Since Zooey Deschanel and Jacob Pechenik called it quits, they have remained committed to their kids, sharing rare glimpses into their blended family — which also includes the New Girl alum’s boyfriend, Jonathan Scott.
Deschanel and Pechenik went public with their romance in 2014, exchanging vows in August 2015. They welcomed daughter Elsie Otter in July 2015 and son Charlie Wolf in May 2017.
“Nothing can really prepare you for it because you never again have a day where you don’t think of your kids first,” the actress exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2017. “At least for me, that’s what I think of first thing. Like, ‘How are the kids doing? What do they need?’ That’s my first thought when I wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. I’m always thinking of them. … You don’t realize what a sort of selfish existence you live in until you have kids.”
The duo announced their separation in September 2019.
“After much discussion and a long period of contemplation we have decided we are better off as friends, business partners and coparents rather than life partners,” the former couple said in a joint statement. “We remain committed to our business, our values and most of all our children. Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time.”
That same month, Us broke the news that Deschanel had started seeing Scott. Pechenik, for his part, had nothing but nice things to say about his ex moving on from the beginning.
“Everything is amicable and we have beautiful children together that are that way because we were the parents,” he told Us in September 2019. “We’ve been raising them and we’re going to continue to raise them and take great care of them.”
The former spouses, who finalized their divorce in June 2020, continued to share their company, Lettuce Grow, a subscription service for growing vegetables, post-split.
“[We] haven’t really had so many differences,” Pechenik added of the business. “I think we both know what our strengths and weaknesses are and then turn to each other for suggestions or advice on the other’s expertise.”
Scott, for his part, took on the role of “insta-dad” after meeting Deschanel.
“Family’s very important for us and we’ve got two kids,” the Property Brothers star told Entertainment Tonight in August 2022. “They come over all the time with the nephews, the nieces and everyone’s friends — they all play together. I can just imagine as Parker [twin Drew Scott’s son with his wife, Linda Phan] gets older, it’s gonna be one big happy family.”
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Scroll through to see photos of the Deschanel-Pechenik family:
