‘90210’ Star Tori Spelling Reflects on Being “America’s Virgin” on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’

Longtime BFFs and former Beverly Hills, 90210 costars Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling dropped by today’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where they delved into some of the heavy topics explored on their hit 1990s teen drama.

From sex to drugs, Garth and Spelling — who starred as popular girls Kelly Taylor and Donna Martin, respectively, from 1990 to 2000 — opened up about the way their show kickstarted those hard-to-have conversations.

“Our show was a trailblazer in the fact that we dealt with topics that weren’t being dealt with on television at that time for teens,” Garth told Drew Barrymore and Ross Mathews.

As for what they’re glad the show touched on?

“So far we’ve seen addiction that we’ve talked about,” Garth said, referencing the duo’s 90210MG podcast where they’re currently rewatching the series. “I think date rape was one of the things that I think Kelly went through that I think really started a lot of conversations for people. Safe sex, at that time, was just not being talked about.”

As Barrymore pointed out that they also “tackled breast cancer,” Spelling chimed in, “I loved being America’s virgin.”

Despite Donna and David Silver (Brian Austin Green) dating on-and-off throughout the show’s 10-season run, she stuck to her guns about saving sex for marriage — until, of course, she ended up losing her virginity on her final night of college at the end of the show’s seventh season.

“Girls and boys used to come up to me and be like, ‘You’re a role model.’ I remember at the time thinking, ‘What is that?'” Spelling said. “And they were like, ‘You show that it’s OK to be popular and be cool and still be a virgin for men and women.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I like this.'”

Meanwhile, Mathews joked, “And Brian Austin Green was hot. I was like, ‘I don’t know how she’s doing it.'”

The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.