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Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott may have faked his affair in order to secure a reality show, then faked other elements of that Lifetime debacle, such as his hospitalization.

It was a train wreck of epic proportions. But facade or not, there’s no denying that actress and her husband have some serious marital issues to work out.

While it may look like Tori and Dean are headed for divorce, friends of the troubled couple and parents of four say that they’re determined to work things out.

“Tori feels she owes it to [her children] to try and work it out with their dad, even though it’s hard,” a source tells People magazine. “They’re working on their marriage.”

“They’re operating as a family, but of course there’s tension.

The insider adds that Tori blames her own “non-confrontational” personality for causing Dean to feel that he was free to cheat on her (or at least pretend to):

“She doesn’t like conflict,” says the source. “Dean’s always been the big voice in the family. But now? In many ways this has been great for her. It’s forced her to really speak up.”

Yes, nothing helps a marriage like a little infidelity followed by some intense screaming matches. 

So will Tori and Dean’s plan to stay together for the sake of the kids work out, even though that sort of arrangement is basically always a disaster?

“Tori’s not a quitter,” says her friend. “If it’s going to work out, no one knows. I don’t think she knows that herself. But that’s the kid of person she is. She won’t quit until she’s totally defeated.”

Sadly, we get the sense she’ll be “totally defeated” sooner than she thinks.