By Zach Seemayer
12:56 PM PDT, August 27, 2020
While Hollywood break-ups are famous for their scandals and negativity, some celebrity couples realize they just work better as friends than lovers. Whether it's in an effort to co-parent their kids or just for the sake of friendship itself, here are some A-listers who managed to make their post-split relationship really special.
Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly
![Ruston Kelly and Kacey Musgraves](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2019-03/gettyimages-1128942922.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
Despite their separation, Musgraves and Kelly are still there for one another. The "Butterflies" singer celebrated her 32nd birthday in August 2020, and she received a sweet message from her estranged husband. Kelly posted a black-and-white photo of his ex on his Instagram Story, reminding her that he has her back. "Anyone who knows your heart, your kindness, your humor and compassion…are made better people by it," he wrote, before adding, "I got your back. Happy birthday." The musicians tied the knot in Tennessee in October 2017 and announced that they were separating in July 2020.
Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich
![Julianne Hough Bday](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2020-07/screen_shot_2020-07-26_at_12.55.37_pm.png?width=1024&quality=80)
Julianne Hough rang in her 32nd birthday with those closest to her -- including her estranged husband, Brooks Laich. Though the couple announced their split in May 2020, they couldn't have looked happier to reunite at Hough's pool party just two months later. The former Dancing With the Stars judge was joined by a few friends for a low-key weekend bash. Among the attendees was her bestie, Nina Dobrev, who filmed Hough performing a few pool stunts -- and Laich was in the shot. The DWTS pro and former NHL star wed in July 2017 following a two-year engagement. They decided to split shortly after spending time toward the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic apart. "Julianne and Brooks truly were best friends, loved each other, and planned to spend their lives together despite their final decision to call it quits," a source told ET in June 2020. "This split has been difficult on both of them and right now they are doing everything they can to get back to some semblance of normal life without one another."
Jennifer Lawrence and both Darren Aronofsky and Nicholas Hoult
![Jennifer Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky mother red carpet](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2017-09/jennifer_lawrence_darren_aronofsky_gettyimages-846641850.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
The Red Sparrow actress opened up about maintaining relationships with her ex-boyfriends -- including the Oscar-nominated director and her X-Men: First Class co-star -- during an appearance on WTF with Marc Maron in February 2018, sharing, "I'm friends with all my exes, actually… All my boyfriends have been wonderful. Nick was a great boyfriend." Lawrence and Aronofsky sparked a romance while filming mother!, and broke up in November 2017 after a year of dating. Lawrence and Hoult called it quits in 2014 after dating for nearly four years.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
![Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2018-02/jennifer_lopez_marc_anthony_gettyimages-619277704.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
The music superstars -- who share 10-year-old twins Maximilian and Emme -- may have called it quits on their marriage but they've managed to maintain their friendship, and even recorded an album together. During an appearance on Live with Kelly in March 2017, Lopez said, "We are like best friends. We are making an album now… At first I was like, 'We’re good with the kids, but if we start working together, are we going to start going at each other again?' But it’s been awesome. Honestly, I think it’s even helped our relationship and its made things even better."
Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen
![Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2018-02/kate_beckinsale_michael_sheen_gettyimages-97531526.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
The former couple, who met in 1995 and split in 2003, share a 17-year-old daughter, Lily, but their post-split relationship is rooted in so much more than just co-parenting. As the Underworld actress told ES Magazine in December 2016, "We split up ages ago. We have been not together far longer than we were ever together. But I really love him and like him and we make each other roar with laughter." She was even a big fan of Sheen's longtime girlfriend Sarah Silverman, who amicably separated with Sheen in December. "The great @michaelsheen & I consciously uncoupled over Christmas," Silverman tweeted in February. " I mean, not 'over Christmas' - like that wasn’t the fight that ended it. No fight. We just live in different countries & it got hard."
