These 40 Former Celebrity Couples Are Crushing Co-Parenting

It was big news in 2014 when actress Gwyneth Paltrow announced she was “consciously uncoupling” from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. The couple was married for 10 years, and parents to daughter Apple, and son Moses.

Speaking about their relationship since, Paltrow has said, “We genuinely wanted our kids to be as unscathed as possible. And we thought, if we could really maintain the family even though we weren’t a couple, that was kind of the goal.”

While he’s now father to a daughter with popstar Katy Perry, actor Orlando Bloom also has a son with supermodel Miranda Kerr. Bloom married Kerr in 2010, son Flynn arrived in 2011, and the couple split in 2013. However, Orlando Bloom maintains that the couple co-parent “really well.”

Likewise, Miranda Kerr’s husband, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel, agrees that their arrangement is all about Flynn. He has said, “I am in no way a replacement for Flynn’s dad. I feel like [I’m part of] Team Flynn.”

Canadian rapper Drake eventually admitted he had a son after rapper Pusha T released a diss track about the subject. Incredibly, the song revealed both the child and the mother’s name. Eventually, the celeb admitted that Adonis was his son, and that French painter and former model Sophie Brussaux was the mom.

Now, Drake is a gushing parent. He and Brussaux share custody of little Adonis, and both reside in Toronto. Of course, this means that there are lots of family members around to help!

English musician Gavin Rossdale was one of those Hollywood men who cheated on their wife with the nanny. Following that, the Bush guitarist and Gwen Stefani had to figure out how to co-parent their three sons — Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo.

In 2019, Rossdale commented, “You know, we both manage to feed them and get them to school on time, more or less!” However, during lockdowns, the musician did comment that “it’s a real big dilemma for parents and kids with split custody.”

Tony Award winner Idina Menzel is known for being the voice behind Elsa in Frozen, and for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent, and Elphaba in Wicked. Basically, Idina Menzel is responsible for some of the biggest musical theater songs ever. The performer married Rent co-star Taye Diggs in 2003, and welcomed their son in 2009.

Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel were married for 10 years but split in 2013. Speaking about co-parenting, Diggs has said, “We both love Walker and want what’s best for him.”

Actors Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen both starred in sci-fi movie Jumper. Around this time, the pair were photographed together, and people spotted an engagement ring on Bilson’s finger. After an on-and-off relationship, the couple welcomed daughter Briar in 2014.

This relationship ended in 2017, but Bilson and Christensen both made an effort to hang out for their daughter. They took Briar to Disneyland for her birthday just one year after their split, and have remained amicable.

Welsh actor Michael Sheen and English actress Kate Beckinsale were together from 1995 to 2003. During that time, they welcomed daughter Lily, but the relationship ended when they moved to LA. At the time, this was difficult for Sheen, who had no work visa to stay in the US.

However, Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale managed to maintain their relationship and successfully parent their daughter. This picture is from Lily’s graduation, where the family celebrated together. Check out the super cute video of the pair finding out Lily got into college!

The split between actress Paula Patton and singer Robin Thicke was extremely public and acrimonious. The pair had been together since their teens, and were married for almost nine years. When Patton filed for divorce, she accused Thicke of child abuse, saying that he had a history of domestic violence and addiction.

Eventually, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton attended co-parenting couples therapy so that they could successfully parent their son, Julian. Robin Thicke has said that it “opened the door for communication in a much better way for us.”

Sitcom star Mayim Bialik married Michael Stone in a Victorian-themed Jewish wedding in 2003. Although they share sons Miles and Frederick, their marriage ended in 2012. These two put in the work, and in 2018, Mayim Bialik even spent Thanksgiving with Stone’s family.

The actress has said, “I’m so incredibly grateful [..] for all of the work that we’ve put in to be able to have the kind of conversations we have to have.”

