The world first met Liam McDermott through his parents' drama-filled reality shows, but he's come a long way since 2007 {two thousand and seven}. You won't believe what Tori's oldest son looks like now.
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00:00The world first met Liam McDermott through his parents' drama-filled reality shows,
00:05but he's come a long way since 2007. You won't believe what Tori's oldest son looks like now.
00:12Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott share five children that they've raised alongside Jack
00:16McDermott, Dean's son from a previous marriage. Just a year after they tied the knot,
00:21Tori and Dean welcomed their first child together in 2007, Liam Aaron McDermott.
00:27Unfortunately, Liam was born under difficult circumstances that resulted in Tori having to
00:31have emergency surgery. Thankfully, Liam arrived healthy, but the worry surrounding his birth did
00:37end up rallying a lot of support for Tori. Most unexpectedly, this came from her estranged mom,
00:43Candy Spelling, who she famously feuded with after her father's death.
00:46While her relationship with her mom has been rocky, Tori always enjoyed a close relationship
00:51with her dad, Aaron, and chose to honor him by giving Liam the name Liam Aaron.
00:56Speaking about the decision, Tori told Access,
00:59"'I feel like I have been given such a gift having this little baby inside of me
01:03that it's kind of a part of him. So I know that he will be up there wishing us well
01:07and celebrating with us and this little one inside me.'"
01:10As the daughter of a successful television and film producer, most of Tori's childhood
01:14involved being in the spotlight in some way. Similarly, Liam was also thrust into the
01:19spotlight from an early age because of his parents' success. But this wasn't as an actor.
01:24Instead, he appeared as himself in a number of Tori and Dean McDermott's reality projects.
01:29The first of these was the show Tori & Dean In Love, which followed the couple as they
01:34attempted to transform a rental property in Fallbrook, California, into a charming bed
01:39and breakfast. Liam was born while they were filming the first series, and soon the realities
01:44of both running a hospitality business and trying to raise a baby became apparent.
01:49"'And Tori and Dean plunge right in.'"
01:52After two seasons, they shifted the focus of their show away from the B&B
01:56and rebranded it as Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood. This chronicled the next stage
02:01in their life as they grew their family from three to four with the birth of their first
02:05daughter, Stella, in 2008.
02:08After Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood, the spelling McDermott clan briefly left Hollywood,
02:13but they didn't leave the spotlight. In addition to Liam and Stella, the brood now included Hattie
02:19and baby Finn. Family in tow, Tori and Dean headed to Ontario, Canada. For another reality
02:25series, Tori & Dean Cabin Fever followed the family of six as they renovated a cottage
02:30while living in it.
02:31"'I'm Tori."
02:32"'And I'm Dean.'"
02:33"'I'm born.'"
02:34Along with this string of reality show appearances during his early life,
02:38Liam was also spotted out and about at public events with his parents. As a baby,
02:43Liam was front and center at events like Tori's storytelling book signing in 2008.
02:47Liam looked adorable wearing jeans and a button-down shirt as Dean held him up for
02:52spectators at the event to see. This ended up being the first of many public outings for Liam.
02:57Tori & Dean notably took Liam and his little sister Stella to big entertainment industry
03:02events like the Kids' Choice Awards in 2016, when they were just eight and seven, respectively.
03:08Liam showcased some of his personal style at the event as he posed alongside his family
03:12on the orange carpet wearing jeans, high tops, and a paint-splattered t-shirt.
03:17By the looks of her social media accounts, Tori takes every opportunity to celebrate
03:21her kids' achievements and major life milestones, especially their birthdays.
03:26And Liam has enjoyed some epic birthday parties over the years.
03:30"'I really like it so much.'"
03:33His ninth birthday party in 2016 was particularly lavish. Liam celebrated the day in style with a
03:39huge gamer-themed backyard bash that was complete with his favorite burger truck,
03:44a triple-tier cake, and Mario Kart costumes.
03:47Tori has shared details of some of her firstborn's other birthday parties over the years, too,
03:52revealing she's gone all out for themes like Star Wars and Minecraft for Liam.
03:56Opening up about how she throws such epic parties, Tori said she lets her children take the lead,
04:02saying on her editorial blog,
04:03"...I ask my kids simple questions, like what theme they want and what colors they
04:07picture at the party, and what activity they want to do with their friends.
04:11They might be small, but kids have great, fun imaginations."
04:16Tori Spelling was probably feeling all the emotions
04:19when Liam made the leap from elementary school to middle school in 2019.
04:23At age 12, Liam closed the door on his primary education and according to Spelling,
04:28he had some choice words to say about the occasion.
04:31Sharing details of the moment on social media,
04:34Spelling revealed that her son had given a speech at his elementary school graduation.
04:38She wrote,
04:39He said goodbye to sixth grade and his school.
04:42His speech blew everyone away.
04:44He started at this school as a tiny little blonde babe and has grown into a kind,
04:48clever, smart, resilient, driven, funny, and amazing young man.
04:53So proud of his journey and can't wait to watch him as he continues to blossom
04:57and move through the next chapter of his life.
