Jennie Garth Says Shannen Doherty Had ‘Private Struggles’ That ‘No One Knew About’ Before “90210” Firing

Victoria EdelFri, April 17, 2026 at 4:51 PM UTC

0

Shannen Doherty (left) and Jennie Garth in 'Beverly Hills, 90210'Credit: 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection -

Jennie Garth opened up about her relationship with Shannen Doherty during Beverly Hills, 90210

Garth said that Doherty, who died in 2024, had 'private struggles' while the series was airing

Garth previously opened up to PEOPLE about the truth behind her perceived feud with Doherty

Jennie Garth has a better understanding of the “private struggles” Shannen Doherty was dealing with before Beverly Hills, 90210.

Garth, who just released her memoir I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose, and Embracing Reinvention, opened up about her relationship with Doherty on the April 13 episode of Armchair Expert, hosted by Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. Doherty, who died in 2024 at the age of 53, and Garth both starred together in Beverly Hills, 90210 beginning in 1990, when the series premiered. Garth, 54, stayed with the show for all 10 seasons as Kelly Taylor, but Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, was fired after four.

Shepard asked Garth about Doherty leaving the series. He said that he had read some things about what happened, including that Doherty was “perpetually late” and that she cut her hair in the middle of filming an episode.

Garth said, “I think there was some decisions just to be like, ‘F--k you.' I can do what I want. And I was watching from the sidelines going, ‘Wow, she really can do whatever she wants.' Like that's so cool.”

Shannen Doherty (left) and Jennie Garth in 2012Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Garth explained that as a “fellow Aries,” there was part of her that understood it. “Because we don't like to be told what to do or what we can and can't do. And sometimes, in the face of being told what we can't do, we're like, ‘Oh, really? Watch me.' ” She said that she and Doherty were both “incredibly independent women” from a young age.

“She also had a dad with heart problems and she supported her family and took care of her family,” Garth said. “They were her first priority at all times.” Doherty began acting as a child; one of her earliest roles was on Little House on the Prairie.

“And there was a lot going on for her that no one knew about,” Garth continued. “. . . There were all the struggles of trying to figure out how to have healthy relationships and be in her position. Not easy. Very difficult to navigate. That confusion I think caused some some defiance or anger naturally.”

Garth admitted, “When she was late, it was annoying for everyone. We were all there on time, ready when we were supposed to be ready and the crew was waiting.That was hard to work with and I didn't know then a lot of what she was going through until we became women and discussed it more openly.”

Years later, Doherty told her that “people didn't really understand” what she was going through at the time. “And I never really considered that at that young age, but I did have this sort of respect for her.”

Advertisement

Padman brought up how the whole cast was young and quickly became stars. “Like I can imagine being young and a star and like, ‘You're not telling me. I'm the reason this show works. We're the reason this show works, not you telling me what to do. Like I could see that getting very out of hand.' ”

Jennie Garth on March 26Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty

Shepard pointed out that Garth worked a lot for someone on an ensemble show and that he couldn't believe the series filmed 32 episodes a year.

“I always joke and say it was like we were kept in jail because it was like this isolated sound studio in Van Nuys, California, which was just industry,” Garth said. “. . . People didn't go there. That's what they wanted.” She said she felt “so sequestered” making the series.

Earlier this month, Garth opened up to PEOPLE about her complicated relationship with Doherty. “I think we were both in the same position, really thrust into the spotlight, and we were written as characters to be against each other," she said. "That translated into the media and into the audience and then into the world's perception of our relationship. And that, in turn, was confusing for both of us, I think.”

“It was a better story for the show," she said of how the media played up the feud. “And I just realized how terrible that was, how terrible it was to put us in that position. Nobody was guiding us. Nobody was getting therapy then. Nobody was talking to us about things. We were both just fending for ourselves.”

Garth, who said she still struggles with Doherty's death, said that ultimately they “did have respect” for each other as “strong women who have lasted a long time in this industry.”

"And she taught me a lot,” she said. “She taught me a lot of really good things about being strong, standing up for myself, using my voice. And I'm forever grateful for her and for the relationship that we had.”

Beverly Hills, 90210 ran from 1990 to 2000. Garth and Doherty both also returned for BH90210, which aired in 2019.

Garth's memoir, I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose, and Embracing Reinvention, is available now, wherever books are sold.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”