Actors Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox met when he was 30 and she 18. The couple got engaged several times, and eventually wed in 2010. Together, they are parents to sons Noah, Bodhi, and Journey.

Green has said, “I will always love her, and I know she will always love me and I know as far as a family what we have built is really cool and really special.” They still take vacations with their kids, and they work hard to co-parent well.

Viewers of The Real Housewives of New Jersey followed the ups and downs of the Giudice family. Teresa, Joe, and their four daughters — Gia, Gabriella, Melania, and Audriana — lived an opulent life in the early seasons of the show. However, both Giudice parents landed themselves in jail, breaking up their apparently idyllic family unit.

Dealing with the traumas of prison caused the Giudices to reflect on their marriage, and eventually, call it quits. Despite all the drama, both Teresa and Joe maintain a friendly relationship for their daughters.

Another turbulent case of reality TV co-parenting is that of Teen Mom’s Amber Portwood and Andrew Glennon. Portwood has a history of domestic abuse, and has been imprisoned for harming her partners. This is also true of Andrew Glennon, her third partner, and father to James.

The troubled star has commented that, “I am trying to co-parent the best that I can.” Portwood is also mom to daughter Leah who was raised by her father, Gary Shirley, and his wife Kristina.

Baseball star Alex Rodriguez is perhaps best known in terms of his recent high-profile relationship with J.Lo. However, the athlete was married beforehand, to Cynthia Scurtis. Together, the couple had two daughters, Natasha, and Ella (pictured).

Speaking about their split, Rodriguez has said, “We positioned what could be perceived as a negative into a positive, by saying to the girls, ‘Look, now you don’t have one house, you have two houses [..] You don’t have two parents, you have four parents.'”

Reality star Audrina Patridge started dating motorcycle and professional BMX rider Corey Bohan in 2008, and they tied the knot in 2015. Daughter Kirra arrived in 2016, the same year the couple got married. However, the following year, Patridge filed for divorce and a restraining order.

Now, the star makes an effort to co-parent with her ex. She has said, “It’s important not to talk bad or about the other parent in front of them. Keep it kid-friendly at all times. There’s a time and place for that.”

Perhaps one of the most famous sets of celebrity co-parents are Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick. These two never got hitched, but they are hands-on parents to Mason, Penelope, and Reign.

Speaking about co-parenting, Disick has said “The biggest challenge was just trying to figure out how we separate our relationship as friends and parents and still be on the same page.” He admitted, “My problems shouldn’t affect the kids […] they don’t deserve our mistakes, so we figured out a way.”

From one Kar-Jenner to another, Kylie Jenner kept her pregnancy seriously under wraps. The reality star gave birth to Stormi Webster in 2018, and has had an on-off relationship with her daughter’s father, Travis Scott.

Speaking about their arrangement, Kylie has said, “We’re, like, best friends. We both love Stormi and want what’s best for her. We stay connected and coordinated. I think about [my parents] in situations with Stormi, what they would do. They were very hands-on with me, and I want the same for Stormi.”

Actress Courteney Cox tied the knot with actor David Arquette back in 1999. Together, they have one daughter, Coco, who was born in 2004. Following their split in 2010, Cox and Arquette have maintained a friendship and continued to run their production company together.

David Arquette has said, “We never went head-to-head, [or] battled each other, through the process of divorce and through the process of raising our kid. So it’s made for a friendship and relationship that is out of respect.”

Model and actress Denise Richards has three children — two daughters with actor Charlie Sheen, Sam and Lola, and adopted daughter Eloise. On top of that, at one stage, the star had custody of Sheen’s twin sons with actress Brooke Mueller.

Despite all the drama that follows Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards has managed to co-parent with him. She has said, “I met a lot of the women that Charlie entertained and a lot of them had father-daughter issues. And I do not want that to be our girls.”

Grammy Award-winning singer Christina Aguilera married marketing executive Jordan Bratman in 2005. Together, they are parents to Max, who was born in 2008. Aguilera and Bratman’s marriage didn’t work out, and the pair got divorced in 2011.

