Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Chevrolet VoltDean McDermott knows his time on reality TV has featured a whole lot of highs and plenty of lows.
Yes, he's had happy family moments captured on film for the rest of his life. But at the same time, there are more than a few scenes featuring fights with his wife Tori Spelling.
Between the ups and downs, McDermott ultimately calls True Tori a "great learning experience."
"It certainly expedited things with what we needed to work on," he shared Tuesday morning on Today. "But I'd rather do fun stuff with the family. I got a couple Cooking Channel specials coming out and I'd like to get back to acting, which is my first love."
He also is hard at work supporting his new cookbook appropriately titled The Gourmet Dad: One Dish Two Ways. While cooking up a poached chicken with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, the reality star also shared how well things are going with his wife.
Turns out life away from the cameras has helped things improve for the better. "Amazing, everything is great with mama," he shared with the ladies while adding lemon zest to his dish. "She's great."
In fact, the former Chopped Canada host went a step further in a recent interview and said the two were "more in love" than ever after the experience.
"The good in all of that is that it really got the two of us on track as a couple and really got our communication skills working," he admitted to Fox 411. "It got me sober and in recovery and it changed our lives." McDermott shared on Today that he has been clean for a year and four months.
Despite the positives, the actor stands by his words that he is done with shows like True Tori.
"I don't want to do the relationship stuff," he explained on Today. "Sorting out your problems in the towns square is not the way to go about it."
(E! and Today are part of the NBCUniversal family)