Peter Facinelli & Jennie Garth’s Split Could Ruin Their Daughters’ Future Relationships, Expert Says

Peter and Jennie split after 11 years together, and experts tell HollywoodLife.com that the divorce will have MAJOR repercussions on their three daughters! Find out why!

After announcing today (March 13) the end of their 11-year marriage, Twilight star Peter Facinelliand his wife Jennie Garth say they remain dedicated to their three daughters — Luca, 14, Lola, 9, and Fiona, 5. But experts tell HollywoodLife.com that the divorce could make the girls afraid to fall in love! They explain how the couple can best handle the separation when it comes to their kids.

“The bottom line is that divorce is the main reason why children of divorce are having a hard time finding love or maintaing relationships,” Dr. Carole Lieberman, a celebrity psychiatrist and author of Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets says. “They become afraid of marriage because they see how painful it has been for one or both of their parents.”

Dr. Lieberman says the girls could sabotage future relationships or have trouble committing.

“Yes, this will have repercussion on their love lives in the future,” she explains. “Especially since the marriage was 11 years. Even when it looks like your parents are going to be together forever, something can happen to make it not be together forever. They can’t trust men because even though things might look good, they’ll always be afraid that something will happen to ruin it.”

Dr. Lieberman says Peter should make an extra effort to spend as much time as possible with all the girls equally to keep them from feeling abandoned or unloved.

Dr. Lawrence Balter, a top child psychologist, outlines five steps Peter and Jennie should take to make this separation as easy as possible on the girls:

• They need to sit down and talk to the girls about their plan.
• Next, spell out how this will change their lives, including living situations.
• Peter and Jennie should never argue in front of their daughters.
• The couple needs to shield their daughters from media coverage, speculation and gossip.
• Be sure to reassure the girls over and over that it wasn’t their fault.