Now, the “Beautiful” singer is a mom of two, including daughter Summer from her relationship with Matthew Rutler. The star posted this picture of herself with Max and Bratman, with the caption, “We make blended families work, it’s a beautiful thing.”

Another celebrity fan of the blended family is actress Kate Hudson. The star is mom to three kids. Ryder Robinson is her son with The Black Crowes founder Chris Robinson; Bingham is her son with Muse frontman Matt Bellamy; and Rani is her daughter with musician Danny Fujikawa.

Kate Hudson’s key to co-parenting is to “drop the ego.” She stresses that, “Some people meet, have kids, and end up not being able to figure it out,” and that it’s great to have multiple parental figures.

Musician Christopher Jarecki and actress Alicia Silverstone actually let their son, Bear, decide where he spends his time. Silverstone explains, “We ask Bear where he wants to be, but then I started to wonder if that was too much pressure. So, I checked in with him and he said, ‘I love that I get to decide.’ We both have different perks!”

The couple was married for 13 years, but have remained friends since their separation in 2018.

Considering ex-spouses Demi Moore and Bruce Willis spent lockdown together, it’s no surprise that they’ve nailed co-parenting. The couple split in 2000 after marrying in 1987. Together, Moore and Willis are parents to daughters Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah.

Rumer has said of her parents, “They always made an effort to do all of the family events still together and made such an effort to still have our family be as one unit, as opposed to two separate things, which I think really made an impact.”

Another celebrity pair that kept their relationship amicable for the sake of their kids are actors Naomi Watts and Live Schreiber. The couple was together from 2005 to 2016, and have two sons together — Alexander and Samuel.

Speaking about their situation, Watts has said, “We’re doing things very differently […] We’ve made it our absolute priority to be good and kind to each other and we’re absolutely committed to that.” During lockdown, the celeb couple even posted themselves doing a TikTok dance with their kids.

Rapper Wiz Khalifa and model Amber Rose agree that co-parenting isn’t about the adult’s feelings. Rose has said, “Even if you technically still have feelings for that person, maybe right after the breakup, it’s not about your feelings, it’s not about what they’re doing in their personal life, it’s about the kids.”

Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa tied the knot in 2013, the same year they welcomed son Sebastian. One year later, Rose filed for divorce. Now, they share custody.

Much like Robin Thicke and Paula Patton, our next celebrity couple figured out co-parenting despite a very public divorce. The hosts of Flip or Flop divorced in 2016 after seven years of marriage, but they continued to host their show together.

The former couple still co-parents son Brayden and daughter Taylor, and actually live just two blocks from each other. Christina Haack has advised that it’s best to “never say anything bad about the other parent” around the kids.

In a conversation with fellow actress and co-parent Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore has said, “None of us want to get it wrong for our kids just because of what happened in the marriage is not about the parenting. This is about their relationship with their dad and their mom, not about their relationship with your marriage.”

Barrymore co-parents her daughters, Olive and Frankie, with ex-husband Will Kopelman. The family still spends holidays together in what the actress calls a “happy, unorthodox union.”

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock split after nearly seven years together due to “irreconcilable differences.” Clarkson was awarded primary custody of their two children, River Rose and Remington (Remy) Alexander.

However, the children still maintain a relationship with their father via daily FaceTimes that the court insists take place at a “mutually agreed upon time.” It’s also worth noting that while Clarkson and Blackstock were married, Kelly was a stepmother to Brandon’s two children from a previous marriage.

Viewers of the Real Housewives of Orange County knew pretty quickly that Alexis and Jim Bellino didn’t have the healthiest marriage. A traditional father, Jim didn’t see why his wife would want to have her own career or go on trips with her girlfriends.

Unsurprisingly, the couple ending up getting divorced. Now, they co-parent son James, and daughters Mackenna and Melania. Alexis has said, “We just try to respect each other and put our kids first. We definitely have our days.”