04:59Although Spelling didn't reveal the details of what Liam's speech said,
05:03it's obvious she was incredibly proud of the words he shared to mark the milestone.
05:08Liam's elementary school graduation also marked a new chapter for the
05:11youngster as he moved away from some trouble at school.
05:14In a candid Instagram post, Tori Spelling shared that her kids, Liam and Stella,
05:18were being bullied.
05:19The feedback from the administration wasn't much better.
05:22Detailing the things Liam had to deal with, she wrote,
05:25He graduated last year from Encino,
05:27but not without the principal telling us he was unmotivated and lazy.
05:31Poor guy thought, from the way he was treated by her,
05:34that he was stupid.
05:35Beyond, not the case.
05:37He is a hilarious, smart, outgoing, and a creative, kind guy.
05:40After dealing with that, Liam was very excited about the prospect of moving up to middle school
05:45and starting fresh.
05:46But sadly, it wasn't the picture-perfect experience when he got there, either.
05:50Liam was badly bullied during his first year at his new school.
05:54According to Spelling, it was so bad that it caused him to be physically ill.
05:58She wrote,
05:59He was bullied to the point that he developed severe emotional-based headaches and stomach aches.
06:04He continued to be bullied so bad we had to leave.
06:07Liam ended up finishing out his middle school education at a different school
06:10before moving on to high school.
06:13As the son of two Hollywood celebs, Liam is in the public eye more than most kids.
06:18And along with bullying at school, he's sadly been subjected to a barrage of hateful comments
06:23online, too.
06:24Many of these comments have been about his weight and body image, with Dean revealing
06:28on his podcast, Daddy Issues, that his son has been called obese by some commenters.
06:33He explained that criticism came after Tory shared a post sponsored by Little Bites on
06:38social media.
06:39But after seeing the comments the post received, Liam was left questioning his body image,
06:44and Dean was forced into having a tough conversation with his son about strangers
06:48online who feel the need to make hurtful comments.
06:51In the face of the bullying and hate that Liam McDermott has been subjected to,
06:55both in person and online, Tory and Dean always encouraged him to be himself.
07:01In an editorial blog post, Spelling said that her priority is always to make sure her
07:05kids feel comfortable being open and expressing who they are and what they need, with her
07:10and Dean always there to support them.
07:12"...coming in."
07:14This has led to Liam feeling comfortable experimenting with his appearance and expressing
07:18himself through changing hair colors, which he has shown off on Instagram.
07:22He also attended Pride celebrations in 2022 with his dad and half-brother, Jack McDermott,
07:27who is gay.
07:28Dean posted some snaps of their celebration on Instagram, showing that the family tries
07:33to embrace inclusivity on all fronts.
07:36From the image they presented to the world, it seems like the most important part of Tory
07:41and Dean's parenting style was always being a united front to support their kids.
07:45However, their family dynamic irrevocably changed in June 2023, when Dean announced
07:51that the couple were officially separating from each other.
07:53In a since-deleted Instagram post, he wrote,
07:56It's with great sadness and a very, very heavy heart that after 18 years together and five
08:01amazing children, that Tory Spelling and I have decided to go our separate ways and start
08:06a new journey of our own."
08:07The couple previously weathered a few periods of instability in their marriage, including
08:11Dean's cheating scandal, years before they decided to call it quits.
08:15The decision for Dean to then move out of their family home was no doubt hard on the
08:19kids, but Dean's Instagram has confirmed the former couple are prioritizing co-parenting
08:24and supporting their kids.
08:26He added,
08:27We will continue to work together as loving parents and guide and love our children through
08:31this difficult time."
08:33Liam's 2023 took another turn for the worst when his mom revealed that he needed to have
08:38an emergency operation on his foot following an accident.
08:41Alongside sharing a picture of Liam in a hospital bed on her Instagram story,
08:45Tory admitted that they were both very nervous as they awaited the surgery.
08:49She didn't go into details about the accident initially, but in a follow-up post revealed
08:53that the injury occurred at home after Liam accidentally fell down the stairs.
08:57After weeks of waiting and hoping, Liam's foot wasn't getting any better, resulting
09:02in the surgery.
09:03Happily, Tory revealed that the operation was a success, and Liam has since been seen
09:08back on his feet.
09:09Liam sure is growing up quickly.
09:11He turned 17 on March 13, 2024.
09:15But while Liam is looking at the future and the exciting times ahead, his mom is reminiscing
09:20about years gone by.
09:21To celebrate her son's big birthday, Tory posted a touching video tribute to him on
09:25Instagram, sharing a look at dozens of pictures of his childhood.
09:29Liam is smiling happily and laughing in the slideshow of the pictures, which included
09:33family shots and selfies with his mom.
09:36Alongside the video, Spelling wrote a sweet birthday message to her firstborn telling
09:41him to always be himself.
09:42In another birthday tribute to Liam on her Instagram story, Spelling praised the special
09:47relationship she has with her son, saying,
09:50"'Happy 17th birthday to the first love of my life to grow inside me.'"