of your dad, I read somewhere this past week that the producers of the upcoming “90210″ said your father would have been really proud of the way the new show is turning out. They think it’s a real tribute to what your father envisioned. How excited are you to return to TV on a new “90210″?
I’m really excited in general that they’re making a new “90210,” because my dad always wanted to make a “90210: The Next Generation.” He was really set on making one, and it just never happened. I think he’d be really excited now. I hope it’s a success. I hope it’s a success for his legacy and also for the fans. “90210″ has the most loyal fans in the world. Right now, I was supposed to be in the pilot, and then Stella was born, so that didn’t work out. I’m kind of just in mommyhood right now. But hopefully later on in the season, something will work out.

Can you tell us what viewers can expect from your character, Donna Martin, this time around?
I have no idea! The producers and I, when we initially had our conversations for the pilot, we talked fashion. That was all I knew. Donna had remained in fashion, and the producers were talking about maybe Donna having a boutique or something. We haven’t explored it further though.

I think much of your following now has a lot to do with the type of following you cultivated with your portrayal of Donna Martin. If people identify with you now, it’s probably because people first learned to identify with Donna. Are you looking to push Donna’s character in any particular direction for this new show?
Gosh, I don’t know. It’s so funny when you play a character for so long. The character really becomes an extension of you. We played those characters for 10 years! After a while, the character becomes such a part of you. So, people get to see the real actors coming through. And then you leave the show behind and you think that that chapter is closed. Then all of a sudden, it’s back. Everyone asks me, “What do you think about Donna now? Is she married? Does she have kids?” I’m like, “I don’t even know!” I can’t even think about it. It’s just surreal to me. Obviously, however, the juicy part of me would be like, “Oooh, maybe Donna got a divorce” or something scandalous that would happen in Donna’s life. Who knows? But the mom side of me is like, “Aww, I hope she’s really happily married and has, like, three kids.”

Will we be seeing Dean on the new show?
Gosh, I would love it. He keeps saying, “Well, I think Donna should be divorced. She should be on her second marriage and marries a hot Canadian.” And I’m like, “Well, wouldn’t that be convenient?”

You’ve recently announced you’ll be putting out a new book, a follow-up to “sTori Telling.” What can fans expect to read?
Well, it’s called “Mommywood.” It’s kind of an extension of the first book. I’m really glad that readers enjoyed reading my stories. I really believe that storytelling is something that I got from my dad; he was a great storyteller. I’m really proud of the fact that I tell good stories about my life. The first book is really my stories as me growing up and the woman I’ve become. The second book will be about my kids growing up and me now as a mom. It’s about my life now bringing my kids up.

These days it’s not easy to raise a child in the Hollywood spotlight. It couldn’t have been easy for you as a high-profile teenager to grow up in the glare of the public eye. What advice would you give to today’s teenage celebrities facing that same pressure and scrutiny?
There’s certainly a different vibe out there than what I had to face when I was 16 or 17 years old. The paparazzi and press situation then definitely wasn’t the same. We definitely hit it in a big way back then, but it was a totally different temperature out there. Now, you can’t step out of your house without the paparazzi being there. I feel bad that teen stars today are even more scrutinized. So they have that going against them to begin with. And then to hit instant fame? It’s just hard as a teenager. You still want to be a teen, still want to make your mistakes, go out and explore and discover yourself. You want to do your thing and not do it under a microscope. For me, I never got involved in the whole club and drug scene. I kept it together. People ask why that was the case. And I say it’s because I had a passion; I wanted to become an actor. That outweighed it. I had a drive. If you have a drive for something, and when you’re given a huge opportunity for something, why would you screw that up? If you have that as a core — to know what you want, you can’t go wrong.

Have you thought about whether acting careers are in the futures for Liam and Stella? Has that crossed your mind?
It wouldn’t have at first, but Liam is a ham. He loves the camera. And now I’m thinking, “Oh my gosh!” I could totally see him going into acting. He literally waits for people to watch him. He tries to crack you up. When the cameras are around, he’s just staring at them. It’s funny because I am always trying to get away from the paparazzi, and Liam is always encouraging them. He’s always waving to them and smilling! But, I don’t think it’s a bad thing if your child wants to go into acting. It just needs to be completely their decision at some point. Right now, is it harmful for him that he’s on a reality show? No, because it’s a controlled environment that Dean and I are comfortable with. We control it. We don’t let other external forces control what he’s doing, and that makes me feel safe. But as far as his being out there and really acting? I would wait until he was old enough to understand what it was and to see if he really had a passion for it.

So, when we first saw you on “Saved by the Bell,” that was all you?
That was all me. I started acting when I was 5. And you know, my dad would give me a part here and there. And then when I was 10, he asked if I was really serious about it. And I said, “Yeah.” I got an acting coach, got an agent and went on auditions. I was at that age where I could say, “This is what I want.” I went after it.

Anything your fans should look for on Tuesday’s season finale of “Home Sweet Hollywood”?
Well, we bring Stella home from the hospital. And we have a big housewarming party. It’s really cool; people have gone on this whole ride with us this season. We get to see what happens with the house, exactly how it turns out. You get to see every room.

Anything you’d like to tell your fans?
I love my fans. My whole career I had fans, but I was always separate from them. Now, my fans are my friends now. The best thing a fan ever said to me was, “You could be my neighbor.” I was like, “Thank you.” I don’t feel like I’m in some bubble somewhere as an actor, where I feel separated. I feel like I’m just an “every girl” now, and I’m friends with all these people. I love that feeling. People come up to me, and because they see the show, they say things like, “Hey, tell Dean not to go scuba-diving with that girl anymore!” And I’m like, “Right? Thank you!” It’s so great to help make fans a part of my world.

Find out more about “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” at oxygen.com

From MSN.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.