See the celebrities who have stayed friends with their ex

No hard feelings

May 25, 2019May 25, 2019, 8:02 AM GMT+1

While most of us would find bumping into an ex awkward, these celebrities prove it needn't be a painful experience. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner and Nicole Kidman are just some of the stars who have remained on good terms with their former flames. Some exes have stayed friendly for the sake of their children, while others, such as Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York have gone one step further and even still live together. These celebrities may no longer have romantic feelings for each other, but there's no denying their unbreakable bond. Let's take a look at the friendly exes…

Sarah, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew

Andrew and Sarah have remained the best of friends and still make regular appearances together at big family events, showing they are very much still a team. Whether it's rocking up to Ascot together or supporting each other on social media, the ex-royal couple, who were married from 1986 to 1996, are still very much the best of friends. Their two daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also their proudest achievement.

Sarah has previously told HELLO!: "A table goes best with four legs. A table can't stand on three legs, really, so you have the Duke and I, and the two girls. We're a family unit and we lead by example. We support each other emotionally, and we support each other health wise. At least every two weeks we sit down together and communicate, the four of us."

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Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck

Jen and Ben shocked the celebrity world when they announced their split in 2018, but the exes, who share three children together, have proved to be the role models for co-parenting. The two Hollywood stars are regularly spotted enjoying family day outs in Los Angeles.

Speaking on CBS This Morning, Ben has previously said: "Parenting is hard work but it's so rewarding and I certainly do my best. Jen is a superhero mum. She is an amazing mother and I'm really lucky to have her as a partner to co-parent these kids with. We try our best, we put them first and that's what we do."

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

They famously consciously uncoupled in 2014 after ten years of marriage, and their divorce was finalised in 2016, but Gwyneth and Chris are still very close. The Shakespeare in Love actress has since married Glee producer Brad Falchuk while Chris is all loved-up with Dakota Johnson. Gwyneth and Dakota even hung out at their friend Derek Blasberg's birthday party in April 2019, without Chris. Derek shared a photo of himself with the two ladies and cheekily captioned it: "Consciously throupling."

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Nicole Kidman and Lenny Kravtiz

Nicole looked delighted when she ran into rocker Lenny backstage at the CMT Music Awards. The Australian beauty greeted her ex with a warm embrace and posed for pictures with Lenny and her husband, Keith Urban. The pair dated in 2003, but apparently split up because of Lenny's roving eye.

Jennifer Lopez and Diddy

Jennifer Lopez kept her cool at the Golden Globe Awards when seeing former flame Diddy. He even had a friendly word with her boyfriend at the time, Casper Smart. J Lo later told Ellen: "I see my exes a lot, we're in the same business, we run in the same circles."

Away from business, the singer, who is engaged to Alex Rodriguez, also tries to stay on good terms with past loves. She has a good relationship with ex-husband Marc Antony, the father of her twins Max and Emme.

Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey

Sandra has always loved the fact that Matthew is a free spirit. She often told stories about how he would play the bongo drums in his birthday suit when they dated. The star obviously has fond memories of their time together, greeting Matthew and his wife warmly on the Oscars red carpet in 2013.

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe

Reese happily married Jim Toth after splitting from her former co-star Ryan Philippe, but the pair try to stay connected for their children Ava and Deacon. Often the proud parents are seen on the sidelines together at games, alongside Jim (pictured with a baseball cap)."It is so important as divorced parents to keep that connection," the actor told Ellen DeGeneres in 2010. "We go to all the school events together, and we're there for each other."

Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayer

Elizabeth Hurley had a friendly greeting for her ex-husband Arun Nayer. He helped bring up her son Damian, who is from a previous relationship but regards the Indian businessman as his father. The English Rose has stayed so close to another ex, Hugh Grant, who is Damian's godfather.

Madonna and Sean Penn

With two strong personalities they reportedly had a stormy marriage in the late eighties, but that seemed like water under the bridge when Madonna and Sean Penn met up in 2013.

David Arquette and Courteney Cox

They separated in 2010, with the divorce finalised in 2013. But David and Courteney remain "best friends" for the sake of their daughter Coco.

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen

They had a difficult divorce and custody battle in 2005. Now, though, Denise calls Charlie "the greatest ex" and spends time with him and their daughters. Describing their friendship, she said: "We actually enjoy hanging out and being with the kids, and it's much easier."

Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult

X-Men stars Jennifer and Nicholas parted ways in 2014 after dating on/off for four years. But during a press event to promote one of their films, the friendly exes couldn't stop goofing around. Jennifer is now engaged to Cooke Maroney, an art gallery director.