Another Real Housewives of Orange County marriage that didn’t last was that of Meghan King and Jim Edmonds. Indeed, King’s co-stars predicted her marriage would only last five years, and the former pro athlete filed for divorce one day after their fifth wedding anniversary.

This celebrity couple had a nasty public divorce and both parents wanted full custody of their three children. Now, despite not speaking, King and Edmonds each share custody. However, she has confirmed that they don’t mix custody times.

Together, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and executive producer Shaunie O’Neal have four children. The pair tied the knot in 2002, and are parents to Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah. As well as that, the celebs each have a child from other relationships.

Shaunie has said, “We have a great coparenting relationship, seriously. It took us a long time to get there — don’t get me wrong, it was not an easy journey — but once we got there, I think we felt comfortable being honest with each other.”

In total, Dina and Michael Lohan are parents to four children — Lindsay, Michael Jr., Ali, and Cody. The couple has had a rocky on-off relationship over the years, but when they divorced in 2007, Dina was granted custody of Ali and Cody.

However, Dina Lohan has explained, “My children are older. When they were younger, I had sole custody and whatnot, but they’re older now and need a relationship with both parents because that’s important.” Both Lohan parents have been accused of exploiting their kids.

Look, we’re not saying that co-parenting is always a walk in the park. But, if celebs manage to all parent their kids, then we consider that a success… even if they won’t speak to each other. Blac Chyna is a controversial figure, particularly because of her various connections to the Kar-Jenners.

The star has two kids — King Cairo, with rapper Tyga, and Dream with Rob Kardashian. She has said, “They do give me that break so I can rejuvenate myself as a woman and just get back focus.”

Friend of the Kardashians, Kimora Lee Simmons has also figured out how to co-parent with her ex. The designer and TV personality married record executive Russell Simmons in 1998, and together they have daughters Ming and Aoki.

This celebrity pair called it quits in 2006, and Kimora claims to call the shots when it comes to parenting. She has said, “I’m the one that’s usually in the captain’s seat and then everybody kind of defers to me. That sounds sick. Oh, really. But that’s the truth.”

Reality star Kristin Cavallari is outspoken about her fondness for ex-husband and quarterback Jay Cutler. On Father’s Day 2020, the star captioned a picture on Instagram with a gushing message.

The Uncommon James founder wrote, “We had a beautiful day together yesterday at my new house. Modern family? Coparenting? Whatever you want to call it, we are navigating it the best way we know how. And what I do know is, our three kids are lucky to have him as their daddy.”

Popstars Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne are extremely private when it comes to their son, Bear. There are hardly any photographs of the celebrity child online, never mind with both of his super famous parents.

Speaking about their co-parenting styles, the former Girls Aloud member said, “I’m the strict one; Liam isn’t. He is much softer than me. But it is what it is, and I’m OK about it. When you have a baby, you are not consumed with just thinking about yourself.”

Many fans and onlookers wonder why Khloé Kardashian keeps giving cheater Tristan Thompson a second chance. Despite all the pain the basketball player has inflicted on her, the reality star has never prevented him from being an active parent to daughter True.

The star has explained, “It’s not easy for me […] but he never hurt True. He and I have our own relationship, and then Tristan and True have theirs. I will never come in-between that, I don’t believe in that.”

High school sweethearts Joey Fatone and Kelly Baldwin got married in 2004, after years of on-off dating. The couple’s wedding was attended by the star’s NSYNC bandmates, and Lance Bass is their daughters’ godfather.

Despite their eventual split, Joey Fatone and Kelly Baldwin successfully co-parent Briahna and Kloey. Fatone has said, “Sometimes we’ll try to do things together, sometimes we won’t, depending on where we are, what we’re doing. A lot of times we’ll switch on and off and it actually is not bad.”

