Jennie Garth has spoken out regarding her health.
On Thursday, September 12, the actress — who starred as Kelly Taylor in Beverly Hills, 90210 — spoke to SELF about her journey with osteoarthritis. The degenerative joint disease, which her parents and sister also have, caused her to undergo two hip replacements. She previously kept her surgeries a secret from the public, and many people close to her, as she felt shameful and self-conscious.
Garth, 52, had her left hip operated on in 2020 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. She told the outlet it was the best time to have surgery since no one would find out about it. "It was an isolating experience, but the perfect time to get a hip replacement — the world was so quiet then," she recalled. "I knew I could get the surgery without anyone knowing, and get better by the time life picked back up."
While the Dancing with the Stars alum kept it secret, she desperately wanted to break the stigma of hip surgery just being for older people. "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," Garth remarked. "This is something that doesn't just affect 80-year-olds."
Then in March 2024, Garth had her right hip operated on. The starlet confessed that the second surgery entailed a far more challenging recovery. However, as she healed, she began sharing workouts with her followers, which led to a lot of positivity.
"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," Garth shared.
The '80s legend said that she was still fearful about coming clean regarding her surgeries, but she wants to be open and help others. "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," Garth noted, before saying, "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."
She also spoke about how having many of her former Beverly Hills 90210 castmates die too young — Shannen Doherty passed at 53, Matthew Perry at 54, and Luke Perry at 52 — has inspired her to take control of her health.
"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," Garth explained.
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