What These Hollywood Men Have to Say About Life After Divorce

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were Hollywood's "it" couple for years until it all came crashing down in 2016 after 10 years together. Like so many other Hollywood dads struggling with life after divorce, Pitt has been focusing on processing what happened, how he's responsible and how he can be a better dad in the future. 

"I come from a place where, you know, it's strength if we get a bruise or cut or ailment we don't discuss it, we just deal with it. We just go on. The downside of that is it's the same with our emotion," Pitt told GQ. "I grew up with a Father-knows-best/war mentality—the father is all-powerful, super strong—instead of really knowing the man and his own self-doubt and struggles. And it's hit me smack in the face with our divorce: I gotta be more. I gotta be more for them."

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner went from enviable Hollywood power couple to a very messy divorce that swirled with rumors of addiction issues and affairs. It was most certainly a trying time for both of them, and Affleck — known for his privacy — was mostly silent. But when he did speak out, it was to stress the importance of co-parenting and his ex's right to tell her side of the story. 

"It never seems like a great time to have your privacy invaded," Affleck told The New York Times. "Obviously this is a particularly hard time."

Still, he stressed that he was trying to successfully co-parent with Garner and create a working relationship that will be best for his kids. 

"We're on great terms. I just saw her this morning, so that’s the reality that I live in."

But perhaps the best thing he did while his divorce was fresh was to understand and allow his ex to talk about the split without getting vindictive or defensive. "It's fine. She’s allowed to talk about it," he said. 

Ashton Kutcher

It was a tough split between megastars Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore in 2011. 

Kutcher had to process in a drastic way: He traveled to Big Sky, Montana, and spent a week fasting and writing about all of his past relationships. "Right after I got divorced, I went to the mountains for a week by myself," Kutcher told Dax Shepard during his Armchair Expert podcast. "I did no food, no drink — just water and tea. I took all my computers away, my phone, my everything. I was there by myself, so there was no talking. I just had a notepad, a pen and water and tea — for a week." On the last day, he sent letters to all his exes. 

The good news? He's now happily remarried to lifelong friend and fellow actor Mila Kunis.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson might seem like one of the world's toughest guys, but it turns out he's just as sensitive as the next person when it comes to divorce. He split with his wife, Dany Garcia, in 2007 after 10 years of marriage, and he was refreshingly open about his related depression and struggle as he tried to fix his life and move on. 

“Around 2008, 2009, I was going through a lot of personal shit that was really fucking me up,” he told Rolling Stone. “I was just struggling, man. Struggling to figure out what kind of dad am I gonna be. Realizing I’d done a piss-poor job of cultivating relationships, and a lot of my friends had fallen by the wayside. I was just scared.”

The story has a happy ending, though. Johnson is happily remarried, and of all people, his ex-wife is now his manager — and the vital force behind his extremely successful career. 

Ryan Phillippe

The end of Ryan Phillippe's marriage to fellow star Reese Witherspoon in 2007 wasn't just the end of a chapter for the Hollywood star; it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, and it set off a serious bout of depression. Over a decade later, both sides of the couple have found a better place, but Phillippe has been open about just how hard the transition from paired life to single life was at the time. 

"Divorce was the darkest, saddest place I had ever been," he told W Magazine. "It was a struggle — there were a good four or five months of not being able to get out of bed. It was the worst time in my life. You get through it. It's a process that's not easy, but I get less and less sad about it everyday [sic]."

James Marsden

Westworld star James Marsden spent 11 years with his wife, Lisa Linde, and had two children with his partner before they split in 2011 due to irreconcilable differences. Although the couple stated that the split was mutual, that doesn't mean it was easy. Marsden says everything was easy in his life up until then and that bouncing back after his breakup was a true struggle. 

"When the divorce happened, it was the first time I felt I lost my equilibrium. It was scary and sad and made me pull everything into focus," he told Men's Health. "I needed to focus on what was important. So that's who I am now… I know regrets can be catalysts for good things."

Chris Pratt

Hollywood power couple Chris Pratt and Anna Faris eloped in 2009 after attending a friends' wedding and then enjoyed eight years together. But their relationship ended in December of last year when their son, Jack, was 5. 

Pratt's thoughts on the split? While separating wasn't a good experience, it's gotten everyone to a better place. 

“Divorce sucks,” Pratt told Entertainment Weekly. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got a great kid who’s got two parents who love him very much. And we’re finding a way to navigate this while still remaining friends and still being kind to one another. It’s not ideal, but yeah, I think both of us are actually probably doing better.”

Tarek El Moussa

Tarek El Moussa and his wife, Christina, had been through highs and lows — and then built a successful career out of their show, Flip or Flop. But when Tarek found himself fighting cancer, hormone imbalances and a debilitating back problem, his marriage couldn't hold the weight of what he was going through. Getting back on his feet meant starting over from nothing. 

"I was so broken after everything I went through," he told The Dr. Drew Podcast. "Literally, broken that I was devastated. I could barely walk I was so broken as a person after going through all the trauma and the divorce and all these different things… the second I separated from my wife, I said, 'OK, it's time to do some soul searching, figure out what's wrong with me.'" 

He continued, "After separating and losing my family, I said, 'I'm gonna do every single thing I can to be the best person I can be.' I can say standing here today, I'm the best version of myself I ever thought I could be."

Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert ruled the country music scene, but their relationship ended in 2015 after almost 10 years together. Shelton said that the divorce was a terrible phase in his life and one that he could only fully heal from after meeting someone who was also getting over a terrible breakup: pop star Gwen Stefani. 

“When I was going through my divorce and just, you know, hit rock bottom just like anybody does when they go through something that devastating. It’s a miracle that I met somebody that was going through the same exact thing that I was at the same exact moment in time,” Shelton told US Weekly.

Josh Duhamel

Everything was going right for actor Josh Duhamel when he met Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie in 2004 while on the set. But everything fell apart eight years later when the pair parted ways and decided on joint custody for their son, Axl Jack. 

While all parts of the split were difficult for Duhamel, he said one of the hardest parts was facing the holidays alone for the first time in years. 

“It's hard because we have a lot of traditions that we did, like decorating the tree together, but it’s the first time we have to do it separately,” he told Today. “I miss the night of decorating the Christmas tree and all of that stuff. But it is what it is.”