Coparenting with an ex can be difficult no matter the time of year, but the holiday season often presents a unique set of challenges.
During a December episode of her “Whine Down” podcast, Jana Kramer admitted she was “struggling” to make Christmas Eve plans because her two oldest children — daughter Jolie, 8, and son Jace, 6 — are spending the holiday with her ex-husband Mike Caussin.
“I’m already starting to be, like, depressed about it. Because, you know, baking the cookies before Santa comes — I don’t get to do any of that,” Kramer said. “I don’t get to make cookies with them, I don’t get to leave out the note [for Santa] the night before. I don’t get to leave out the carrots for the reindeer or put the reindeer food out. … This would probably be the last year that Jolie’s gonna be all in writing to Santa.”
Keep scrolling to see how Kramer and more stars plan to get through the holidays while splitting family time with their exes:
Teddi Mellencamp and Edwin Arroyave
Two months after filing for divorce, Mellencamp reflected on her new normal over the holidays.
“In my Bridget Jones era. If I didn’t laugh at myself, I would cry,” Mellencamp, 43, who shares kids Slate, 12, Cruz, 10 and Dove, 4, with Arroyave, 47, opened up in a December Instagram post about spending Christmas solo. “First Christmas without my kids, and I know they’re in great hands with an amazing dad, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel some type of way.”
She concluded: “Ordered $74 of Thai food, eating cookie dough (who has time to bake) and watched 9 episodes of Lioness. To all my parents out there going through this, I love you. What are all the tips for powering through?”
Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler
Cavallari and Cutler, who finalized their divorce in 2022, share sons Camden, 12, and Jaxon, 10, and daughter Saylor, 9. During a December episode of her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast, Cavallari revealed the exes’ holiday coparenting schedule.
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“Any divorced parent can relate to this and understand this: I didn’t have [my kids] for Thanksgiving this year, so I do have them leading up to Christmas, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, which I prefer quite honestly,” she explained. “That’ll be nice, but then I don’t have them for a week. [On] Christmas Day at noon they go to Jay’s, and then I don’t get them until the 2nd [of January].”
Cavallari noted that normally she would pass the time away from her kids by going on a trip, but this year she plans to relax at home and prepare for her upcoming podcast tour.
“I’m doing microneedling one day and I’m gonna do a facial one day. I’m gonna get coffee with a girlfriend I haven’t seen in a while. I’m in this mode of rest and taking care of myself,” she said. “I’m just trying to relax.”
Tarek El Moussa and Christina Hall
The HGTV stars are beating the coparenting holiday blues by spending Christmas Eve together this year. Tarek’s wife, Heather Rae El Moussa, exclusively told Us Weekly about the blended family’s plans.
“We usually have [Tarek and Christina’s kids on] Christmas day. She has them [on] Christmas Eve, but [this year] I think we’re gonna spend Christmas Eve together,” Heather said. “[For] one of the first times.”
Tarek and Christina share daughter, Taylor, 14, and son Brayden, 9, while Tarek and Heather, who tied the knot in 2021, share son Tristan, 22 months. Hall is also mom to son Hudson, 5, whom she shares with ex-husband Ant Anstead.
Jesse Lally and Michelle Lally
The Valley costars are still getting the hang of holiday coparenting after splitting in October 2023.
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“We’re working on our schedule,” Jesse, who shares daughter Isabella, 4, with Michelle, exclusively told Us in December. “This particular year, unfortunately, Michelle’s mom passed away right before Thanksgiving. So, I spent Thanksgiving eve with Isabella and then drove her down so she could spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with Michelle’s family. And she’s gonna do Christmas with them as well this year so they can kind of talk about her grandmother and keep that memory alive for her.”
While Jesse understands that Michelle’s circumstances are unique this year, he acknowledged that it’s “gonna be a hard Christmas” for him because he’s never “done a Christmas without” Isabella.
Lindsie Chrisley and Will Campbell
Chrisley’s 11-year-old son, Jackson, will be spending Christmas with her ex-husband, Campbell, which has put a damper on her holiday spirit.
“I don’t have a tree up, not putting one up,” she said during a December episode of her and Kailyn Lowry’s “Coffee Convos” podcast. “I don’t have Jackson for Christmas, so it’s just something that I’m not doing.”
The Chrisley Knows Best alum admitted that it’s “bittersweet” not having her son for the holidays.
“You don’t have to worry about doing all this stuff, but also it’s sad. And, like, no matter how many years it’s like that, it’s still sad. It’s lonely,” she said. “And then you just hope that it’s over soon.”
Lindsie added that when she had Jackson for Christmas in 2023, she allowed him to go see Campbell and his paternal grandparents on Christmas night. Her ex apparently won’t be returning the favor this year.
“This year, it’s Will’s full Christmas day, and he’s not gonna offer the same thing to me that I offered him last year. Why? I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve had to learn through therapy that I have to respect the choices that he makes on the time that he is allotted. And just because I choose to do something for the betterment of my child doesn’t mean he has to choose that same thing.”
Jana Kramer and Mike Caussin
Kramer and Caussin’s two kids will be with Caussin this Christmas Eve, since Kramer had them for the holiday last year. The last time Kramer was away from her children on Christmas Eve, the family simply celebrated Christmas on December 26, which caused some friction with Caussin.
Jana Kramer has been documenting her and Mike Caussin’s coparenting progress since their April 2021 split. The actress announced in an Instagram post that she and the former professional football player were calling it quits after six years of marriage. One week later, Kramer filed for divorce — which she said she never wanted for […]
“Me and my ex fought about it because he [was] like, ‘You can’t change Christmas.’ And I’m like, ‘You can’t tell me what to do,’” she recalled during a December episode of her “Whine Down” podcast.
Kramer, who also shares son Roman, 13 months, with husband Allan Russell, said that even if going over to Caussin’s house on Christmas Eve was an option, she wouldn’t want to.
“That feels not good to me,” she said. “Anytime I still go pick up the kids from his house, I don’t like it. … I don’t like being [there]. … He makes himself welcome and cozy here, I don’t step inside his place.”
In addition to her own discomfort, Kramer said she wouldn’t want to encroach on Caussin’s time with Jolie and Jace.
“Those are his memories. I wouldn’t invite him to do that here with us,” she admitted. “As much as I have tried to make a great situation for everyone and invite him to parties … I don’t want him here on our family nights decorating cookies.”
Kramer did, however, text Caussin about going to Christmas Eve church services with him and their kids, but said he “hasn’t responded” to her yet.
Hoda Kotb and Joel Schiffman
Joel Schiffman and Hoda Kotb. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
On the December 24 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna, Kotb revealed that her ex-fiancé would be included in her family’s 2024 Christmas plans. “For us, our Christmas isn’t huge ‘cause it’s me, my kids, my mom, my sister, Joel. We get together,” she shared. (The exes split in January 2022 and coparent daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.)
She continued: “That’s the group, and it’s kind of just a cozy Christmas. So, we’ll put out cookies tonight for Santa and the carrots. He always seems to like the cookies more.”
Kotb teased Schiffman’s inclusion in her holiday celebrations via Instagram earlier that month. In a pic of her family’s Christmas stockings, one with the name “Dad” could be spotted hanging over Kotb’s living room fireplace.
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