3 months ago
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Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli got divorced way back in 2012 after 12 years of marriage. At the time, there were rumors that he had a Canadian side piece while on the Twilight set. They have three daughters together: Luca, 26, Lola, 21, and Fiona, 17. Honestly, I always kinda wrote Peter off as some douchebag who saw a career bump after Twilight and it went to his head. I know he’s been the face of some good causes in recent years, though.
Anyway, Peter made a guest appearance on the latest ep of Jennie’s podcast, I Choose Me With Jennie Garth, which was the first part of a two-part episode arc featuring Peter. It also marks the first time they’ve discussed their marriage and divorce publicly, and they got into the weeds, talking about their courtship, what went down during their divorce, having to figure out who they were as individuals, successful co-parenting, and more. They got pretty candid about it all, and this is only part one!
“We came together very fast, very furious, and very quick and I remember thinking, ‘Well, let’s move in together and see how it goes,’ and it just went,” Facinelli recalled of their romance. “Five years went by, and I thought, ‘Well, we should get married.’ Then we got married and had another kid. It was almost like an arranged marriage in a way and things seemed well. We had disagreements here and there, but I think we were really young.”
Noting that the Beverly Hills, 90210 star already had an established career by the time he met her in his early ’20s, Facinelli said that they were at very different places in life.
“I didn’t have a sense of who I was, and so I was just trying to be all these things for other people,” Facinelli explained. “When that fell apart, it took me time to try to get in touch with me.”
Repeating the sentiment that it felt like they had “an arranged marriage,” Facinelli added, “I loved you and we had this beautiful family from the outside, but I hadn’t developed who I was. So how you could you love me? I didn’t know me.”
He also confirmed to Garth that he didn’t feel like he had the “space” to figure out who he was within their marriage.
“Considering all of that, we really did last a long time. I think because of the children,” Garth said of the former couple’s three kids.
“I think if we didn’t have children, I wouldn’t have stayed,” Facinelli admitted. “Because of the freedom to go, ‘OK, I need to figure out who I am.'”
Saying he felt “conflicted” about the decision to ask Garth for a divorce, Facinelli noted, “It broke my heart to break up a family. It was one of those decisions where you never know if you’re making the right decision.”
Garth said that at the time, she felt like her ex wanted her to thank him for being brave enough to broach the topic of a divorce.
“I feel like you wanted me to say, ‘Thank you for your courage,’ but I could never get to that,” Garth said, adding, “I remember distinctly in that RV, ‘Jen, some day you’re going to thank me for this,’ and I got so pissed at you. I was like, ‘I’m never going to thank you for this!'”
“But you’re in a wonderful marriage now with an incredible man,” Facinelli said, referencing Garth’s husband, Dave Abrams, whom she married in 2015.
“But now, my point is, I thank you for doing it for all the growth I’ve experienced from it and because of it, I wouldn’t be who I am now,” Garth shared. She went on to praise her ex for being a present parent to their daughters, Luca, 26, Lola, 21, and Fiona, 17.
“I have the space within my heart now to find all those areas of respect for you and your decision, why you made it for yourself, and how hard that was for you and your concern for the girls’ feelings and how it affected them,” Garth said. “I have a lot of gratitude knowing that you are a full-time dad.”
The exes also spoke about their ups and downs co-parenting after their divorce. They have shared 50/50 custody of their kids, which Garth said she “emotionally regretted,” wanting more.
“At the same time I knew that having you, their father, for 50 percent of the time was absolutely the best for them,” Garth admitted.
Facinelli felt the struggle communicating with his ex early on.
“I think that where we could have done better, or I could have done better was communicating more,” Facinelli admitted. “Because we spent a lot of time texting back and forth.”
“We wasted so much time trying to prove our points to one another,” Garth agreed.
Facinelli noted that sometimes their daughters “play us against each other,” and explained that he doesn’t always feel he has the space to parent on his own.
“It’s hard when I’m trying to parent, and I feel like I’m always being looked over, like I’m not doing it well, I’m not doing it right. I need to be able to have the space to parent in my own way,” he shared.
However, despite all of this, Facinelli and Garth both agreed that they’re proud of the blended family they’ve created.
“Whatever we did, whether it was right or wrong, they grew up to be wonderful kids and I feel very fortunate,” Facinelli said.
This is such an honest and mature conversation. Everything that they’re saying about how they felt, from Peter being scared to ask for a divorce to Jennie’s reaction to the feelings over custodial arrangements. I’m impressed that they’re so open and sensible while discussing it now. Regardless of whatever else went down behind the scenes, it’s clear that they’ve both put in the work to get to the place that they are now. They’re so friendly, if not actually friends now. Although, it’s kinda weird that Peter keeps referring to their marriage as an “arranged marriage,” right? As for Jennie, I bet time has been a big factor in her healing, too. It sounds like she’s in such a great place, looking back on this terrible thing that happened from the other side and seeing how it worked out for the best in the end. Even though they’re all older now, I’m sure their daughters are relieved that their parents are able to get along with one another as well. I admit, I’m interested in hearing what they have to say in part two.
