Peter Facinelli has officially filed for divorce from his wife of 11 years Jennie Garth on the very same day that the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star gave her first interview on the split saying, “I didn’t want it to happen.”
Two weeks after the couple announced that they were splitting up, Facinelli’s lawyer delivered paperwork to the Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, citing “irreconcilable differences” and listing the pair’s date of their separation as Jan. 1. Shortly after, reports TMZ, Garth’s lawyer filed paperwork too, seeking to change the actress’ legal name from Jennifer Facinelli back to Jennifer Garth. The two agree to joint custody of their three daughters.
Shortly before divorce paperwork was filed, Garth talked to People, revealing that Facinelli told her that he wanted a divorce in the fall.
“I was very resistant,” Garth said, of her initial reaction to her husband’s request. “I didn’t want it to happen. It took me some time to come to peace with it.”
Garth also explains that Facinelli spending so much time away from home while filming “The Twilight Saga” and “Nurse Jackie” created a rift between them that they tried hard to patch.
“He would do everything he could to fly back every weekend,” says Garth. “[But] it took a real toll on our marriage.”
Garth says that she is recovering from the shock of her marriage falling apart.
“I’ve gone through my darkest parts and I’m coming out of it,” she said. “I’m okay. I don’t know what the future holds, but then I’ve never been a planner. And maybe that’s a good thing.”
In an ironic twist, the once happy family will be featured in a new CMT reality show, “Jennie Garth: A Little Bit Country,” premiering on April 20. Early clips of the show reveal that the series will largely deal with Garth as a newly single mom.