Jennie Garth's Amazing 'Break-Over' Explained in 5 Clicks

Following 11 years of marriage, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli announce their split on March 13, 2012, noting that they remain devoted parents to their daughters, Luca, 15, Lola, 9, and Fiona, 6. The divorce coincides with the filming of her new CMT reality show, Jennie Garth: Little Bit Country. “[It’s] what I need and what the girls need right now,” she says of moving to a Santa Ynez, Calif., ranch.

Two weeks later, Garth marks another milestone in her life, her 40th birthday on April 3, with a fun-filled bash that brings out former Beverly Hills, 90210 costars Shannen Doherty and Ian Ziering. “What a great time in a woman’s life,” she says. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen or how I was going to feel about it, but now having turned the corner, it’s really empowering.”

After slowly wading back into Hollywood with the April 20 premiere of Jennie Garth: Little Bit Country, the actress makes a splash by starring in an August ad campaign for Old Navy that pays homage to her Beverly Hills, 90210 love triangle with costars Jason Priestley and Luke Perry. “She looks fabulous,” says Perry, who soon after partners with Garth to develop a sitcom.

While her focus remains on her daughters, Garth slowly re-enters the dating world, briefly stepping out with photographer Noah Abrams over the summer. [It’s] weird and exciting,” she tells PEOPLE of looking for love again. “Sometimes it feels awkward, and sometimes it feels really natural.”

Showing off her 30-lb. weight loss, Garth hits the pool in Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend and stuns onlookers with her bikini body. “I really feel like that part of me was dead and I need to shed it off,” she tells PEOPLE of the dropped pounds. “I decided to start taking better care of myself.”