‘We're Always There For Each Other'

Friends For 30 Years, Jennie Garth And Tori Spelling Open Up About Sticking Together Through Love And Loss— And Reuniting Onscreen In BH90210

- Aili Nahas

It’s been nearly three decades, but Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth’s first photoshoot to promote their hit ’90s series Beverly Hills, 90210—in acid-washed denim and bright tees on an L.A. beach—remains fresh in their memories. “We played tug-of-war,” recalls Garth. Adds Spelling: “I remember Ian [Ziering] dipped his toes in the water because he thought it would be warm, and it was freezing!” Now Spelling and Garth are revisiting their beloved characters on Fox’s hit BH90210, the clever summer reboot that they dreamed up and executive-produce together.

What began as an on-set friendship in 1990 has grown deeper in recent years, especially as both women have weathered loss, reevaluated their marriages and parented young children (eight between them!) while striving to find their footing in a relentlessly fickle industry. “We’ve found so much strength from the challenges we’ve been through,” says Spelling, 46. “And we’re using it to propel us forward.” Sitting down with People, Spelling and Garth, 47, are by turns jovial and emotional as they talk about heartbreak, public scrutiny and how their intense bond has brought them personal and professional triumph.

The show is succesed How did it get off the ground?

SPELLING We wanted to create something that we could do together, and we love doing comedy, but we didn’t want to do a straight reboot.

GARTH I just thought, there’s no way we can do that again. So the inspiration was in the vein of Curb Your Enthusiasm. We started a group text [among the cast], and [eventually] everyone came on board.

There used to be constant rumors of on-set feuds and drama. What was it like going back?