Peter Facinelli Tells Jennie Garth Their Divorce Left Him 'Conflicted' in a Revealing New Podcast

Back in 2012, one of Hollywood’s favorite couples, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli , called it quits and divorced after having three children together . Now, over 12 years later, the exes not only reunited but are opening up about what went wrong with their marriage for the very first time.

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In a recent episode of Garth’s podcast, I Chose Me, the exes and co-parents of three looked back on their 12-year marriage.

“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 said of their first years together,” per Entertainment Tonight . “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.”

But while the two of them got along, Facinelli had a growing feeling he was too young to assume these responsibilities. “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. “I loved you and we had this beautiful family from the outside, but I hadn’t developed who I was. So how could you love me? I didn’t know me.”

As a reminder, Garth and Facinelli share daughters Luca, 26, Lola, 21, and Fiona, 17.

“I didn’t know who I was and so I needed to figure that out,” he continued. “I didn’t feel like I had the space to do that within the marriage.”

Knowing that, however, didn’t make breaking up any easier. “It broke my heart to break up a family,” Facinelli said, adding that he was “conflicted” throughout it all, per E! News . “It was one of those decisions where you never know if you’re making the right decision.”

At the time, it’s clear that Garth didn’t feel the same way, and perhaps resented the Twilight star for his decision.

“I feel like you wanted me to say, ‘Thank you for your courage,’ but I could never get to that,” Garth admitted. “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!'”

Luckily, looking back now, the former couple is thankful for their split. In 2015, Garth married her husband Dave Abrams while Facinelli got engaged to his fiancée Lily Anne Harrison in 2020. In 2022, Facinelli and Harrison welcomed their first son, Jack, together.

“But you’re in a wonderful marriage now with an incredible man,” Facinelli said Garth and Abrams. “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 agreed. What a mature, blended family!

Before you go, click here to see celebrity exes who will always be friends.