There's nothing about divorce that would ever really be described as easy. First comes the decision to split up, which can be heartbreaking. Then there are the challenges of dividing a life, a home, the finances, and figuring out all the logistics of when and how to break the news. But of all the challenges that a divorcing couple faces, none is as important as the one that parents have to face. Co-parenting well after a divorce should be everyone's top priority, but that may be far easier to say than do.
While there are many things that seem easier or better about celebrities' lives, the truth is that divorce is just as painful for them. In fact, we'd guess that learning how to co-parent after a divorce is just as hard on a family, even if they have all the money, nannies, and the best lawyers around.
Most celebrity couples ask for privacy when they announce that they are going to be getting a divorce (although some are incredibly messy and public about it) — and they often specifically cite their kids as the main reason why. However, after the dust settles, some of our favorite celebrities have been refreshingly candid about the challenges and growth opportunities that come with real-life co-parenting after a divorce.
Jason Momoa & Lisa Bonet
Kourtney Kardashian
Although Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick weren't legally married, the long-term couple did split in 2015, and since then they have been good role models for how to successfully co-parent. Though they've seemed to make it work, it hasn't been without challenges, something that the two dealt with in couples therapy after their split. As Kourtney explained, "The hardest part was when we both started new relationships. …We literally had to go to therapy to be able to, like, communicate together."
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have been divorced since 2015 and share custody of their three children. They've both been complimentary of each other's parenting since that time, and in 2017 Ben shared this simple but powerful truth about co-parenting: "If you recognize that you both have the best interests of the kids at heart, it's quite a special connection. We're the only two people in the world who care this much about these three kids."
Lala Kent
A couple that is still in the early days of figuring out how to co-parent is reality star Lala Kent and Randall Emmett, who share a baby daughter named Ocean. The two split in October 2021, and currently only communicate via app, revealing the truth that co-parenting can involve staying in contact with someone who is disliked. "We communicate through an app, and it has just to do with Ocean. There was no closure at all when it came to my relationship and exiting it," Lala said. "Ocean is the main focus, and that's how we communicate. If it doesn't have to do with her, I have no desire to communicate with that person."
Kristin Cavallari
Kristin Cavallari revealed that it isn't always easy to know what co-parenting should look like, but that doing it well involves giving credit where credit is due. She posted this tribute to ex-husband Jay Cutler in 2020: "Modern family? Co-parenting? 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. Hopefully they all get a smidge of that heart of gold."
Adele
For singer Adele, co-parenting with her ex involves continuing to live close (she has shared that they live across the street from each other), continuing to have family traditions like movie nights, and sometimes having to answer really hard questions. In an interview with Vogue, she said: "He has so many simple questions for me that I can't answer because I don't know the answer. Like, Why can't we still live together? That's just not what people do when they get divorced. But why not? I'm like, I don't know. That's not what society does. And why don't you love my dad anymore? And I'd be like, I do love your dad. I'm just not in love. I can't make that make sense to a 9-year-old."
Gywneth Paltrow
While Gywneth Paltrow usually promotes an image of having it all together and of being cool co-parents with her rock star ex Chris Martin, she confessed to pal Drew Barrymore that it's not always picture-perfect. "Some days it's not as good as it looks. We also have good days and bad days," she said.
