Tori Spelling has revealed her late friend Luke Perry saved her from a "verbally abusive relationship".
Beverly Hills, 90210 cast
The pair starred together on 1990s teen drama 'Beverly Hills, 90210', with Tori playing Donna Martin and Luke - who tragically died in March 2019 after suffering a ischemic stroke at the age of 53 - playing Dylan McKay, the postcode's bad boy.
The 48-year-old actress took to her Instagram account on Monday (11.10.21) on what would have been Luke's 55th birthday to remember her friend and share a story about how her rescued her from abusive ex-boyfriend, "literally" fighting for her.
Paying tribute to her pal, she wrote: "As a friend and big brother. You stood up for me fiercely. Went to brawl literally for me when I was in a verbally abusive relationship and sat and talked me thru the most insecure moments of a teen angst girls’ life."
Spilling one detail of how Luke is still part of her life, she added: "I’ll forever be ‘camel.’ The name you nicknamed me bc of my long eyelashes. (sic)"
Tori - whose late father Aaron Spelling was the show's producer - also praised Luke for being a "selfless" soul who emitted love and good vibes.
She continued: "You had a way of making every single human feel confident, heard, and special the minute they met you. Your energy was pure selfless love. A giver in this ungiving life. Your loving nature carried thru decades.
"You are missed so much. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you. You were one of a kind. I remember meeting you as a young insecure teen girl. You were the first boy to ever make me feel worth as a human, a female and a comedienne.”
Tori's post was accompanied by a photograph of the two showing Luke kissing her on the cheek.
Other 'Beverly Hills, 90210' alumni also took to social media to share memories of Luke.
His on-screen love interest Jennie Garth - who played Kelly Taylor - also dedicated a few touching words on the photo sharing platform, writing "miss you my friend" underneath a tender throwback photo.
At the time of his death, Luke was playing Fred Andrews, the father of KJ Apa's character Archie, in the CW and Netflix teen drama 'Riverdale'.
Tagged in Jennie Garth Tori Spelling Luke Perry