Interestingly, TV presenter Nick Cannon really doesn’t like the term co-parenting. He explains, “It’s funny when they say ‘co-parenting’ — that phrase is a little redundant. You can’t co-parent, you have to parent, and that’s what we do well because when it comes to our children, we’re selfless individuals — they’re first.”

Nick Cannon is dad to seven kids in total, including twins Moroccan and Monroe, with singer Mariah Carey. The couple spent Thanksgiving together with their kids in 2019, as well as Carey’s boyfriend.

After 10 years of marriage, dancers and actors Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan called it quits in 2019. Together, the couple share daughter Everly, who was born in 2013.

Jenna Dewan has since coupled up with actor Steve Kazee, while Tatum has moved on with English singer Jessie J. In 2019, Channing Tatum requested co-parenting counseling so the couple could figure out their childcare schedule. Reportedly, the actor wanted “to establish clear and specific orders regarding our holiday and travel schedule.”

Kendra Wilkinson was first known as one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, and soon landed on reality television. The celeb married American football player Hank Baskett in 2009 at the Playboy mansion, but eventually split in 2018. Together, the couple has two children — Alijah and Hank.

Kendra Wilkinson has said that her co-parenting relationship with Baskett is “stable.” The couple share custody of the kids, with the star saying, “We are [in a better place.] Time heals all.”

At first, viewers of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills thought that Paul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof were one of those married couples that bickered a lot. However, it soon transpired that the couple wasn’t meant to last. They called it quits in 2012, after 10 years of marriage.

Despite their rocky marriage and nasty divorce, Paul Nassif and Adrienne Maloof manage to co-parent their sons — Gavin, Collin, and Christian. Nassif has said, “We talk and text weekly.”

To some onlookers, it might look like broadcaster Anderson Cooper and ex-partner Benjamin Maisani are still together, but apparently, that isn’t the case. Cooper welcomed his son Wyatt by surrogate in 2020, and the former couple lives and co-parents together.

Anderson Cooper has commented, “It was interesting because he wasn’t really sure he wanted to have a kid, which was one of the reasons we probably broke up. But then he came around on the idea, and now he is just such a great parent.”

The marriage of Fall Out Boy member and singer Ashlee Simpson was serious business in the noughties. The edgy couple welcomed son Bronx Mowgli in 2008, shortly after tying the knot. However, this pairing didn’t last, and Simpson filed for divorce in 2011.

Now, both Wentz and Simpson have moved on with other partners. However, Pete Wentz refers to his ex-wife as “a great mom” and the pair still co-parents together. The musician is now with Meagan Camper, while Simpson is married to Evan Ross.

Cult rapper Playboi Carti got together with Australian rapper Iggy Azalea in 2018, and welcomed son Onyx in 2020. There has never been much information about this celebrity relationship, with neither person opening up about the details. What we do know is that the “Fancy” singer says that she’s not in a relationship.

When the couple did call it quits, Iggy Azalea wrote on Instagram that, “ Onyx is so loved by his dad and has always had both parents in his life from day one.”

Viewers really felt for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Brandi Glanville when she revealed the details of the end of her marriage. The former model was married to actor Eddie Cibrian, who had an affair with country singer LeAnn Rimes. Ultimately, Cibrian left Glanville for Rimes.

Now, the couple still co-parents sons Mason and Jake. Speaking about her relationship with Cibrian, Glanville has said, “I mean, it comes and goes. We’ll have a fight one week, and then we won’t.”

Last but not least are actress Zooey Deschanel and her second ex-husband Jacob Pechenik. The couple got married in 2009, and they have two children together — Elsie Otter, and Charlie Wolf. This celebrity relationship didn’t last long, with the marriage ending in 2019.

Thankfully, the couple still co-parents. Deschanel has explained, “Everything is amicable and we have beautiful children together that are that way because we were the parents. We’ve been raising them and we’re going to continue to raise them and take great care of them.”