The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ alum detailed her private health battles, with her joint pain causing her to feel that her “quality of life was diminishing.”
Jennie Garth has revealed she underwent hip replacement surgery and is opening up for the first time about her difficult experience with in vitro fertilization with husband Dave Abrams.
In a video interview accompanying her Self magazine cover story, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum speaks about her experience trying IVF before her and Abrams’ brief split in 2018. “Before we broke up, we had been undergoing IVF treatments and trying to have a baby and it kept failing,” she revealed. “And that was really, really hard on both of us individually and on our relationship.”
Garth continued, “When we decided to let go of that possibility [of having children together], it sort of freed us up to love each other in a different way.”
Garth has three children with ex-husband Peter Facinelli.
In the magazine, Garth goes into depth about undergoing hip replacement surgery, saying she “lived in pain for a very long time.”
Though Garth said she initially tried to ignore the signs that something was wrong with her hips, figuring it was caused by years of horseback riding and dancing in her youth, the complications got “progressively worse,” becoming “so painful at one point that [she] couldn’t even go on a walk with [her] dogs.”
Her doctor found that she had osteoarthritis in her thumbs, knees and hips. Years later, at 48, Garth felt that her “quality of life was diminishing” with the severe pain. That’s when she went to a new doctor, who found that her left hip joint “wasn’t fitting right in its socket, and the tissue in the surrounding area was deteriorating.” He suggested hip replacement surgery. Wanting to return to normalcy, the actress asked her doctor “for the earliest opening possible.”
While she was unable to get surgery immediately, as this coincided with the height of the pandemic, she eventually was able to get her left hip replaced. Following the surgery, Garth immediately was able to return to activities she had left behind for years, such as basic household chores. “In the few years following that surgery, I felt like Bionic Woman—there was nothing I couldn’t do,” she said.
The actress then explained that though her doctors felt that her left hip was in worse shape than her right one, which is why she underwent surgery for that side, she began to feel discomfort this year in her right hip. “When they took a look to see what was going on, they realized it had somehow gotten worse than my left hip ever was,” Garth recalled. “I felt excruciating pain with every step — I’d be unable to get down on the ground or get back up. Given the success of my brand-new hip, I knew it was a no-brainer: I needed to get the other joint operated on.”
She shared that she underwent the second surgery in March, which “went well, but it took a lot longer to heal.”
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‘90210’ Actor Jennie Garth on Having Hip Replacements at 48 and 52: ‘I No Longer Want to Hide Things’
If you were to peer into a ’90s time capsule, there’s a fair chance you’d find footage of Jennie Garth; probably in one famous Beverly Hills, 90210 scene in particular. Garth, who played Kelly Taylor on the iconic show, finds herself oh so classically torn between two hunky love interests, played by Jason Priestley and the late Luke Perry. In a surprising twist, she kicks both puppy-dog-eyed beaux to the curb, confidently proclaiming, “I choose me.” The scene is a classic ’90s moment for tons of reasons (Garth’s soft, shaggy supermodel “flob” being one of them), and it cemented Garth, who was in her mid-20s when the episode aired and only 18 when the show began, as a Gen X icon.
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Almost 30 years later, she’s still trying to be a visible, vocal role model for her similar-aged cohorts, particularly when it comes to some very relatable midlife health issues. She’s talked at length to the press about having a leaky heart valve and being diagnosed with osteoarthritis. She’s also been adamant about destigmatizing menopause on her podcast, aptly called I Choose Me.
Garth has been super transparent about her health ups and downs in the past decade, with a few sizable exceptions: She recently revealed exclusively to SELF that she underwent surgery to replace her left hip in 2020, followed by a procedure to replace her right hip in March 2024. While recovery for the first hip replacement went remarkably well, the second, Garth says, was debilitating and often incredibly disheartening. Garth felt embarrassment and shame at being seen as “old.” So she kept those struggles, along with a heartbreaking IVF journey, a secret from her fans and even some of her closest family and friends—until now. Here’s her story, as told to SELF’s associate health conditions director, Julia Sullivan.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
I’ve lived with hip pain for a very long time; they’ve always made a click sound whenever I’d lift my legs. Still, as someone who’s done horseback riding since childhood and danced as a teenager, I figured all that wear and tear was the cause. But as things got progressively worse through the years—it became so painful at one point that I couldn’t even go on a walk with my dogs—I thought it might be arthritis. Both my parents and sisters have this disease, so I knew in a way that it might be coming for me too. My doctor confirmed those suspicions via an X-ray and an MRI: I had osteoarthritis in my thumbs, knees, and hips—all the joints that you don’t want to stop moving. I remember him telling me so carefully and gingerly, “I can see some arthritis coming.” It was a scary thing to hear because the condition progresses and gets more debilitating—and I was only in my mid-40s at the time. I remember feeling old and confused by the diagnosis, but I wanted to stay active and just push through it.
By the time I was 48, however, I started to feel like I couldn’t keep up with my family during our normal activities. On one ski trip in particular, I was in so much pain that I had to sit in the lodge and wait for them. That was very upsetting, as I felt like my quality of life was diminishing. I didn’t want to be someone who couldn’t do the things she loved with her family. Plus, my husband is nine years younger than me and very fit. I didn’t want to be married to a younger man and start to break down. The whole trip was eye-opening—I knew I needed to care for whatever was happening.
I found the best doctor I could to help me figure out what to do next. He asked, “What are you doing here? You’re so young! We don’t have many people coming in here your age.” Turns out, my hip joint wasn’t fitting right in its socket, and the tissue in the surrounding area was deteriorating. My doctor told me it was from normal wear and tear, and also partly due to my genetics, but that hip replacement surgery could help. Although he said I didn’t have to get the procedure right away, I didn’t need time to think about it. I had so much life ahead of me and didn’t want to slow down, so I asked my doctor for the earliest opening possible. I wanted to take care of it right then.
