The Clueless star and her former husband have joint custody of their child and they "flow" really well.
When two people decide to get married or start a family, they have the hope in their hearts that their love will last forever. Nobody starts their journey thinking they'll go separate ways later, and it can be a heartbreaking process. However, there are many couples who learn to come out of the slump in their relationship and repair things, but there are many others for whom going separate ways is the best option. For couples with kids, making that decision to part ways comes with added concerns about how their child(ren) would take it. Many people are thus embracing co-parenting to do the best thing by their child.
Alicia Silverstone, 43, and her ex-husband Christopher Jarecki, 43, decided to divorce in 2018 after being together for almost 20 years, of which they were married for almost 13 years. Jarecki is best known as the frontman of punk band S.T.U.N. They had married in 2005 in Lake Tahoe, California and six years later, they welcomed their child, as per Us Magazine.
"They still deeply love and respect each other and remain very close friends but have mutually decided to separate after being together for 20 years. They have a son together who they will continue to co-parent," The American Woman star’s publicist told E! in a statement.
The Clueless actress and her husband had to think of their 6-year-old son Bear Blu when they chose to separate, and it seems that things are going well. Silverstone had also confirmed that they are still in sync as a family. "Bear and his daddy and I flow really well together," she told TODAY Parents at the BlogHer Healthy at Home Summit in May 2020.
Just like the Blast From the Past actress had mentioned in her statement, Silverstone does respect her former partner deeply. Their divorce was finalized without incident and she agreed to pay him $12,000 every month for four years, but with a few conditions, as per USA Today. The conditions said that her financial obligations would "immediately terminate" if he chooses to live with a "romantic partner" for at least five months in a 12-month span. They share joint custody of their son, something that has been helpful for their son during the pandemic.
"We ask Bear where he wants to be," Silverstone said to TODAY. "But then I started to wonder if that was too much pressure. So, I checked in with him and he said, 'I love that I get to decide.' We both have different perks!" she added.
The devoted mom has a zen parenting style and doesn't like yelling at her son to drive home a point. "I’ll use a serious voice but I never yell. I’ll say, ‘Sweetheart, Mommy is getting upset,’" Silverstone explained. "I’ve been yelled at and I’m not a fan of it."
Silverstone, who is also an animal activist and vegan, believes that placing a child in a crib is "tantamount to child neglect." "The respect we have for each other is just incredible,” she gushed. “We’ll wake up and snuggle for two or three hours laughing and talking. Then we’ll go make pancakes," she added.
The single mom has also begun dating again and she "loves it." "I go on dates, and I find it very fascinating meeting interesting, intelligent, different people. I'm super excited about being available and open to whatever's next. Of course, there are tons about it that’s confusing. I call my girlfriends and I'm like, 'What does this mean?'" she told Redbook.
But none of this came easily after the divorce. The transition was difficult for the actress. "Obviously, it's heartbreaking. You don't ever think you'll be apart when you get married. All I can really say is that we'll co-parent Bear together, and this is completely a good thing for both of us," she added.
As a mom, she hopes that her son learns from her about the zest for life. "I hope most that he sees that Mommy's passionate about life, and maybe that will inspire him to find his passion in life and live it to the fullest," she added.
References:
https://www.eonline.com/news/912339/alicia-silverstone-splits-from-husband-christopher-jarecki
https://www.today.com/parents/alicia-silverstone-coparenting-christopher-jarecki-t182325
https://www.redbookmag.com/life/a21350093/alicia-silverstone-interview-2018/
