Jennie Garth recalled reaching her lowest point as her marriage to ex-husband Peter Facinelli fell apart in 2012.
“I noticed my light really dimming. I wasn’t putting off good vibes. I could see it in the mirror,” Garth, 54, told People in an interview published on Wednesday, April 8. “I could look at the negative impact that that kind of grief and anger was having on me.”
Garth and Facinelli were married from 2001 to 2013. They share three daughters: Luca, 28, Lola, 23, and Fiona, 19.
“I spent a good amount of years being hurt, sad, just tormented by it, and it eked out into all aspects of my life,” she said about the divorce.
Jennie Garth ‘Never’ Thought She Would Talk Feelings With Peter Facinelli
Garth is promoting her new book, I Choose Me, which hits shelves Tuesday, April 14. The actress writes about drinking and taking pills one night near the end of her second marriage and getting her stomach pumped. Garth was later admitted to the Canyon Ranch rehab center.
“There was a weird switch where one day I just said, ‘I don’t want to carry this anymore. It’s impacting my relationships and how I feel about myself. I’ve got to let it go. I’ve got to forgive him,’” Garth told People.
Garth and Facinelli have since moved on and formed a positive coparenting relationship. (Garth married husband Dave Abrams in 2015, while Facinelli is engaged to Lily Anne Harrison.)
“She’s the mother of my kids and I love both Dave and Jennie. Our relationship has gotten to a really great place,” Facinelli told Us Weekly exclusively in February 2025. “I think it’s important to have that friendship.”
The Twilight alum continued, “I wish we got to that place sooner because when you’re coparenting with someone you’re not with, it can get frustrating and it can be hard and sometimes your ideologies might not line up. Being able to figure out how you navigate that together, it can be tricky.”
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Facinelli noted that he and Garth have reached “a really wonderful place” after their divorce.
“Communication is key, and now I look to her as a solid friend,” he added. “That’s really nice to have.”
Facinelli made two appearances on Garth’s “I Choose Me” podcast in 2024 to discuss how they were able to turn the corner.
“We had a lot of residue that we were holding onto. It just kind of felt like it was released, and it was really beautiful,” he told Us. “It was a healing episode for both of us. After that episode, we both felt this release, and we were able to come together — and that was really wonderful.”