Unfortunately, it was 2020 and COVID had recently hit, so it was difficult to get elective surgeries, like this one, scheduled. I was stuck living with that pain, and it was getting worse and worse by the day as quarantine was happening. Eventually, the doctor called me to offer an appointment within the next few days. I immediately said yes. My husband wasn’t allowed to go into the facility with me, so I walked in by myself to have the procedure. It was an isolating experience, but the perfect time to get a hip replacement—the world was so quiet then. I knew I could get the surgery without anyone knowing and get better by the time life picked back up. When the doctors finished, I had a big bandage on my hip joint, but I didn’t feel like I couldn’t get up. In fact, I actually walked out of the facility myself using a walker.
I tried to keep off my feet during recovery, but that’s next to impossible for someone like me. Within three days of the surgery, I ditched the walker and replaced it with a vacuum. I FaceTimed my sister to show her, who didn’t realize the significance of me doing household chores until I told her what happened—that’s how few people knew about it at first. Looking back, I didn’t take it slow enough after the operation or give my body enough time to heal. (Which is not really recommended when you’ve basically just had your leg chopped off and metal and plastic inserted into it.) Though that caused some things to loosen up a little and slow my progress down, the recovery was fairly easy and quick. I was back to being active within two months. In the few years following that surgery, I felt like Bionic Woman—there was nothing I couldn’t do. I forgot all the time that I had a hip replacement, with only a four-inch scar on my body to remind me. I was back to golfing, hiking, and skiing—all the things I loved. It felt like a miracle, but I had to remind myself, especially when I was on the slopes, Slow down, sister. You got a fake hip.
Back in 2020 when I had my initial MRI, the doctors wanted to focus on my left hip because it seemed worse off than the right. But in 2024, when I was 52, that right hip also started to click. When they took a look to see what was going on, they realized it had somehow gotten worse than my left hip ever was. I felt excruciating pain with every step—I’d be unable to get down on the ground or get back up. Given the success of my brand-new hip, I knew it was a no-brainer: I needed to get the other joint operated on.
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The second surgery—which I had done this past March—went well, but it took a lot longer to heal. I came out sorer and was more laid up than the first time. (Turns out, the recovery period for my initial hip replacement was an anomaly. My doctors told me it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months, sometimes longer, to feel normal again.) There was no vacuuming on the third day.
The whole experience was, and still is, so discouraging. I haven’t had this second hip that long, and I really have to baby it. Both my mom and dad had a single hip replaced, so I thought that might be the case for me too. Before that second surgery, I was so determined that I would be the exception—I wanted to show people that you could be fit and healthy after 50. I had gotten to this really great place and felt so strong in my workouts. Plus, I noticed that moving my body helped boost my mood and prevent my joints from stiffening—not being able to exercise after this second surgery for so long really wore on my mental health. I had so many things that I still wanted to do, but I knew I needed to be a little more gentle with myself this time around.
By the time I was able to get back to the gym a month after surgery, I moved really slowly. I was limping. I felt so bad about myself and my recovery, wondering if the extra pain was because I was four years older than I was when I got my first hip replaced. I had to honor my body, listen to it, and take things slower.
I started posting workouts online after my first hip surgery, and while no one really knew what I was dealing with, I began to get such positive, supportive feedback, with so many people telling me I’ve inspired them to stay active. That really kept my fires burning throughout all of this—to keep going and pushing for the better. I feel a sense of responsibility to continue to motivate others, but also to set an example for my three girls, who are the same age I was when I was on 90210. My personal development was incredibly stunted during my time on the show. I spent such formative years as a teen on set, working so hard and not having a sense of myself at all. I thought my worth was dependent on looking a certain way and feeling valued by others, and I was always focused on pleasing everybody and looking good. I put a lot of pressure on myself as a young girl, but I think I could have been a little easier on myself. I’m constantly giving my daughters little nudges and advice that I also wish I could tell my younger self: “Calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. Don’t hit it so hard all the time.”
These two operations have helped me learn to appreciate my body and physical abilities so much more. I’m such a nurturing person and love taking care of people, so it’s helped me shift gears and start to take a little bit better care of myself too—or allow others to step in. I wanted to make my surgeries look easy, particularly to my husband. I didn’t want to look old to him or for him to see me struggling, but I couldn’t hide it from him because I was already hiding it from the whole world. He’s always thinking of how he can make me happy and make the day go better. I’ve been so grateful for the generosity of his spirit throughout all of this. It also helped me come to an epiphany that my physical state has nothing to do with my spirit, and no matter what physical condition I’m dealing with, I still have a young spirit.
If I could offer any advice to someone approaching or past 50 and maybe in a similar position with their health, I’d want them to know that life starts to change at this age in the most beautiful ways. There are some scary and disappointing changes, like when you start to see and feel aging, but don’t be afraid of that. It’s a part of who you are moving forward. I had wished during my journey of the first surgery that I could share my experience with people because there’s such a stigma around getting any of your joints replaced. This is something that doesn’t just affect 80-year-olds.
Truthfully, I was nervous to open up about my hip replacements. I’ve kept it a secret for so long, but I’m no longer at a place where I want to hide things. I get a lot of positive responses from people that I’m helping them, which makes being vulnerable on places like my podcast, for example, feel good. Having several of my castmates pass away at such early ages really drives me to stay super active and do everything in my power to remain healthy. People put off taking care of themselves at all costs until they just can’t put it off anymore. When something hurts, go to a doctor and do whatever you can to alleviate the pain because you don’t have to live in pain. Listen to and respect your body, because this is the body we came into the world with and it’s the body we’re going to grow old with—and we have to take care of it.
