As the world said goodbye to Luke Perry when the beloved actor passed away on March 4, 2019, at the age of 52, his former “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star, Jennie Garth, was mourning the man who she had fallen in love with when they were young.
In an interview with People about Garth’s new memoir “I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose, and Embracing Reinvention,” she opened up about her feelings for Perry, who she adored both on and offscreen.
‘When Kelly Was Falling for Dylan, I Was Falling for Luke’
“Yeah. I do think he was my first true love,” Garth told People, while the publication notes that in the actress’ memoir, “she writes about how it was hard to differentiate between their onscreen and off-screen feelings — and also of how jealous she was of all the guest stars that Perry would flirt with.”
“Now looking back, I’m like, ‘You were just like every other girl in the world,'” she laughed while talking about her feelings for Perry. “Everyone imagined him as their first true love. But it really was confusing. It got a little blurry at times. There were a lot of intimate conversations and moments between these two characters, and I think I got caught up in it and I allowed myself to think that it was real.”
At the same time, she explained, “I still believe that there was something real there. We had a very special relationship.”
The memoir mentions Perry’s “lingering kisses and flirtatious squeezes,” per People, and Garth wrote, “When Kelly was falling for Dylan, I was falling for Luke.”
Losing Luke Left Jennie ‘Paralyzed’
GettyWhile Garth recalled that her relationship with Perry continued after the show ended, her feelings for him began to dwindle as time went on. She noted, “All that confusion left for me, because he got married and I got married, and we became just really great friends. And that was just a silly dream. But my teenage self really believed it.”
Of course, Garth continued to care for Perry as the two remained friends. “When Perry died from a stroke at age 52 in 2019, Garth says she found out which hospital he was at and wouldn’t leave,” per People.
“Losing Luke shook me to my core,” Garth wrote in her book. While seeing reports of Perry’s passing on television, she says, “I felt paralyzed, unable and unwilling to speak. It was too big to comprehend, to devastating to accept.”
