Jennie Garth 'Reveling' in Closeness With Daughters
 Courtesy Cookie |
Unlike many of today’s network stars, when Jennie Garth became pregnant in 1996 with daughter Luca Bella, now 12, she was considered a trailblazer.
“There weren’t many actresses willing to have kids, because they thought it would jeopardize their career or their desirability,” the 37-year-old 90210 actress notes in the October issue of Cookie.
“There was an actress on an Aaron Spelling soap opera who got sued for getting pregnant. I got pregnant right after her, while I was on an Aaron Spelling show. But I knew he’d be supportive; [90210 was such a hit] he couldn’t be anything but.”
That said, while her peers today enjoy custom-built nurseries on-set, Jennie says she had to improvise with Luca.
“I had a whole camp set up … by my trailer with a fake yard, toys, a waterslide, and a baby pool. The set designers built a little picket fence around my Baby Land. I joke that I moved out of Beverly Hills into my little trailer park in the back.”
Two kids later — Jennie is also mom to Lola Ray, 6 ½, and Fiona Eve, turning 3 this month, with husband Peter Facinelli — and Jennie is still working hard to make sure her girls get plenty of face time with mom.
“We’re always together, maybe to a fault,” she concedes. “We like to be together, I think more than most child psychologists or even my mother would say is healthy.”
Adding that because “there will come a time” when the girls will want their space, Jennie says she’s “reveling” in their closeness now.
Click below to read about Jennie’s thoughts on discipline and becoming a full-time mom.
That’s not to say that every moment is sheer bliss, however! Jennie reveals that just several days prior to the interview, she had to give Lola four time-outs in quick succession. “She kept hitting,” Jennie recalls. “I don’t spank, though sometimes I think these time-outs aren’t working.”
Sticking with her game plan of “consistency and not making idle threats,” however, Jennie vows to stay the course. She adds,
“They have to know there are consequences for violence, name-calling, and not doing household chores. They’re all in such different places, but all those places require boundaries.”
Keeping track of the girls — who are now enrolled at three different schools — while balancing the demands of her role on the CW’s new 90210 can be tough. “When you’re a full-time mom and you work a few days here and there, it’s hard to pace yourself,” Jennie admits.
“I want to know what my kids are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I want to know how much activity they’ve had in a day. It’s difficult to keep it all in order.”
From the sound of things, she’ll someday soon be in a better position to do just that, however. As Peter enjoys a resurgence in his career with the Twilight film franchise, as well as a role on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, Jennie says she’s eager to step back from the spotlight.
“He works like crazy, but when he’s home and present it’s great,” she says. “[Early on,] all I wanted to do was work; Now all I want to do is not work.” She adds,
“I’ve passed that stage of my life. I have to respect that we’re at different places. Hopefully it’ll balance out.”
The new 90210 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
Source: Cookie, October issue
– Missy
