Why Martin Short Has Never Been to Therapy After Family Deaths

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Martin Short Details Similarity Between Daughter Katherine Short, Late Wife Nancy Dolman's Deaths

Content warning: This story discusses suicide.

Martin Short is detailing how he maintains his mental health amid tragedy.

The Only Murders in the Building actor shared that he’s never been to therapy to process his grief following the deaths of his brother and parents during his teenage years, nor has he received professional support for the loss of his wife Nancy Dolman or the recent passing of their daughter Katherine Short. Rather, he’s learned to cope in his own ways.

“I’ve never been in therapy. Never. Never,” Martin told IndieWire in a recent interview. “When my brother and parents died, and I was now in this big house with the housekeeper at 19 and 20, it was Hamilton, Ontario, 1970. So it wasn’t about therapy; it was about no one.”

“I didn’t know anyone,” he recalled. “In Hamilton, it’s just you. I biked all over the city. I’d bike up the hills and paint and write. I was the youngest of five, so now there’s four. But the [others] took over aggressively, nurtured and worried, and that’s how I continued.”

Martin’s parents Olive Hayter and Charles Patrick Short as well as his brother David Short tragically died before Martin was 21. While David died in a car crash when the Father of the Bride actor was only 12, his parents passed soon after.

"[She] died three years later,” Martin said of his mother during a panel at Netflix Is a Joke Presents: This Better Be Funny with David Letterman in May. “My father died the year after that. So, there was definitely a period where life changed completely.”

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage

But the 76-year-old—also dad to Oliver Short, 40, and Henry Short, 37, with Nancy—has also experienced great loss in recent years. In 2010, Nancy died of ovarian cancer at the age of 58. Meanwhile, their daughter Katherine died by suicide in February following lifelong mental health struggles. She was 42.

“When loss and grief suddenly or subtly [encompass] your life,” Martin continued to IndieWire, “it’s your friends and family that help you through and remind you of the journey. So, you find the light.”

Indeed, diving into work on Only Murders and fostering his relationship with costar Meryl Streep have also been instrumental for his wellbeing.

Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

“All those things, absolutely,” he said. “That work is always good for grief because if you take it seriously and it still matters to you, then it’s the ultimate distraction, and distraction can be a relief from grief.”

And while Martin hasn’t been to therapy to process his grief, he’s not completely against it.

“Believe me, if I was suddenly depressed or in despair, but didn’t know why, then I’d run to a therapist,” he said. “But I’ve never been that way. I’m sad now, but you know what? I should be sad now. It’s OK to be sad.”

Keep reading for a look back at Martin’s sweetest moments with his family…

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Family Man

Martin Short and his late with Nancy Dolman shared three kids: daughter Katherine Short (born Dec. 3, 1983) as well as sons Oliver Short (born April 29, 1986) and Henry Short (born Aug. 4, 1989).

The family had a night out at the Broadway opening night of the comedian's Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me in 2006.

Joan Adlen/Getty Images

Dad & Me

Martin and Katherine joked around during a 1989 photo shoot.

Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images

Red Carpet Ready

Martin and Nancy, who married in 1980, took their daughter to the 1997 premiere of Jungle 2 Jungle.

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Eventful Day

The couple brought their youngest son Henry to the Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events premiere in 2004.

Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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