I can't imagine there's anything more difficult for a celebrity's child to go through than seeing their parents get divorced. Not only is the separation itself hard enough, but the children often have to watch it play out in the media, and they get no privacy from the public eye. Fortunately some celebrity divorces and splits are amicable and manage to stay out of the tabloids, and Rumer Willis is lucky enough to have separated parents who put their children first. The Dancing With the Stars contestant opened up about her parents' divorce in 2000, and how glad she is that they stayed friends.
"I'm so thankful and grateful that my parents made such an effort at that time," Willis told Larry King. "I never had to split up vacations or split up birthdays. 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."
But Bruce Willis and Demi Moore aren't the only celebrity parents who broke up but kept things friendly for the sake of their children. These 10 couples also got things right, because it's hard enough to watch your parents separate without the nasty details of an unfriendly divorce splashed all over the tabloids.
Orlando Bloom & Miranda Kerr
After their split in 2013, Bloom made it clear that their priority was their son. “We’re a family. We’re going to be in each other’s lives for the rest of our lives,” he said. “There’s no question that, you know, for the sake of our son and everything else, we’re going to support one another and love each other as parents to Flynn.”
Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin
Despite their "conscious uncoupling," Paltrow and Martin remain good friends and committed parents. "We're very, very close, and it's so nice. I feel like it's, in a way, the relationship we were meant to have," Paltrow told Marie Claire in February.
Kris & Bruce Jenner
The reality TV couple recently called it quits, but remain in each other's lives—even still filming their show together.
Hilary Duff & Mike Comrie
The pair split in early 2014, but are still friends for the sake of their son Luca. “We love each other so much and we really love spending time together,” Duff said. “We don’t know what our future looks like right now, but we’re both doing really good and just figuring out, you know, what makes us happy.”
Evan Rachel Wood & Jamie Bell
The two separated in May 2014, but stated that their intention was to stay friends and share parenting duties of their two-year-old son.
Ashlee Simpson & Pete Wentz
Their 2011 divorce was extremely amicable with sources saying their only goal was the mutual care of their son Bronx. “It’s all about Bronx for them. They’re fantastic parents — Pete says she’s a great mom, and she says he’s a great father,” a source told People at the time. “It’s about Bronx’s care and well-being and happiness for them.”
Reese Witherspoon & Ryan Phillippe
Phillippe told Ellen DeGeneres in 2010 that he and his ex-wife are dedicated to being co-parents despite their split in 2007. "It is so important as divorced parents to keep that connection. It makes the kids feel better that the parents are interacting," he said. "We go to all the school events together, and we're there for each other."
Kate Winslet & Sam Mendes
After their 2010 split, the pair released a statement talking about their intention to stay friends for the sake of their kids. "The split is entirely amicable and is by mutual agreement. Both parties are fully committed to the future joint parenting of their children," the statement read.
Kate Hudson & Chris Robinson
The pair divorced in 2007, but are still pals today. They even can be seen playing together at the park with their son.
Courteney Cox & David Arquette
Their divorce was official in 2012, but the couple will always be good friends. "We just really dealt with it in a very sweet and honorable way," Arquette said of the split. "We just love each other. Even though the relationship didn't work out, we wanted to still remain friends and treat each other with respect and have a great relationship for our daughter."
In today's world of sordid tabloid stories it's always nice to see that some couples can make a friendship work, especially for the sake of their kids. Divorce is never completely mess-free, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do things, and these pairs certainly did it the right way.
Images: Getty Images (10)
