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Jennie Garth has revealed that her well-known feud with the late Shannen Doherty stemmed from being relentlessly compared and set against each other while co-starring on “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
In the beloved ’90s television series, Garth and Doherty portrayed Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively—two characters often at odds. This on-screen rivalry, Garth explained, influenced how audiences viewed their off-screen relationship.
The actress described the situation as “confusing” for both of them, acknowledging that it occasionally led to real-life disagreements.
“It highlighted the rivalry more than the friendship and mutual respect we naturally had for each other,” Garth shared in a conversation with People magazine in an interview released on Wednesday.
Despite the tension, Garth noted that they found common ground in shared interests, such as their Aries zodiac sign, which helped them bond.
“She was very closely connected with her parents and her father’s health challenges, I too was going through the same exact thing at the same time,” she recalled. “And there were a lot of adult things happening for both of us.”
“We were doing the best we could, and so sometimes strong women will clash, especially when they’re young and sort of uneducated about friendship and the importance of it,” she continued.
Looking back, she said the media and fans’ fixation on their rivalry put them both in a “terrible” position.
“Nobody was guiding us,” she noted. “Nobody was getting therapy then, nobody was talking to us about things, we were both just fending for ourselves.”
“It did reach points of conflict, but at the end of the day, we really did have respect for one another as strong women that lasted a long time in this industry,” she added.
Garth, 54, said Doherty taught her a lot about being strong and standing up for herself.
“I’m forever grateful for her and for the relationship that we had, even though at times it was complicated,” she acknowledged. “It was still really good.”
Doherty died on July 13, 2024, at the age of 53 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Back in March 2024, Doherty recalled a heated fight with Garth over a prank she pulled on her when fellow “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Brian Austin Green appeared on the “Charmed” alum’s podcast, “Let’s Be Clear.”
“Oh, my God, she lost it on me and I was just not in the mood to back down,” Doherty said of Garth.
Green recalled that he and their co-star Ian Ziering had to physically intervene, adding there was always onset tension between the group of female cast members — also including actresses Tori Spelling and Gabrielle Carteris — which he explained as “not an easy situation to watch.”