Zooey Deschanel Reveals the Unconventional Way She Co-Parents With Ex Jacob Pechenik
Zooey Deschanel is doing things her own way — even if it seems a little unusual. The New Girl alum opened up about her unconventional co-parenting style with ex Jacob Pechenik in a new interview, and it’s downright impressive.
On an appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast on Tuesday, Deschanel praised her ex-husband, with whom she shares kids Elsie, 10, and Charlie, 8. “It’s awesome because my kids’ dad is a great dad,” she said, per E! News. “I always want to support him as a parent.”
That’s a great attitude to have, but Deschanel takes it one step further. In the interview, she said that she has a group chat with her ex and her current fiancé Jonathan Scott to chat about their kids.
“My kids thrive when they know that we all care for each other,” she said about this unusual communication method. “We socialize and we’ve been on vacations together. We’ve been through a lot.”
Can you imagine? Putting aside your difference to chat with your ex and your new man is one thing, but actually going on vacations together and spending time that’s more meaningful than just saying hi at pick-up and drop-offs must be incredibly hard to do. But it’s important to her kids, so it’s important to Deschanel — and that’s admirable.
Sometimes, things aren’t always picture-perfect, though. Through co-parenting, she’s had to learn to let some things go. Namely: ager. “You have to let go of any anger you would feel,” she said, according to the outlet. “I know that sounds difficult, but it’s actually pretty easy. The most important thing is that the kids are happy and that they’re thriving.”
“I respect his opinions and his point of view being a parent,” she added. “It’s not always the same as mine, but he respects mine.”
Scott has opened up about being a “bonus dad” to Deschanel and Pechenik’s kids too. In a 2023 interview on the Property Brothers website, the HGTV star said that he met the kids when they were just 2 and 4.
“The little one, Charlie, doesn’t actually remember a time before me,” he said. “The big thing for me was them wondering, ‘Who is this giant guy who’s all of a sudden showing up around us?’”
One of the biggest “struggles” that Scott and Deschanel had was figuring out what the kids could call him. “They have their dad and they have a great relationship with him, so he’s Daddy. I couldn’t say papa because that’s what they call their grandpa,” Scott continued. They finally settled on, “My Jonathan.”
Even though at first the kids didn’t welcome him with open arms, they eventually came to love him as part of the family. “Now when they see me, they scream my name and they come running and want a big hug,” Scott added. “So, you go through these different phases and adapt, but I think as long as that communication and sincerity is there, they’ll know they can trust you and that you have feelings, too.”
In a 2024 interview with SheKnows, the Elf star said that her kids are always her “number one, most important thing” and biggest priority. “So of course, when I’m with them, yeah, what I’m thinking about most,” she said. “I’m not worried about making time for the kids, because they get all the time. They end up being first priority for me, always.”
At the end of the day, nothing else matters.
These celebrity exes are getting co-parenting right.