Tori Spelling appears to be making small steps toward mending her relationship with estranged husband Dean McDermott.

“As long as Dean remains committed [to sobriety], Tori will continue to allow more access to the family,” a source revealed to Us Weekly on Thursday, February 8.

The insider added that Tori, 50, was “treading lightly” and “things were getting healthier” regarding her relationship with Dean, 57.

In November 2023, Dean revealed to The Daily Mail that he hadn’t seen his children in five months due to his addiction problems. He told the outlet that after he and Tori decided to separate, the couple dropped their five kids off at a friends’ house and he checked into rehab. Since then, he and Tori have begun texting but he hasn’t seen his children.

Dean also admitted that alcohol was partially what led to the end of his and Tori’s marriage.

“Alcohol made me feel good enough. I started feeling good enough until it got to a point where it didn’t — it ended up in isolation,” Dean revealed to The Daily Mail, explaining that his heavy drinking caused problems in their marriage. “It ended up with me drinking a fifth of tequila every night, seven days a week and a handful of [prescription medications] by myself with a beautiful family in the other room.”

Stella McDermott, Tori Spelling, Liam McDermott, Dean McDermott posing for a group photo in 2023
Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

Dean continued, “That’s what it led to and that’s what led to the brokenness and to what happened between me and Tori. I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t live that life anymore. I was tired of the anger and the yelling.”

Dean also said that Tori was the one who pushed him to seek treatment for his addiction. After he finished his 40-day stint in rehab, Tori also helped him get into a sober living facility in Los Angeles.

The couple has had a fraught relationship since Dean announced their separation in June 2023.

“It’s with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways and start a new journey of our own,” Dean wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through this difficult time. We ask that you all respect our privacy as we take this time to surround our family with love and work our way through this. Thank you all for your support and kindness.”

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