Dean McDermott Fires Back At Mary Jo Eustace After Being Labeled A ‘Deadbeat Dad’

Tori Spelling’s husband, Dean McDermott, has responded to his ex-wife, Mary Jo Eustace, over claims that he’s more than $100,000 behind in child support payments for their 19-year-old son, Jack. For the first time, McDermott has broken his silence about the rumors swirling around his child support battles. The dad-of-six is determined to set the record straight after being labeled a “deadbeat dad.”

The 50-year-old actor sat down with DailyMailTV and admitted that he was behind on alimony payments to Mary Jo Eustace. However, Dean said that he had always supported their son and was tired of being portrayed in a negative light by the media.

“I have taken this for years and this is the first time I’ve talked to anybody but I’ve had it… This is a woman who is trying to exact revenge. She’s constantly in the press, calling me a deadbeat dad and saying these charges are for delinquent child support. They are not.”

Last month, Mary Jo, 55, filed a court order for contempt against Dean McDermott because his monthly alimony payments of $1,500 had come to an unexpected halt. Mary Jo told DailyMailTV that she had been very patient and fair over the years and had even written off large amounts of the spousal and child support that Dean owed her.

“I want to be clear – I signed off on three years of child support that my ex-husband did not have to pay. I cut him a break on that and covered everything.”

McDermott said that the only real issue was his late alimony payments and that he intended to pay as quickly as he could.

“I do not deny that I owe her money. I have tried countless times to work things out with her. She knows I’m an actor, she knew that when she married me all those years ago. The business is up and down. I’m not making a ton of money right now.”

Dean admitted that he got behind on the payments but intends to pay. McDermott said that he told her upfront that he was having financial hardships.

“I reached out to Mary Jo to discuss it and work it out. Instead of being a normal human being and working it out with me, she went to the courts and put me on notice.”

Dean said that his late alimony payments incur interest and that he cannot keep up with the interest as the “numbers keep growing.” He added, “Let me make this perfectly clear – up until the last eight months of alimony that I owe her, I never missed an alimony or child support payment.”

Dean said that he is not the guy that is portrayed in the press. In fact, he says, he is a “good guy and a great actor.”

“I’m a great dad and a great husband. I’m just a good guy trying to make it in Hollywood. I’m tired of being the whipping boy and for her to get away with this. It’s been almost 13 years, can we move on?”

In 2006, Mary Jo and Dean divorced after he had an affair with Tori Spelling, 44, while they were filming a Lifetime TV movie in Canada. Tori and Dean soon wed in May of 2006 and went on to have five children together.

Tori and Dean have also suffered well-documented financial woes and been on the brink of bankruptcy for years. It was reported that the couple was in debt and owed more than $1 million to the IRS, American Express, and other financial institutions.

Dean said that he and Tori were working hard on a daily basis to overcoming their money problems.

“We are not going through anything that other actors or regular people in America are going through. You just put your head down and try to get through it the best you can, provide for your kids and have a nice life.”

Dean told DailyMailTV that he was not aware of the latest court order that was filed on October 10 and that he had not been served with court papers.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]