The way it was. Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli were married for nearly 11 years before they eventually went their separate ways.
The twosome — who met on the set of 1996’s An Unfinished Affair — tied the knot in January 2001 and announced their split in March 2012.
“We both share the same deep love and devotion to our children. We remain dedicated to raising our beautiful daughters together,” Garth and Facinelli wrote in a joint statement to Us Weekly at the time, referring to their three daughters: Luca, Lola and Fiona. The Supergirl alum filed for divorce 15 days later.
In April 2012, a source exclusively told Us that splitting was “not an easy decision” for the former spouses. “He loved being a family man,” the insider said of the Twilight star, noting that the now-exes “reached an impasse” before calling it quits. “[Jennie’s] career hit a standstill, and she became resentful.”
The source added at the time: “Peter is keeping his head down in regard to anything Jennie says. He doesn’t want to push the situation.”
Since finalizing their divorce in June 2013, the pair have remained dutiful coparents.
“It’s different. Everyone drives me crazy in a different way,” Garth joked during an October 2014 appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show. “But honestly, now that I have to share them with their dad, and they leave my house, I love every second — even when they’re driving me nuts. I don’t take one second for granted with them.”
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum later moved on with Dave Abrams, whom she wed in July 2015. Facinelli, for his part, found love with Lily Anne Harrison, popping the question in December 2019.
“I think in relationships, in the beginning, they are wonderful,” the Nurse Jackie alum said about his divorce during an April 2022 interview on the “Allison Interviews” podcast, noting how slowly things shifted in his first marriage. “You have this honeymoon period and it’s fantastic. … So, bad things can become habitual, the way you start to treat each other, giving the other person permission or an allowance to talk to you in a certain way.”
He continued: “A relationship is like a tree. In the beginning, if it starts to bend you can correct it, but if you allow it to continue on that path there is nothing you can do to bend it back because it has already grown in that way and solidified. … When you’re with this [new] person, you are going to respond differently than I would have with my ex-wife.”
Scroll below to relive the former couple’s ups and downs through the years:
