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Ian Ziering's wife, Erin, gets candid about challenges of parenting during divorce

The actor's soon-to-be ex-wife says it's important to make sure she knows what the children are feeling throughout this process.
2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Press Room
Ian Ziering, wife Erin, and their daughters, Penna and Mia, attend the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 20, 2019 in Las Vegas.David Becker / Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Ian Ziering’s wife, Erin, says their kids come first when it comes to the couple’s divorce.

“When it comes to the girls, I really try to be honest with them about everything and have open conversations,” Erin told The Weather Channel’s Local Now streaming service. “Since they were babies, I focused on talking to them about their emotions, what they’re feeling.”

Ian revealed they were splitting up last fall. The couple, who married in 2010, share daughters Penna, 6, and Mia, 8.

Ziering, 34, says she stresses the importance of keeping a sincere dialogue with the girls.

“(Every night) we have conversations about what’s going on, what was said at school, how are you feeling, do you have any questions about what’s going on between Mom and Dad?” she continued. "'Cause there’s a lot of transitions that I’m going through, and I can only imagine what these little girls are going through at the same time.”

"With our hectic work schedules we could not be busier, and over the last few years have grown apart," the “BH90210” actor wrote when announcing the split last October in a since-deleted Instagram post. "She is one of the most incredible women I have ever met and the best mom to our kids."

Ziering, 55, has requested joint legal and physical custody of the girls, reported People. He had previously been married from 1997 to 2002.

Erin Ziering said she could sense the marriage was in trouble.

“I think you always know something’s wrong,” she said. “You can always feel there’s definitely something wrong, and it’s going into the, ‘Have I done what I can do to make this work?’ Or, ‘Do you want to do what you can do to make it work?’ If you don’t, or you feel like you already have, what left can you give? Like, what do you have left? I didn’t have anything left to give.”