The ‘traditional’ idea of a family – mum, dad, two kids and a picket white fence – has never really been that inclusive.
Sure, there are families that do follow that dynamic to a tee – but there are so many other different types of families out there too.
Some children are adopted, some children are raised by grandparents, some families have two mums or two dads or a single parent…
And some families are ‘blended’.
Honestly though, no matter the family dynamic, as long as there’s love, who cares if it’s not ‘traditional’?
A great example are these celebrity blended families, who have redefined what ‘family’ is and ultimately prove that love really knows no boundaries…
Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Dakota Johnson and Brad Falchuk
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin first met in October 2002. They were introduced by mutual friends backstage at a Coldplay concert and began dating shortly after that.
Then on December 5, 2003, Gwyneth and Chris got married during a small ceremony in Southern California.
The couple share two children together: a daughter named Apple Blythe Alison Martin, born on May 14, 2004, and a son named Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, born on April 8, 2006.
However in March 2014, Gwyneth and Chris announced their separation, referring to it as a “conscious uncoupling”.
Today, Gwyneth is married to Brad Falchuk and Chris has been dating Dakota Johnson since 2017 – and all four are on incredibly good terms.
Gwyneth still publicly wishes Chris ‘Happy Father’s Day’, for instance.
And most recently, on March 6, 2024, Dakota was asked by Bustle if she likes being a step-mum to Apple and Moses.
“I love those kids like my life depends on it. With all my heart,” she replied.
Dakota then spoke about being from a blended family herself.
“I grew up in a family that was so big, and I just believe in the saying ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ The actual saying is ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,’ which means that the connections with people you choose are more solid than the connections to the people you’re actually born to,” the actress said.
“I have four brothers and two sisters, and my two sisters are not blood-related to each other, but they are sisters and they call each other sisters and they are always together. And my two older brothers are not blood-related to each other. And they are brothers,” she continued.
Dakota Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson
Speaking of Dakota’s family, she’s the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson – who are now separated but happily come together for their daughter. Plus, Dakota has six half-siblings, all of whom she’s close with:
Jesse Johnson, who is Don’s son with actress Patti D’Arbanville, Alexander Bauer, who is Melanie’s son with actor Steven Bauer, Stella Banderas, who is Melanie’s daughter with actor Antonio Banderas, and Grace, Jasper and Deacon Johnson, who are Don’s children with his current wife Kelley Phleger.
Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck and JLo
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck first met in 2000 on the set of the movie Pearl Harbour. But they did not start dating until they co-starred in the movie Daredevil in 2003.
On June 29, 2005, Jennifer and Ben tied the knot in a private ceremony held in Turks and Caicos.
The couple welcomed three children during their marriage: Violet Anne Affleck, born on December 1, 2005, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck, born on January 6, 2009 and Samuel Garner Affleck, born on February 27, 2012.
However, in June 2015, a day after their 10th wedding anniversary, Jennifer and Ben announced they were separating. Ultimately, the former couple filed for divorce in April 2017, and it was finalised in October 2018.
As of 2024, Jennifer and Ben are on good terms and happily co-parent their children. Plus, now that Ben is married to Jennifer Lopez, he acts step-dad to her children (twins Emme Maribel and Maximilian David Muñiz, who she shares with ex-husband singer Marc Anthony) and JLo acts as step-mum to Violet, Seraphina and Sam.
Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson
When Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell began dating in 1983, they both had children from previous relationships: Goldie shared Kate and Oliver Hudson with singer Bill Hudson and Kurt shared Boston Russell with actress Season Hubley.
However, Kurt ended up being more of a father to Kate and Oliver than their biological father.
Oscar-nominee Kate has spoken out multiple times as an adult about how she had limited contact as a child with Bill, and that Kurt was the one who raised her and Oliver.
As of 2024, Kate and Oliver are back in touch with their biological father and have a good relationship with their various half-siblings: the aforementioned Boston, Wyatt Rusell (Goldie and Russell’s son), Emily and Zachary Hudson (Bill and Cindy Williams’s children) and Lalania Hudson (Bill and Caroline Graham’s daughter).
Furthermore, Kate now has a blended family of her own; her three children have different fathers: Kate shares Ryder Robinson with singer Chris Robinson, Bingham Bellamy with singer Matt Bellamy and Rani Hudson Fujikawa with musician Danny Fujikawa.
“I’ve got multiple dads, [and] I’ve got kids all over the place,” Kate once joked during an appearance on Sunday Today with Willie Geist.
Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe and Jim Toth
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe met at Reese’s 21st birthday party in March 1997. They began dating shortly after, and on June 5, 1999, Reese and Ryan tied the knot in a lavish ceremony held at Old Wide Awake Plantation in South Carolina.
During their marriage, Reese and Ryan welcomed two children: Ava Elizabeth Phillippe, born on September 9, 1999, and Deacon Reese Phillippe, born on October 23, 2003.
But then in October 2006, after seven years of marriage, Reese and Ryan announced their separation. Their divorce was finalised in 2008 – but they have since co-parented their children amicably.
Furthermore, when Reese married talent agent Jim Toth in 2011, Ava and Deacon gained a step-dad. Then in 2012, they gained a half-brother: Tennessee James Toth.
As of 2024, Reese and Jim are separated but happily co-parent Tennessee.
Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Emma Heming Willis
Even though Bruce Willis and Demi Moore divorced over 20 years ago in 2000, they remain extremely close.
They happily co-parented their three daughters – Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Willis – right up until Bruce was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Today, Demi, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah are very close with Bruce’s current wife Emma Heming Willis and their two daughters Mabel and Evelyn Willis – all seven women regularly get together to advocate for Bruce’s rare condition.
As further proof of just how supportive the two women are to each other, the pair posted a sweet gallery of the actor in honour of Father’s Day in the USA.
Emma and Demi, along with his daughters, shared a collaborative post on Instagram praising their “favourite girl Dad”.
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