“Beverly Hills, 90210” star Jason Priestley recently raved about the “ease of operation” his family has experienced since moving to Nashville from Los Angeles. Priestley and his wife Naomi decided to leave Los Angeles, but only if both of their children got into school in Nashville. He told E! News, “My wife and I just said to each other, ‘If the kids get into school, we’re going to Nashville!’ And lo and behold, they both got in, so we moved, and we love it.”
For Priestley, it’s just “easier to navigate” life in Nashville. The 54-year-old actor noted that time moves more slowly now that they aren’t in Los Angeles. He explained, “We get four seasons instead of one season. Because you have markers and you know what time of year it is, it seems to make time go a little bit slower. There was something about the homogeneity of Los Angeles, where it was, ‘Is it March or is it October? I don’t know, I can’t really tell.’ So time just kind of evaporates. Whereas living here, with four very distinct seasons, you have to take advantage of what the season is offering.”
Priestley and Naomi share two children, Ava and Dashiell. The couple first met while crossing a street in London. Priestley had been working in England for a job, while the English makeup artist had just graduated from college. They later married in 2005. Naomi gushed about Priestley on the About section of her website, calling their meeting “truly serendipitous.”
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She wrote, “I met Jason whilst I was working for a new media agency after recently graduating from University with a BA degree in Fine Arts (painting). Jason and I became inseparable, and when his job came to an end in England, we took the jump, and I moved back to New York with him, then Vancouver, Calgary, Indianapolis, Toronto, LA….ok, you get the picture.” Priestly began his career as a child, starring in commercials while living in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He recalled to The Hollywood Reporter, “Being a kid actor in Canada meant I got beat up more than normal kids. The older kids just beat me up a lot more. ‘Hey, I saw you on TV in a commercial, kid.’ Boom!” At 17, his parents allowed him to move to Los Angeles, where he shared living space with Brad Pitt. Priestley eventually landed the role of Brandon Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and the rest is history.