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
The pair originated the term "consciously uncouple" after doing so themselves in 2014, and have remained close in the subsequent years. While they are both dedicated to co-parenting their two kids -- 13-year-old daughter Apple and 11-year-old son Moses -- they make sure to have real fun as a family, and show each other a lot of love. Speaking with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show in January, Paltrow said, "I think we really genuinely wanted our kids to be as unscathed as possible [by the divorce]. And we thought, if we could really maintain the family even though we weren’t a couple, that was kind of the goal. So that’s what we’ve tried to do… He's really like my brother. We're very familial. It's nice. It's great."
Josh Duhamel and Fergie
![Fergie and Josh Duhamel](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2017-12/fergie_josh_duhamel_getty887253814.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
The former flames -- who share a 4-year-old son, Axl -- split in February 2017, but didn't announce the news until September. However, during their time apart the pair continued to support each other and co-parent with love. Recently, Duhamel brought his ex a bouquet of roses following her highly-criticized performance of the National Anthem at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak
![Mindy Kaling BJ Novak](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2018-02/gettyimages-924771634.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
The Office co-stars have had a long and complicated romantic past. While they definitely dated, both Kaling and Novak have admitted that they never were quite sure of the status of their relationship. Speaking with InStyle in May 2015, Kaling said, "My relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell. He is not my boyfriend, but he is not my best friend. I guess you could describe our relationship as a 'romantically charged camaraderie with loud arguments,' but I don't think Facebook would accept this as a new status." Sitting down with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2014, Novak said of their relationship, "No one ever knew if we were together or not, including us… We fought a lot. We were each other's best friends. We were inseparable and not talking to each other, often on the same day." Recently, the pair walked the red carpet together at the premiere of Kaling's new film A Wrinkle in Time.
Chris Pratt and Anna Faris
![Anna Faris and Chris Pratt](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2017-12/gettyimages-670489508.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
After years of being America's cutest couple, the pair shocked the world in August when they announced that they were calling it quits after eight years of marriage. However, despite the split, Pratt still wrote the forward for Faris' recent book, Unqualified, and the actress said, during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in September, "He’s amazing. We're great friends and we always will be."
Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy
The Marshall star and the Muse frontman called it quits in 2014 after being engaged for three years, but they've made sure to maintain their friendship as they provide a loving and nurturing environment for their 6-year-old son, Bingham. The pair have shown how friendly their post-split relationship really is as they've reunited time and again for birthdays and holiday celebrations. "I think forgiveness is the biggest part of it," Hudson told Marie Claire. "I think everybody wants to point fingers. If you are a person who takes responsibility for yourself and your part in it, you have a much better chance of maintaining a nice relationship. It also means that you grow up."
Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa
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Few celebrity couples have proven so definitively that it's possible to stay friends than Rose and Khalfia. Whether it's dressing up in family-themed costumes for their 5-year-old son Sebastian's epic birthdays, or gushing about each other on social media, it's clear that these two truly care for one another, even if it's not in a romantic capacity. The pair split in September 2014 when Rose filed for divorce. However, in April 2015, the model took to Instagram to express her love for the rapper writing, "We forever have a bond because we made a beautiful baby from our Love. Through all the ups and downs of our relationship my heart still beats for him every single day… Regardless of how our lives turn out in the long run he will always be the skinny tatted up stoner that has my heart."
Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr
![Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/640xh/public/images/2018-02/orlando_bloom_miranda_kerr_gettyimages-115251024.jpg?width=1024&quality=80)
While the couple got divorced in 2013 after two years of marriage, they have remained close friends and have actively worked together to amicably co-parent their 7-year-old son, Flynn. That friendship persisted even as both stars moved on -- Kerr tied the knot with Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in May 2017, while Bloom reunited with ex Katy Perry in February 2018. Bloom and Kerr's friendship and dedication to co-parenting even influenced where she wanted to live with her new husband. Kerr told Harper's Bazaar in August 2016 that she and Spiegel bought their Malibu home so that she could be closer to Bloom, and that way their son could more easily spend time with both of them. "I started looking for houses because we wanted to be close as a family."