Celebs Who Lived With Partners Even After They Broke Up

We've seen our share of brutal celeb breakups, as well as heartbreaking public splits, but not all A-list relationships come to an end with headline-making drama. While a breakup or divorce is never easy, no matter who you are, it is possible to maintain a good rapport with a former flame. In fact, a slew of celebrities are still friends with their exes, and some have even lived together after they called things off.

As psychologist Mark Travers, Ph.D., wrote for Forbes in 2022, "Exes can make for good friends who know how to support, motivate, and care for you." However, he also cautioned that shifting from romance to friendship can be difficult and noted that it doesn't always work out. Which is exactly what the celeb exes below show us. They all tried to remain friendly and even cohabitated following their breakups, and they exemplify the wide range of relationships that are possible with a former partner. While some managed to transition from couples to BFFs without issue, others weren't so lucky.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin will forever be remembered for their March 2014 "conscious uncoupling," and indeed, their ability to split up and remain friends has been truly exemplary. At the time, the couple explained that they would always be in each other's lives because they're family. They shared, per People, "In many ways, we are closer than we have ever been." They've sure kept their word! Case in point: They even continued living together after announcing their separation. It wasn't until October 2014 that Martin actually moved out, per Us Weekly, and even then, he made sure to choose a property within walking distance of his ex and their two kids, Apple and Moses. In fact, he bought the home right across the street from his former house in Brentwood, California.

The couple eventually finalized their divorce in 2016 but have continued to set the standard for friendly co-parenting. That includes taking family vacations and always supporting each other, like when Paltrow attended Martin's concert in France in 2016. Speaking with Today in 2021, Paltrow told the outlet her ex had actually been over at her house just the day before. "He's like my brother," she shared, gushing, "He's my family. I love him."

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore may just be Hollywood's friendliest exes. The actors tied the knot in 1987, separated in 1998, finalized their divorce in 2000, and have remained BFFs ever since, per ABC. Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2000, Willis explained that they would always be close because of their three daughters. "We realize we have a lifelong commitment to our kids," he shared. "Our friendship continues. The institution has been set aside." And they've sure kept their word. Even when Willis eventually found love again and married Emma Heming in 2009, and Moore tied the knot with Ashton Kutcher in 2005, the exes continued to spend plenty of time together. "We've become like a tribe," Willis told V (via Us Weekly) in 2009.

Perhaps nothing proves their unwavering devotion to each other more than their decision to live together during the early days of the pandemic. In April 2020, Moore revealed on Instagram that she was quarantining with Willis and their kids and, as she later told Naomi Campbell, Willis' wife, Emma, and their daughters, Evelyn Penn and Mabel Ray, were also there. "It was really a blessing," Moore enthused, saying, "Our family, regardless of what the shape of it is, it's important to keep together, and for the little ones to feel comfortable with me and to know me, so they also know their sisters better."

Debra Messing had one of Hollywood's longest marriages before it ended in December 2011. She met her future hubby, Daniel Zelman, in 1990 when they were grad students at New York University, per E! News, and they tied the knot in 2000. Their family grew with the arrival of their son, Roman Walker, in 2004, but unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. The couple announced their split in December 2011 via a spokesperson who assured that "the decision was mutual, and they remain supportive of one another and committed to raising their son as a family," per The Hollywood Reporter. They were so committed, in fact, that despite secretly separating in February 2010, they continued living together until Messing officially filed for divorce in June 2012, per E! News.

The separation hit Messing hard. As she told More magazine (via People) in 2013, "Part of me will always contend with guilt that I wasn't able to give my son the fantasy that my parents were able to give me." It was made all the harder when she and Roman eventually moved from Los Angeles to New York. "It was traumatic because every aspect of my life was going through a huge change," she told Ladies' Home (via ET) in 2012. "I had to find a school for my second-grader. We didn't have a home; we didn't have furniture. It was literally moving here with nothing but faith and hope." Messing and Zelman's divorce was finalized in March 2016.

Lisa Marie Presley's world was forever changed when her son, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide in 2020. In 2022, she wrote an essay for People in which she shared, "It's a real choice to keep going, one that I have to make every single day and one that is constantly challenging." She shared that she kept going for her three daughters and that she drew strength from support groups. She also found unwavering support in her ex-husband, Benjamin's dad, Danny Keough. As The Sun learned in March 2021, Danny joined Presley and her young twins, Finley and Harper Lockwood, while they stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel because Presley refused to live in their home where her son had died. When the family eventually found a new house in Calabasas, California, Danny again moved in with them. "[They] have been grieving together," said a source. "It's been an extraordinarily difficult time, and he's been a rock for Lisa."

Presley herself spoke about their lifelong connection with Rolling Stone in 2003. "He's my absolute best friend in the world," she shared. "The smartest thing I've ever done is have children with this man because I knew this is the one man I could be connected to for the rest of my life." And he was there with her till the end. When Presley was found unresponsive inside their home in January 2022, it was actually Danny who performed CPR while waiting for paramedics, per TMZ.

Ne-Yo and Monyetta Shaw appeared to have the perfect relationship after first meeting at a Jamie Foxx concert in 2009. They had their first child, Madilyn, in 2010, got engaged that same year, then welcomed their second child, Mason, in 2011. However, things fell apart in June 2013 when, just two months before their wedding, Ne-Yo broke up with his fiancée. In a 2016 New York Post essay, she recalled, "I was so hurt and distraught; my parents have been together for 44 years, and I always assumed our relationship would last for the rest of our lives." Even more important than her feelings, though, were her kids. "The thought of him and my kids not living under the same roof was devastating," she shared.

And so she agreed to continue living with her ex. As Ne-Yo shared in 2014, per AZCentral, ”The romantic element of our relationship is over, but that is my partner; we're raising a kid together.” Speaking with the Rickey Smiley Morning Show that September, he explained it made sense to share a home post-split because "it was a matter of wanting my kids to grow up in one place." However, he added that was about to change because he had just bought a new home. "We're both getting to that stage in life where we're moving on and seeing other people and whatnot," he explained. "It just doesn't make any sense for us to be in the same house anymore."