After parting ways in the public eye, it’s rare that celebrity couples manage to stay cordial through all the chaos. Fortunately, some celebrity couples remain almost as close as they were while they were together, even after they find new partners and spouses.
From Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, to Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet—a handful of celebrity unions still remain tight-knit even after they reach their use-by date.
Case in point: Gwyneth Paltrow’s adorable Instagram dedications to her ex-husband (and the father of her two children), Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and Sean Penn gushing over his world-famous ex-wife, Madonna.
Scroll down for the A-list celebrity couples that are still close today, even after their breakups.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
Though Paltrow has moved on, marrying TV producer Brad Falchuk in 2018, her ex-husband (and the father of her children, Apple and Moses) Martin still holds a close place in her heart. She’s shared pictures of Martin hanging out with her and Falchuk in the past, and she still wishes him a happy birthday: “Happy Birthday CAJM. This is a special one. We love you so much. #42,” she wrote in 2019.
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
Affleck and Garner ended their relationship after 10 years of marriage, but are still close co-parents for their children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. Don’t think there’s any chance they’ll get back together, though—Garner is reportedly in a relationship with businessman and tech CEO John Miller, while Affleck rekindled his relationship with Jennifer Lopez in 2021.
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt
Though Aniston and Pitt keep the details of their current relationship intensely private, Pitt reportedly attended Aniston’s 50th birthday party in February 2019, 14 years after their much-publicised divorce. While they’re both single, a source told People that there’s no chance of a reconciliation between the two—saying: “They broke up, and they did it because they had serious issues. They’re not stupid. They remember why it didn’t work.”
Madonna and Sean Penn
Madonna and Sean Penn were one of the most famous couples of the ’80s, in a volatile four-year marriage that ended in a prickly divorce. However, they remain close friends, and Penn told TV host Stephen Colbert in 2018: “Ah, I love my first wife very much. There’s no comparison.”
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
Carey and Cannon married in 2008 after meeting on the set of her music video ‘Bye Bye’, and gave birth to twins, Moroccan and Monroe, in 2011. While they separated in 2014, they’ve stayed close to co-parent their now-seven-year-old children, and Carey frequently shares pictures of the family hanging out, or on holiday, together.
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield
Garfield and Stone met on the set of the 2012 film The Amazing Spider Man, and were confirmed to be dating soon afterwards. While Stone has since moved on with Saturday Night Live-producer boyfriend Dave McCary and Garfield is reportedly dating Rita Ora, they’ve gushed over one another in post-breakup interviews, with Stone saying in a 2016 interview with Vogue US that she loves Garfield “very much”.
Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant
Hurley and Grant’s relationship saw no shortage of turmoil (who could forget that cheating scandal?), but Hurley has confirmed she’s still close with Grant and his new wife, Anna Eberstein. She told Grazia UK in May 2018: “I’ve known [Hugh] way too long, 31 years! Hugh is my oldest friend… and I get on with Anna incredibly well.”
Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet
After calling their marriage quits in January 2022, Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet remain on good terms. While rumours were rife that the pair had rekindled a month after the split, Momoa confirmed to Access Hollywood at The Oscars in March, “We’re not back together. We’re family, you know? We have two beautiful children together. We’re not getting back together. We’re family forever.”
Bonet and Momoa also share two children together, 14-year-old Lola and 13-year-old Nakoa-Wolf. Furthermore, Momoa continues to show his support for Bonet’s daughter Zoe Kravitz—he attended a screening of The Batman with Kravitz’s boyfriend, Channing Tatum, last month.
