Kelly Ripa: Shannen Doherty knew her time was 'limited'

Shannen Doherty knew "her time was very, very limited" in the weeks before she died.

The 'Charmed' actress passed away in July following a long battle with breast cancer and her friend Kelly Ripa - who interviewed the 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star on her 'Let's Talk Off Camera' podcast in June - admitted their final conversations left her "crushed" because her pal was so aware of her own mortality.

Recalling how she was "constantly" trying to set Shannen up on dates, Kelly told 'Entertainment Tonight': “I always had an idea in my mind as to who might be a good match with Shannen.

“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."

Despite her sadness at Shannen's death, the 53-year-old star found "peace" in knowing the actress is finally free of pain.

She added: “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.”

The 'Live With Kelly and Mark' star found it "painful" to process her friend's death.

She said: “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.”

During her appearance on 'Let's Talk Off Camera', Shannen - whose 11-year marriage to Kurt Iswarienko ended in April 2023 - admitted she found it "hard" to date because of her illness.

She said: "I'm a very hard sell.

"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."

Shannen also noted "most men" don't "handle death and illness ... as well as women do."