Zooey Deschanel on co-parenting with her ex-husband and boyfriend Jonathan Scott: 'The kids are so happy when we're all together'
Family is everything to Zooey Deschanel.
In a new interview for the podcast Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson, the actress, 42, opened up about how she and ex-husband, producer Jacob Pechenik, have remained cordial for the sake of their two children — daughter Elsie, 6, and son Charlie, 4.
“They go back and forth, and we’re all really close,” she explained. “When we went through our divorce [in 2020], there’s always a little touch-and-go kind of stuff. We were doing mediation, no lawyers or anything.”
Deschanel, who is now dating Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott, stressed how important it is for her to include Scott in their family outings, recalling one celebratory moment in particular when the three of them all hung out together.
“It was my son’s birthday… and my boyfriend booked an Elmo performer to do, like, a Zoom thing,” she recalled. “My ex-husband came over and my boyfriend was there and we were all wearing cowboy hats. It was just the three of us and the two kids, and we’re watching this Elmo performer on Zoom, and the kids are so happy we were all together and we were all getting along great.
“I was like, you know what? This is so fortunate, like, doing it that way,” she said of the party. “We all get along and the kids are so happy when we're all together. So, we just try to [do it] as much as possible,” adding, “[Scott] was really great with them and I was very lucky in that situation.”
The trio still appears to be getting along smoothly. In a recent Father's Day post, Deschanel shared a sweet photo of both Scott and Pechenik carrying Elsie and Charlie on their shoulders.
“So thankful my kids have these two awesome guys in their lives: @jonathanscott and their dad @jacobpechenik," the actress captioned the pic.
Pechenik shared a Father’s Day post of his own, showing of a big smile while giving a bear hug to his two kiddos: “There is nothing more magical than being a father! Happy Dad day everyone!” he wrote.
Talk about parenting goals.
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