Jennie Garth, 50, is looking back on her days as a star of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 — and she recently admitted that it’s not always easy to take it all in after the fact. The gorgeous actress, who played Kelly Taylor on the wildly popular ’90’s Fox drama series, told The HollywoodLife Podcast EXCLUSIVELY that the famed love triangle dynamic between Brenda (played by Shannen Doherty), Dylan (played by the late Luke Perry) and Kelly, is in fact difficult for her to watch!
Jennie explained that she currently co-hosts her own podcast, aptly titled 9021OMG! alongside former co-star Tori Spelling. She said that “fans and listeners are so engaged in the whole Kelly, Brenda, Dylan love triangle that really kind of rocked the show and was huge.”
“So now I’m watching it,” Jennie continued. “And it’s hard for me to watch because I don’t like what position Kelly has found herself in and I don’t like watching it. I don’t like the way Dylan is treating Brenda and Kelly, like I’m invested in it, too.”
Jennie added that she feels it’s become super engaging, both for herself and for the fans on social media. “Like it’s actually happening, but it’s just a show,” she said. “But the fans are so engaged on social media, and so involved now, and our podcast has sort of become interactive, because there’s so much to talk about. And everybody has their opinion, and people get really heated about stuff. So yeah, I kind of see things differently, too.”
The Mysterious Girls actress said that specifically, she doesn’t approve of some of the things her character did during the Brenda/Kelly rivalry, which makes for an uncomfortable look back. And for Jennie, the drama between the characters wasn’t just a storyline — she admits that 90210 constituted her life experience at the time and influenced her deeply.
“Fundamentally, for me, she got together with her best friend’s boyfriend,” she told the HollywoodLife Podcast about Kelly, in part. “Well, her best friend was away for the summer. That’s just not — I don’t do that.” Jennie added that Kelly “broke the code.” “And then just having to see her uncomfortable and having to see her cover it up and lie about it is really painful for me, because I can tell how hard that was. And I feel like looking back on it, it really did impact me as a person. Because those were like, extremely formative years. For me, that was my high school experience. That was my college experience on the set of that show, backstage in front of the camera, all of it.”
And that entire experience, she says, spills over into real life, even today. “Being caught up in that drama on the show, as the characters did translate into my real life and into the sort of baggage that I carry around now as a grown woman — it’s really interesting to look at it from that perspective,” she said. “And sort of analyze it. You look at yourself in in a different way and it makes me kind of have more compassion for my journey, and appreciation for the work that I’ve done. Just through therapy through the years and through growing, you know, becoming a woman today. So a lot there.”
Jennie spoke to HollywoodLife in partnership with Voltaren Gel. The star partnered with the the brand to bring awareness to their CareWalks campaign to support caregivers. “It’s an opportunity to shine a light on caregivers and all that they do,” Jennie gushed. “It’s interesting to flip the narrative and look at the person that’s taking care of others and realize, sometimes those people are suffering from their own pains, their own health battles. So it’s a really great program that is opening up a lot of conversations for people.” To learn more, visit this link.
To hear everything Jennie had to say during her appearance on the HollywoodLife Podcast, listen to the full interview here.