Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli Address Their Divorce for the First Time in 12 Years

Nothing will eclipse Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli's love for their kids.

That's why the former couple—who were together for over a decade before breaking up in 2012—recently reunited to speak about their split, sharing why choosing to divorce was ultimately the "right decision" for their family, which includes daughters Luca, 26, Lola, 21, and Fiona, 17.

"On one hand, they missed out on that idyllic family my parents are still married kind of thing," Jennie shared on the June 4 episode of her I Choose Me podcast. "But on the other hand, they gained so much more emotional depth and so much more strength, and so many other things from experiencing the way it happened with us."

Peter agreed with the sentiment, saying that the separation allowed him to get "in touch with" his own identity, which he felt he "hadn't developed" at the time because he was only 23 when they welcomed their first child.

"I don't even know how you could love me because I didn't know me," Peter, 50, explained to Jennie, 52. "I didn't know who I was and so I needed to figure that out. I didn't feel like I had the space to do that within the marriage." 

The Twilight alum continued, "I felt like time was going by and I didn't want to wake up and be 60 years old and feel like, 'Well, did I live this life for all these other people and not know who I was?'"

Looking back, Peter said "there was still love" between himself and Jennie, so he "felt gutted to break up" the family when he filed for divorce in March 2012 after 11 years of marriage. 

"I was very conflicted," he recounted. "It wasn't an easy decision by any means."

Their divorce was finalized in June 2013, with the pair agreeing to split custody 50/50. And while they have a strong co-parenting relationship these days, Jennie admitted that it wasn't always the case.

"I did my best," the Beverly Hills, 90210 actress told Peter, explaining that she initially harbored a lot pain over their breakup, "but sometimes my best wasn't the best."

But ultimately, the duo found their footing through creating an open line of communication. As Peter—who is also dad to 21-month-old son Jack with fiancée Lily Anne Harrison—put it to Jennie, "If you and I could work together and they saw that there was still love there, they could walk away going, 'Mom and dad are still in each in our corners.'"

"We had a very good run," the Can't Hardly Wait actor added of their marriage. "A lot of times it wasn't easy for either of us. Looking back on it, I felt like we were two parents that cared a lot, and whatever friction came up was because we really did care about the about our children."

For more friendly exes in Hollywood, keep reading.

No, they are never, ever, ever getting back together. But at this point—between the birthday parties, the friendly embraces and even freaking acting out a sexual fantasy in a star-studded virtual reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High—it feels like the former Hollywood golden couple is just taunting us. 

You know you're cool when you can pop into your ex's talk show and give him a hard time. Such was the case when Silverman turned up on Kimmel's stage to chat about her new show, I Love You, America and his "cute," "bright," "funny" wife Molly Kimmel. "It's not fair!" she cracked. "She gets, like, new woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy."

TBH, we might still be mourning this relationship harder than either of its participants. Because when Faris—now engaged to cinematographer Michael Barrett—heard that Pratt was set to wed Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019, she offered to officiate. She even sent over a gift after the newlyweds welcomed daughter Lyla in August 2020. Thrilled for son Jack to become a big brother, a source told E! News, Faris "is very supportive." 

It would have been super easy for the exes' relationship to become a flop. But more than four years after a messy split, the HGTV stars are still killing it at two projects: parenting kids Taylor and Brayden and turning run-down properties into someone else's dream home.

Literally "best friends" as the rocker put it in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the parents to actress Zoe Kravitz still consider themselves kin. "We're one big happy family," Kravitz said of his ex, now wed to Jason Momoa. "It's beautiful, and it just shows you what can be done."

Since their 2015 breakup, the parents to Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel have hit the conscious uncoupling trifecta: Joint vacations, shared holidays and public displays of admiration with Affleck dubbing his ex "an amazing mother" during a 2016 interview with E! News. 

Nina and Ian may have called it quits in 2013 after three years of dating, but they've remained close friends since then. In 2014, the Vampire Diaries star started dating Nikki Reed and tied the knot later that year. Naturally, Dobrev befriended the Twilight actress.

The two called it quits in July 2016 after five years together. The singer said on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show the following October that she's "very close" to Kinney, adding, "He's been my lover and a friend for so long," she said. "We love each other. That's it."

The exes had no trouble coparenting their son, Bronx, after finalizing their divorce back in 2011. The Fall Out Boy star has even said his former wife is "an awesome mom."

So she's over those "7 Things" then? The JoBro musician has said he's "really friendly" with his ex. "We've got a good relationship."

The Dexter stars first met on set in 2006 before things got romantic in 2008. And although they divorced in 2011, Carpenter assured there was "nothing but love and respect" between the exes a few years later. 

Long the gold standard of copacetic exes, the parents to daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout remain so tight that the decision to ride out coronavirus stay-at-home orders together in Idaho was a no-brainer. Quarantine dance party anyone?

Some four years after their 2014 divorce, Lopez was still giving her former spouse, dad to her twins Max and Emme, props. "While I was married to Marc, he really helped me with my confidence and he saw where I suffered," she said on a 2018 episode of Sunday Today. "He was like, 'You're a great singer. Don't ever let anybody tell you you're not a great singer.' And I respected him so much 'cause I consider him one of the best singers of all time."

Even if it hasn't been his day, his week, his month or even his year, the actress will be there for her former husband and Scream costar. "I mean, as divorces go, I would say it's one of the better ones. For sure," she shared on Running Wild With Bear Grylls eight years after their 2010 split. Raising daughter Coco, she continued, "We're good co-parents together."

Their real life romance may have fizzled in 2007. However, that doesn't mean the two couldn't heat up the screen in the 2011 movie Bad Teacher.

Sure, the initial few months of their 2013 split were rough going, but the actors have now reached the group vacation stage of their divorce. "I really like her husband and I think he's a great guy," the Twilight alum told LaPalme Magazine of a 2017 trip to Cancun that included Garth, Dave Abrams, Facinelli's now-fiancée Lily Anne Harrison and their three daughters Luca, Lola and Fiona. As for his relationship with Garth, he continued, "People come into your life for a reason and relationships can change," he told LaPalme. "Just because we aren't living together doesn't mean you can't love each other."

Despite a surprise separation in September 2012, the couple decided to put on a united front for their children. "As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends," she explained during a 2014 interview with Howard Stern. "We are doing a really good job. I don't think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough."

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